AFCON2013; A test case for Kwesi Appiah

Opinions are like noses and I can only be grateful for having one, and a platform to express it. In the heat up to the commencement of the African Cup of Nations dubbed AFCON2013 in South Africa, and as was expected from any participating team, Ghana’s Coach Mr. Kwesi Appiah, while on a training tour in Dubai with the team, had to submit his twenty-three man squad to the footballing authorities in charge of the tournament and so was compelled under the circumstances to submit names of only disciplined players that were deemed fit as fiddles in the east which saw Andre Dede Ayew axed out of the Black Stars squad.

The news of his exclusion was welcomed with mixed feelings from a larger section of Ghanaians because it had caught many off-guard.  There was nothing one could do since the explanation that saw the hard working chap ousted from the team, was one that paramounts over any individual’s problem or expectations. Personally, I couldn’t say anything about the incident because I was downhearted and sad, coupled with the back and forth explanation from the Coach and the player involved making it difficult for anyone to draw the line. 

Black Stars have been hit with indiscipline in the past, where some individuals in the team were given preference over others and how some of them were favorited above others, so most of us had to rescind to fate and hope that something good comes out because the team will not and could not be centered on one person. 

So it came to pass that, Ghana’s Coach, Kwesi Appiah went into the tournament with players that are disciplined and all fit, as certified by the team Doctors. These players reported to the camp as soon as they were summoned and then went into a few friendlies which saw the team emerging victorious thus raising our hopes and expectations, come the real AFCON2013 Tournament. 

However, the first match of the Black Stars was nothing worth writing home about, except we scored two goals that were equalized in the second half of the game. The manager of the team in his immaculate black suit and white shirt, with a flying tie to match, appeared clueless as he stood on the touchlines with a pessimistic demeanor. He was hoping the team emerged the winner of the match just like any other person, which got me worried as a citizen of Ghana who has an equal say just like any other person.

It is understandable if observers appear worried and hopeless about the team’s capability and its dependent results, but for a Manager to also appear worried and hopeless gives me a cause to worry. He is the master tactician and under normal circumstances, where all other things are held constant, he should be able to determine what is to be expected from his boys. He is expected to be the epitome of optimism the nation will cling on to, but all I saw was a trying man trying to hang in there with his trying team till the stipulated ninety minutes is done and over with.

Some people think it is too early yet to start analyzing or criticizing him but I’m wondering if they actually want us to wait till the tournament is over, by which time we would have lost all we could have redeemed. Wars are won by winning each battle along the way so it is prudent to play each match at a time since it’s all a build-up to lifting the coveted trophy and rightfully so, we only want to take each day at a time. 

I don’t know who would have sufficed but he made his first bad decision when he chose to make Ghana’s international, Asamoah Gyan, the Captain of the team and John Mensah also known as the Rock of Gibraltar, the General Captain. I am no football enthusiast so I would at this time allow someone to indulge me on the differences between a Captain and a General Captain and their respective roles they play in a team. Methinks, Captainship goes beyond the number of years you’ve been playing for the team and the number of goals you score in a league that is unknown and at most not competitive.

A captain at every point in time should be the one the team will rally around, which requires him to always be intrinsically motivated which will in tend motivate the other players on the field. A Captain should be seen exuding all the energy he can gather, as he goes around coordinating efforts that will see them play as a team with a purpose and direction. A captain should be committed to the cause of the team and be ready to serve anybody that plays a part of the team he Lords over, and finally, he should be forceful but the Ghanaian skipper seems to have none of the above qualities.

What good is a striker who doesn’t strike but only runs and lose all the fifty-fifty balls? What good is a striker who scores an average of two or three goals in a whole tournament? (You can check his performance in the team from SA2010) Asamoah Gyan has all the backing he can get as a nation and has been doted on enough, so I think his continuous inclusion in the team by now is only detrimental to the team. It is true some of his goals come at a time when it’s so needed and usually uplifting but I hardly jubilate when he does because that is exactly what he was called up to the team to do. Every striker should score goals so what is so special when he scores a goal in about three matches?

It is rife that Coaches or team managers are influenced to call up some players into the national team and so it came to pass that, the Coach, Mr. Kwesi Appiah was allowed to do his own thing, but to think that he used his independent mind to call up Adomah and John Paintsil who plays in second division teams, leaves much to be desired. There was the inexperienced Jerry Akaminko who was fidgety all over the place at the expense of a half-fit Andre Dede Ayew who plays in one of the competitive leagues in the whole world and also scored a goal during the weekend.

Fact that the Manager is fully in charge of the team does not mean he can do anything he likes. He may be in charge but we can also see what is happening and can contribute to the cause. Manning a cause such as this is no child’s play, so I will admonish him to sit up and do his homework. He is one of the luckiest coaches to ever handle the Black Stars and many factors attest to that fact. He must not be seen on the touchline appearing all serious but nothing to show for. The seriousness is not supposed to be seen on his face, we want it replicated on the field with a sense of purpose and a strategy.

I have never really had a problem with talented folks who are arrogant or non-conforming even though it doesn’t augur well for group dynamics. It is not easy becoming a star. The time and hard work that is inputted into the endeavor only makes one end up with an attitude and if you think I’m lying, observe everyone who does his or her thing well. I don’t care if KP Boateng, Sulley Muntari or Dede is arrogant; all I want is their call up into the team. Many great Stars like C. Ronaldo, Ballottelli and Suarez would have been retired by their national teams by now because I’m yet to see any player who has attitude more than these stars but to think that they still make up their national teams can only tell you something and that is these Ghanaian players are left out in the cold for someone’s selfish gains, and once again, one man’s expectation cannot paramount over a national cause.

If the said persons are indisciplined but have been disciplined enough to distinguish themselves in an endeavor, then I don’t see why they should not be called up. If anyone wants disciplined players to play for our team, they should go to the Parish and call up the mass servants because they are disciplined and God-fearing. What we want for our Black Stars are players with exceptional skills, not people who will only play the ball forward and run on the park like Hares.

I can’t say much since its early days yet but I miss my darling boy Andre Dede Ayew and Sulley Muntari in the squad because their experience and presence alone makes me look forward to a great match any day, any time, and to conclude, I wish the Black Stars well in the rest of the group matches because to whom much is given, much is expected.