christopher opoku

So, just over fifty days left for the 2010 World Cup to commence in South Africa and right now, there is a lot of expectation as to who goes into Ghana’s squad for the tournament. The senior national team, the Black Stars became the first African Nation to qualify for the World Cup with two games to spare and clearly, it is the wish of many Ghana fans that the Black Stars will at the very least equal the 2006 World Cup performance. Indeed, there was a lot of optimism going into the showpiece four years ago, when Ghana had the best midfield in Africa at the time. Stephen Appiah, fresh from a hugely successful debut season at Turkish giants Fenerbahce was, in the words of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), ‘the heart-beat of the team’ ; Michael Essien had also enjoyed league title success in his first season at Chelsea and Sulley Muntari had received worldwide attention after barnstorming displays for Udinese at the time. John Mensah was the undisputed leader in defence and indeed was one of the major reasons why Ghana had the best defence in the African qualifiers for Germany 2006, conceding only three goals. Indeed, after hugely impressive displays in pre-World Cup games against Turkey, Jamaica and South Korea, the Black Stars were expected to cause a stir in Germany and that they did. An initial setback against Italy was followed by memorable victories against the Czech Republic and the United States and even though Ghana eventually lost 3-0 to Brazil in the knockout round, the performance was one that gave many Ghanaians a lot of joy and pride and as a country, Ghana gained new found fame as a top performing soccer country.

Four years down the line, most of the 2006 World Cup heroes still remain, but with contrasting fortunes. In fact the picture is not very encouraging and perhaps the time has come to change the criteria for selection based on what you are about to read. Presently Stephen Appiah has not played competitive club football for over two years due to injuries, contractual disputes and lack of form; Michael Essien is battling to be fit for the World Cup after suffering a knee injury during the African Nations Cup earlier this year in Angola; Sulley Muntari has lost form and is rarely in Inter Milan’s starting eleven and John Mensah is putting off corrective spinal surgery to play for Ghana in the World Cup, despite the fact that he has not strung together 5 full consecutive matches because of his problems. Apparently, the surgery will mean his staying out of football for a year, so perhaps the World Cup might be his swansong, depending on his fitness.

Interestingly enough, none of the aforementioned players was in action in Angola save Essien, who played 45 minutes against Ivory Coast before his injury. Given that the World Cup tends to be a different kettle of fish compared to the African Nations Cup and that very few African sides tend to be tactically organized, it is time for some home truths to be laid out in black and white, no matter how unpleasant it may sound. I would be the last person to want to sound a message of doom, but there are things that many would rather not talk about, but it is important to get these issues out so that, even though we are hard pressed for time, something can be done about them, in terms of selection, team spirit, confidence in the coach and misplaced priorities amongst others

If I recall, before the 2006 World Cup, the then Black Stars coach, Ratomir Djukovic revealed that he dropped Baba ‘Armando’ Adamu from the final World Cup squad because he did not have a club and as such did not have the necessary fitness levels to go to the World Cup. He evidently spoke with the full support of the Ghana Football Association bigwigs at the time. So can someone tell me if the criterion has changed? For starters, there seems to be a concerted effort to ignore the talent that abounds in our local league. With all the problems in central defence and at left back, one would have thought that certain players doing well in the local league would have been monitored, particularly when Lee Addy has proven to be such a superb central defender for the Black Stars. I remember speaking to a top Ghana Football Association official some weeks ago and he told me that the fear is that the World Cup might be too big a stage for such locally-based players. I do not agree! Was the 2006 World Cup too big a stage for Iliasu Shilla and Habib Mohammed? Certainly not! Just like back then, there are candidates for the job. Hearts of Oak captain Karim Alhassan has had a fine season and so have King Faisal defensive rocks skipper Awudu Nafiu, Ransford Kwakye and Daniel Addo. For me, Eric Addo should not go to the World Cup because he is continually warming the bench at Roda JC and besides he is not even a central defender by trade! John Mensah is touch and go at the moment and could probably make the trip because when fit, he is one of the best in the business, but whether he will remain fit on a consistent basis for the Black Stars is a matter of concern. For the left back position, the likes of Kwadwo Boateng of King Faisal, Latif Mohammed of Great Olympics are more than capable of doing a good job, unless the criteria for selection now is that you have to be based abroad. In this case why has Nana Akwasi Asare been ignored for so long? He is a regular for Utrecht, playing and finishing matches week-in, week out. Or does he not meet certain criteria we do not know about? It is good to see that Hans Adu Sarpei is getting minutes at Bayer Leverkusen, even though I still think he is a short-term fix. On the right side of defence, Ghana should have no problems because Samuel Inkoom is playing very well and regularly for Swiss league title chasers Basel, and it is heartening to hear that John Paintsil is nearing a return to first team action, with his presence on the bench for Fulham against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the English Premier League.

Indeed, should John Mensah fail to make it to the World Cup, I strongly believe that Paintsil should be given the captaincy because as good as he is, Essien is no leader! Again, anyone who thinks we do not have issues with goalkeeping will need to wake up. There are issues with the fitness of Richard Kingston and on top of that, he is not even making the bench for Wigan Athletic these days. We are making a real mistake in over-relying on him and if care is not taken, that could be our Achilles’ heel during the World Cup! Remember Peter Rufai? He had a great World Cup in 1994 and Nigeria stuck with him when he was inactive and out of form for France 1998. Those who have longer memories than me will remember his terrible performance against Denmark in the knock out round. Nigeria lost that game 4-1.

With the form of rookie goalie Stephen Adams of Aduana Stars and Heart of Lions captain Stephen Ahorlu, as well as World Youth Cup winning goalkeeper Daniel Agyei, over-reliance on Kingston has got to stop! Personally, I do not think that he should go to the World Cup because he is not playing, but it looks like past achievements, rather than current form could get him into the team.

Midfield is supposed to be a problem area but curiously enough, I do believe that Ghana has an embarrassment of riches in that area. Apart from regulars such as Essien and Anthony Annan, players like Udinese duo Emmanuel Agyemang Badu and Kwadwo Asamoah have really come to the fore. We are told that Essien will return on 2nd May for Chelsea against Liverpool in the English Premier League. If this prognosis is accurate, then the Chelsea midfielder should be fully fit in time for the World Cup. In the event of injuries, I am wondering whether any attention has been paid to the exploits of Bernard Yao Kumordji who is one of the stars of the Greek Superliga, playing week in week out for Panionios, Prince Buaben who is one of the midfield stars of the Scottish Premier League for Dundee United and Yusif Chibsah, who is a regular for Gefle IF in the Swedish top flight. Oh, I almost forgot Derek Boateng, who is doing the business on a regular basis for Getafe in the Spanish La Liga and the captain of Dutch Eredivisie side Heracles, Kwame Quansah. Moussa Narry has also been playing regularly for Le Mans in the French Championnat and so has Andre Ayew, who has been a major factor in Arles’ bid for promotion into the French top flight. Add Kevin Prince Boateng, and coach Milo Rajevac’s only problem will be in selecting the best out of them for the World Cup. This brings me to Haminu Draman. He is a great trainer and is very quick on the wings but tends to take the wrong option time and again and he is not playing regularly too, only appearing as a substitute for Locomotiv Moscow for the first time this season over the weekend. I do not think he should be included in the squad. Oh, and I forgot to mention Sulley Muntari. He has had a below average season for Inter Milan and indeed there was considerable surprise amongst soccer pundits when he played the full 90 minutes for Inter Milan in the semifinal of the Coppa Italia in midweek. In short, he has been off form and will have to either improve or hope that past achievements get him into the team. I would take him to South Africa, but not necessarily in the starting eleven. Stephen Appiah will forever remain loved by everyone in Ghana for leading the Black Stars to the 2006 World Cup and is probably Ghana’s most charismatic captain, known for his inspirational leadership and command of respect. Unfortunately, all we have left of him are his inspirational and leadership qualities. In terms of football, two bench appearances for Bologna and not playing competitive club football for over two years is not enough to include him into the team. Nor will I agree with anyone who says his achievements four years ago means that he deserves a place in the squad.

For me, he can be taken to South Africa, but only as a member of Ghana’s backroom staff to inspire the rest of the players but as a player, my opinion remains no! Upfront is where my greatest concern is. Asamoah Gyan has done very well in France this season, scoring thirteen times, just two goals below top scorer Mamadou Niang in the French top flight, but he is injury prone and I can only hope that he gets full fitness before the World Cup. I feel that he is sometimes over-relied upon and that could in the long-term prove counter-productive in the event of any injury. Matthew Amoah has to show greater consistency in front of goal and in truth, he hasn’t played well for the Black Stars in a long while. Nine goals in the Dutch Eredivisie is an average return for the NAC Breda striker and clearly he has to buck up. I will have to discount the likes of Dominic Adiyiah and Ransford Osei at this stage because they are not playing at the moment, and even though Prince Tagoe is back in action, he is yet to score and only made his first start for Hoffenheim over the weekend. He also has to recapture the form that got him the moniker, ‘Prince of goals.’ I wonder whether seven goals in 22 games this season in the Cypriot first division would be enough to secure a place in the team for Junior Agogo, whilst three goals in the Serbian league might also not be enough to get Yaw Antwi in either. One wonders whether Erik Bekoe would ever get a look-in, given his exploits in the Egyptian Premier League. He has scored 13 goals so far and I think he deserves a chance to justify his place in a friendly at the very least. The truth is we do not have many options upfront and perhaps Gyan, Amoah, Tagoe and one of either Agogo or Bekoe will eventually make the trip.

Apart from the team itself, I am worried about reports I am receiving which seem to suggest that senior players in the team do not fully trust the technical expertise of Milovan Rajevac. After some digging, it is abundantly clear that certain senior players, including Essien and Muntari believe that strategic planning and tactical excellence are more important than training and they do not fully believe in Rajevac’s ability to give them the two aforementioned weapons for the World cup. Further investigations reveal that there have been some attempts by some concerned individuals to bring Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho to Ghana as a tactical strategist for the Black Stars, and Mourinho has reportedly agreed to do so for an estimated fee of $1 million put up by the concerned individuals themselves, but this move has been fiercely resisted by the Black Stars technical bench. This development has met with irritation from the senior players, who, according to digging by this writer, are not happy that Rajevac seems to be surrounding himself with Serbian assistants when Ghana’s first World Cup game is with Serbia, and indeed, some of the senior players are wondering where Rajevac’s loyalties will lie ahead of the June 13th fixture. Surely this cannot be good news ahead of the tournament and something will have to be done to resolve the situation! And what is this that I hear about team spirit threatened in the Black Stars because of a woman, who will soon be giving birth to a baby for one of Ghana’s key players? That will be the centre piece of my next piece on the Black Stars ahead of the World Cup. As funny as it may sound, it has the potential to threaten unity and leadership in the team, but as I said, more on that later. Finally, regular playing time, current form and the right mixture of experience should be the major criteria for selecting Ghana’s World Cup squad and if we have any chance of doing well in South Africa, then as I like to say, we should not sacrifice realism and a winning attitude on the altar of sentiment!