By Nii Ayitey Tetteh
Hello fellow football fanatics, it’s that time of the year, the European football season is over and awards are flying left, right, center. We here in Ghana have had minimal representation in the major European League awards but that shouldn’t stop us from identifying Ghanaian performers who stood out across the continent. So, if you ready, I am, let’s cut to the chase!!!
Young Player of the Season
Now, this was always going to be a hard category to pick one single player from. In a season where loads of young players had breakout seasons, picking one from the pack was one tall task. There was Daniel Amartey of FC Copenhagen, Bernard Mensah of Vitoria Guimaraes, Godfred Donsah of Italian side Cagliari, Baba Rahman of German side FC Augsburg and even Leicester city’s Jeffrey Schlupp.
In the end, I narrowed it to Baba Rahman and Bernard Mensah whose flambouyant performances in attacking midfield for his Portuguese side has caught the eye of Manchester United. However, the scales tilted in Baba’s favour on account of his impressive outings for the Black Stars in the 2015 AFCON qualifiers and in the tournament itself held in Equatorial Guinea where Ghana won silver. At club level, Baba made 33 appearances and was phenomenal in his defensive duties with excellent interceptions and tackles, as well as his offensive duties where he scored 2 goals and made 6 assists. It is the reason the European big boys like Juventus are licking their lips. So, it is a no brainer really, that for the young player of the year; Give it to Baba!
Comeback of the Season
In this category are two players who have been severely criticized. Perhaps on hindsight those criticisms may have spurred them on after all. Jordan Ayew of French club FC Lorient and Albert Adomah of English Championship side Middlesbrough FC had both been criticized for getting easy passes into the Black Stars and though they may not have proven critics wrong with the Black Stars, their output this season at their clubs have gone a long way in winning for themselves some measure of respectability. In the just ended season, Adomah was ever present, making 51 appearances, scoring 6 goals and making 5 assists which pushed Middlesbrough on to the brink of promotion to the EPL. Though Adomah’s effort is commendable, I am tempted to lean towards Jordan for this award and here is why. Jordan had long been baby sited while he was at Marseille; it was the club his dad played for; same club his brother Andre was also playing for and Jordan had the luxury of having Andre around to guide him. But Jordan’s quest for regular playing time initially saw him move away to FC Sochaux and then to FC Lorient at the start of the current seem. These moves have helped Jordan gain the maturity he required to become his own person, removed from the shadow of his big brother and father at Marseille. And while it took Jordan some time to gather moment, he has delivered in the second half of the season, showing his ability to be a big game player and he could not have chosen a bigger occasion. When Marseille hosted Lorient on April 24, Jordan seized the opportunity to announce his coming of age by scoring 2 goals and assisting on one, eclipsing his brother Andre who also scored as Lorient beat Marseille 5-3. It has been a tidy second half for Jordan who scored 13 goals and made 7 assists in 33 appearances. Due to the higher pedigree and competition in Ligue 1, Jordan shades Adomah for comeback of the season.
Player of the Season
One man, many clubs! That has been the story of Andre “Dede” Ayew this season. At various times this season, Newcastle, Swansea, Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool supposedly expressed interest in Dede. In as much as some of these rumours were wild, one thing was certain, Dede’s stock had risen after almost a decade with Marseille. That time had been challenging as Dede went on loan a couple of times but after his impressive showing at the 2010 World Cup, Dede’s career at Marseille enjoyed some stability with consistent performances. The need however to challenge himself, experience a new country, has seen Dede depart the Stade Velodrome this summer for Swansea City. He left on a high; in a season where he made 30 appearances, scored 11 goals and made 6 assists, his output was considered strong enough to be given the Marc-Vivien Trophy as the best African Player in Ligue 1. It is due recognition for a man who also contributed 4 goals as Ghana won silver at the 2015 AFCON. In the just ended 2014/15 season, there is no doubt that Dede stood above his Ghanaian peers in Europe, making him Ghana’s player of the season.
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(Culled from the 90 Minutes Newspaper)
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