Dominic Adiyiah, The Missing Link

Going into the 2010 Fifa World Cup Tournament with players rated below average would certainly dent the country’s image in the eyes of the football world. The Black Stars of Ghana has the names to compete against the world’s best football countries, which the fans can boast about. However, if the country is to dwell on the names of the players rather than the performances of the players then the country should be ready to bear the onus of failure.

The team lacks strikers and the evidence was apparent during a recent friendly match against Bosnia. To evaluate Black Stars’/Bosnia’s encounter, it became obvious that the team lacks in all departments, however, lacks most in the striking department. This is the focus of the article. In short, the article is to draw attention to the Stars striking force and hopefully a solution could be offered to solve it.

At the moment, the African football powerhouse has no one besides, Stade Rennes forward, Asamoah Gyan, who has proved beyond doubt as the country’s number one striker. However, can we say the same about Matthew Amoah, supposedly the second striker?

Yes, Matthew Amoah did well during the qualifying matches and here are some facts. Amoah scored the second goal in a second half after Kwadwo Asamoah’s goal in Bamako against Mali. In Sudan, Mathew Amoah notched the first goal in the 5th minute, and in the second half, he sneaked to score his second goal in the 58th minute. That was his last goal for the Black Stars and it was Jun 20th, 2009. He did well in the qualifying matches as I mentioned; however, during the just ended Cup of Nations, and at the moment, his performance is below average.

When a face of a drum is not occupied, there is no need of hitting the side. Allow me to recollect your memory. The Ghana Black Stars 3-1 defeat in the hands of the Elephants of Cote d’ivoire during the recent African Cup of Nations tournament gave numerous evidences on Matthew Amoah’s immediate performance. Striker Amoah had a clear chance in the 18 box to put Ghana ahead and was unable to score. Ghana against Burkina Faso, in the same tournament, Amoah, once again should have put Ghana in the lead in the ninth minute of the match; however, his ferocious drive went way over goalkeeper Diakite’s goal post.

Even though, Matthew Amoah’s performance at the moment may result to impede the team’s progress in the WC games, excluding him without finding a second attacker to pair with Asamoah Gyan wouldn’t be a sensible decision to make. Therefore, who are the contenders among the country’s striking force? Any one who follows the Black Stars up to date will point fingers on two young players, Prince Tagoe, and Dominic Adiyiah. To evaluate these two players, bear in mind that the purpose is to find a solution but not to discriminate or to advocate without facts on behalf of a particular player. The solution needed is to find two players in order to pair one with Asamoah Gyan and the other to back those two up in case of any uncertainty.

Prince Tagoe was giving the opportunity to justify his inclusion during the Bosnia match and unfortunately looked rusty. Of course, a single match can’t be used to evaluate a player’s performance. Moreover, he was used at the right-wing which has become his new role since the beginning of the qualifying matches. Therefore, granting him another invitation will be reasonable to redeem him self, perhaps in the next friendly match.

In terms of Dominic Adiyiah, post African Cup of Nations Final match interview indicated “Adiyiah is as effective player as Asamoah Gyan,” Coach Milovan’s own words. If the coach was able to say this about the young forward, then what is stopping him from featuring the World’s Under-20 Goal King?

There are some Ghanaian fans whom according their statements, Dominic Adiyiah has no experience to be included into the squad. Others, as well, base their argument on the fact that Adiyiah has not been featured in his current club, AC Milan, since he was transferred to the Italian giants. In short, if he is that good as Fifa and CAF have stated, then he should be able to become the Brazilian Coach, Leonardo Araujo’s first choice over six prominent forwards. According to these fans, Dominic Adiyiah should be able to push out three Brazilian forwards, Alexandre Pato, Rohaldinho, and Mancini and three Italian forwards, Filippo Inzaghi, Gianmarco Zigoni, and Marco Barriello to make room for him self to be featured in his club.

It is not as simple as those fans think. For even Adiyiah to practice with these players should earn him the chance to justify his inclusion into the Black Stars. First of all, AC Milan is not just an ordinary Serie “A” team. It is among the best teams in the world and in third position in Serie “A” at the moment. Secondly, we should be grateful that he is among the best 28 players out of the 48 players who are on AC Milan’s list. The fact is 20 of AC Milan players are on loans while Adiyiah is still being kept in Milan.

What fans are missing are the facts in Adiyiah’s case. To have a little idea of Adiyiah’s facts, I will ask Coach Milovan, GFA and the readers to kindly visit Maestro21 (Youtube). When Adiyiah is unable to score, he creates for others to score. Adiyiah has much more accuracy and precision in terms of shooting. He is known for his quick pace, skillful dribbling and powerful shots. He is regarded as one of the most promising young prospects in world football. When it comes to tackling, he harasses opponents and tackles hard but with common sense. Furthermore, he has the speed to compliment his skills.

Paring Dominic Adiyiah with Ransford Osei, who thought could have been effective? Dominic Adiyiah was an easy coach for Sellas Tetteh for the U20 World Cup squad in Egypt to partner with Ransford Osei, who scored seven goals in five games as Ghana won the U20 African Championship. But while Osei was the main scorer in the African championship, Adiyiah, who scored once in Rwanda, became the dominating striker in Egypt. He became a four time match winner in that tournament. Can lucky play a part in such an outstanding performance? Think again. Below are the facts of his match winning goals.

Adiyiah’s U20 World Cup started with a bang against Uzbekistan, scoring the winning goal in the 75th minute of Ghana’s 2-1 opening victory. He scored the first and final goals of Ghana’s 4-0 thrashing of England in Game Two before going scoreless in the Black Satellites’ 2-2 draw against Uruguay. With Osei already subbed out of the Round of 16, Adiyiah hammered home the game winner in the 99th minute of a 2-1 extra time victory over South Africa. In a Quarter Final match against Korea Republic, Dominic Adiyiah was the man to get on the score sheet for Ghana, before Ransford Osei extended Ghana's lead in the 28th minute. In the 77th minute mark, Adiyiah once again added a second goal to make the score line 3-1 Ghana before Korea Republic scored in the last ten minutes of the game. Here too, his second goal in the 77th minute eventually became the winning goal in that match.

The issue here is that a real talent is being wasted. Is it because Dominic Adiyiah has not been featured in his current team? If that is the case, than partiality is playing a major role in Adiyiah’s situation. One of the examples was our own Stephen Appiah. Appiah even didn’t have a club but was featuring in Black Stars matches. Not even an opportunity but opportunities (plural) were given to him to redeem himself.

If GFA was able to accommodate coach Milovan to travel all the way to Italy to offer Mario Balotelli a WC spot, it could afford to do better on Adiyiah’s case. Cultivate the young protégé by maximizing his potential. To grant Dominic Adiyiah the same equal right and opportunity granted to Opoku Agyemang and Andre Ayew may be too much to ask. Contrary, at least to offer him a twenty-five minute friendly match time to justify his inclusion shouldn’t be too much to ask. Allow him to demonstrate his skills within that twenty-five begged minutes in our next friendly match, and who knows, he may be the missing link to the Black Stars striking force the country has been searching for in ages. The facts in this article should provide solutions to many misunderstandings and misinterpretations, as well as answers to many problems in the Black Stars striking department. The information cuts across all discriminations, and should help Milovan Rajevac and GFA to find a solution for many problems and frustrations in the team, if only Milovan, GFA and the readers would take time to consider the facts provided above and to apply them for satisfying and productive solution.

In All Things, Get Understanding, Get Wisdom

Ransford Frempong Peprah Rnsfdpeprah@yahoo.com