Hearts of Oak legend Ishmael Addo says it’s painful to watch the club endure failure after failure when they compete in Africa.
The Phobians used to be serial contenders on the continent in the late 1990s and early 2000s but have been non-competitive for the better part of the last decade and a half.
Addo was part of the last Hearts side to dominate the continent, having won the treble of Ghana Premier League, FA Cup and CAF Champions League in 2000.
The Accra-based side also won the maiden edition of the CAF Confederations Cup in 2004 after beating domestic rivals Asante Kotoko in the final on penalties.
Despite ending a 12-year trophy drought last season and since winning the league and two FA Cup titles in the last two years, Hearts have so far failed to replicate such heights in Africa.
The Phobians were booted out of the Champions League last season following a 6-2 aggregate loss to Wydad Casablanca.
They also got eliminated from the Confederations Cup following a disappointing 4-2 aggregate defeat to JS Saoura.
And they seem set to suffer another early exit this season after losing 3-0 to Real Bamako in the first leg of the second round of the Confederations Cup.
Addo, who was top scorer in the Ghana Premier League three times with Hearts, isn’t happy with how his former club has regressed.
« It’s painful to watch Hearts of Oak play in Africa these days,” the retired striker said in an interview with Joy Sports.
“It’s really painful because you sit back after putting the team up there. You left with the idea that they would be better than where you actually put the team but you realize that the team keeps coming down and dropping.
“Even though we had our time and left, we still have something towards the team, we still have this passion, we still want the team to achieve better than what we achieved but now they are taking a step backwards. »
Meanwhile, Hearts will hope to overturn a three-goal deficit when they host Real Bamako in Accra on Sunday, with their place in the CAF Confederations Cup on the line.
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