Ghana vs South Africa: The game that ended Sammy Adjei's Black Stars career

Former Black Stars goalkeeper, Sammy Adjei is regarded as one of the country’s greatest goalkeepers, with most of his honours and reputation being associated with his time at Hearts of Oak.

Sammy Adjei was once Ghana’s undisputed number one, especially during the team’s transitional stage in the early 2000s, but was the third-choice goalie by the time the team peaked in the later part of the 2000s.

Speaking on Sammy Adjei’s somewhat forgettable Black Stars career, ace sports journalist, Jeffrey Asare stated that the keeper succumbed to an injury at a crucial stage in the team’s progress and that prompted the end of his time as the number one goalkeeping choice for the country.

“Until our last friendly match in Turkey when Olele got the opportunity, he (Sammy Adjei) was far ahead of Olele. What hindered him was when we played South Africa, the George Owu thing. It was a poor decision.”

A report filed by MordenGhana on the Sammy Adjei incident in 2005 indicates that the goalkeeper picked up a knee injury which ruled him out of the game against the Bafana Bafana of South Africa.

The team doctor then, Martin Engman revealed that Sammy Adjei had picked up an injury a week before the game and could not be fit in time for the game.

As a result, George Owu who was then a goalkeeper for AshantiGold replaced him in the team’s camping in Kenya. Ghana went on to beat South Africa 2-0 at the FNB stadium in Johannesburg to qualify for Ghana’s first-ever World Cup in 2006.

George Owu impressed greatly in the game and thus became one of the goalkeepers for the tournament.

Although Sammy Adjei, who was then on the books of the Israeli side, Ashdod made the squad for Ghana’s first-ever World Cup, he lost his position to Richard Kingson and George Owu, who had overtaken him to become the first and second choices, respectively.

Watch Jeffrey Asare's view of Sammy Adjei's career from the 7:45




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