Captain Gyan? Gyan Is Demonstrating Crucial Leadership

*By Papa Owusu (jowusu@gmail.com)*

Some of the Asamoah Gyan's most sterling qualities are his tenacity and dedication to football. His mature response to the question of whether the players would boycott the match against Sudan is indeed laudable: he said it is more important to snatch the 3 points from Sudan before worrying about money.

Asked why he signed Gyan to a record transfer fee ever paid by Sunderland, the ubiquitous manager Steve Bruce said, he was most impressed by Gyan's leadership on the field -- electing himself to take a penalty at a crucial hour, then picking himself up after a painful miss to take the first penalty in the eventual shoot-out. Gyan demonstrated rare courage and leadership that impressed and confounded the Sunderland boss.

He might not be the most naturally gifted player but his high energy, hunger to win, and tremendous physical strength has already propelled Gyan to the position of Ghana's most famous striker ever. As one of the Ghanaian commentators said in Swaziland during the Stars recent trip there, all the fans were asking: "where's Asamoah? Where is Asamoah?"

This is an amazing turnaround for a guy who was vilified so much by Ghanaians after his not too-impressive showing at the 2008 Cup of Nations in Accra that he quit the team for a brief period and vowed not to play for the Stars again. Today he's arguably the most famous Ghanaian footballer after Essien, and is becoming the apotheosis of dedication, valor and selflessness to the Black Stars cause. Bravo Baby Jet!!