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We should Rally behind the Black Stars

Thu, 31 Jan 2002 Source: Dr. Rafak R. Nartey

I sharpened my pencil ready to go after Coach Osam Duodu had Ghana lost its match against Burkina Faso, but a last minute intervention by the Almighty God helped our dear country win the game. So, let me take the opportunity instead to congratulate the Coach for his handling of the Black Stars thus far. He really created a big mess with Samuel Osei Kuffour's issue, and others that are not necessary at this juncture to enumerate, however, the important thing is that we have qualified to the Quarterfinals hence it will serve our interest to let all criticism slide for now.

Ghana is in the Quarterfinals and that means we should all rally behind the Black Stars and its handlers at this critical stage of the competition with our prayers and best wishes. According to the schedule, our next match is against Nigeria the Group One winner, therefore, this is shaping up to be the real and epic battle of the tournament. Nigeria is our sworn archenemy as far as football is concerned thus they will leave no stone unturned to upset Ghana in Mali for "bragging" right. They beat us 3-nil in our last encounter for the World Cup qualifier and for that reason momentum is on their side, but tradition always favors Ghana so our chance of victory is sixty percent. At the end of the day, Ghana will emerge victorious.

What has happened so far in the tournament is indeed a slight repetition of what occurred in Argentina in 2001. Our boys were scrappy during the preliminary rounds of the competition but beat Brazil and Egypt when it really counted only to succumb to favorite Argentina in the finals. I am very confident that we can replicate that same performance against Nigeria and South Africa/Mali on our way to the finals. Ghana always rise to the occasion when least expected and this tournament is not going to be an exception. In fact I will not be surprise if we win the cup altogether. Believe it!

We should thank our government and our officials for a good job done and pray hard to God to make our country proud again. Go Ghana! Go Black Stars!

I sharpened my pencil ready to go after Coach Osam Duodu had Ghana lost its match against Burkina Faso, but a last minute intervention by the Almighty God helped our dear country win the game. So, let me take the opportunity instead to congratulate the Coach for his handling of the Black Stars thus far. He really created a big mess with Samuel Osei Kuffour's issue, and others that are not necessary at this juncture to enumerate, however, the important thing is that we have qualified to the Quarterfinals hence it will serve our interest to let all criticism slide for now.

Ghana is in the Quarterfinals and that means we should all rally behind the Black Stars and its handlers at this critical stage of the competition with our prayers and best wishes. According to the schedule, our next match is against Nigeria the Group One winner, therefore, this is shaping up to be the real and epic battle of the tournament. Nigeria is our sworn archenemy as far as football is concerned thus they will leave no stone unturned to upset Ghana in Mali for "bragging" right. They beat us 3-nil in our last encounter for the World Cup qualifier and for that reason momentum is on their side, but tradition always favors Ghana so our chance of victory is sixty percent. At the end of the day, Ghana will emerge victorious.

What has happened so far in the tournament is indeed a slight repetition of what occurred in Argentina in 2001. Our boys were scrappy during the preliminary rounds of the competition but beat Brazil and Egypt when it really counted only to succumb to favorite Argentina in the finals. I am very confident that we can replicate that same performance against Nigeria and South Africa/Mali on our way to the finals. Ghana always rise to the occasion when least expected and this tournament is not going to be an exception. In fact I will not be surprise if we win the cup altogether. Believe it!

We should thank our government and our officials for a good job done and pray hard to God to make our country proud again. Go Ghana! Go Black Stars!

Columnist: Dr. Rafak R. Nartey