Black Stars ’92 squad greatest ever – Stephen Appiah

Former Captain of the Black Stars Stephen Appiah says the 1992 Black Stars squad is the greatest national team ever assembled in this country.

Appiah, who captained the Black Stars for eight years and oversaw a huge period of success with the national team, noted that even though his team was the first ever to qualify the country to the World Cup in Germany in 2006, the 1992 squad that included Tony Yeboah and Abedi Pele is the greatest ever.

Appiah believes the sheer talent, skill, panache and confidence that team played with is second to none in this country.

The former Black Stars captain, who grew up on the streets of Chorkor, downtown Accra, recounts memories of watching that team as a boy.

“I didn’t get the opportunity to watch the [19]63 team, I couldn’t watch the 1982 team but I had the chance to watch the [19]92 squad,” he told 3news.com’s Yaw Ofosu Larbi in an Instagram Live interview.

“Edward Ansah was our goalkeeper. We had Number 2 in Nii Darko Ankrah, we had in Number 3 our former coach, Kwesi Appiah. Frimpong Manso and Emmanuel Armah. Tony Baffoe, Prince Polley, Stanley Aborah, Nii Odartey Lamptey, Ali Ibrahim, Tony Yeboah and Abedi Pele.”

The 1992 Black Stars squad went all the way at the Africa Cup of Nations that year, only to lose 11-10 on penalties.

That penalty shootout was significant mainly because it was the first time in a tournament that every player on the pitch took part in.

When Tony Baffoe missed, you could sense the despondency on the faces of the Black Stars.

The despair and a thought of having to do it all again in the next tournament weighed heavily in their minds.

Ghana had won it ten years before that tournament and have surprisingly not won it again since albeit making two more finals in 2010 and 2015.

Stephen Appiah noted how significant that team was in shaping his successful national team career.

“When we were growing up these were the players that we were watching. These were the players we wanted to be like and it was amazing watching them in [19]92 in the African Cup of Nations. For me I think that team is the best ever.”