Andre Dede Ayew has expressed delight over the performance of his brother, Jordan, in Ghana’s 2-1 Nations Cup win over Tunisia on Sunday.
The 20-year-old who failed to impress on his Nations Cup debut in Ghana’s first game against Botswana came on as a second half substitute to put up an almost Man-of-the-Match performance against the Carthage Eagles.
His explosive performance which is now the talk of town will certainly give coach Goran Stevanovic a lot to maul over in choosing his starting lineup for the Black Stars’ semi final clash against Zambia on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, his more established brother and Marseille teammate Andre, said in an interview he is not surprised at his kid brother’s performance; insisting Jordan’s quality was never in doubt as he is delighted it is beginning to show.
“I am very happy for him,” Andre said about his brother’s performance. “I think it’s normal. What can you expect from a player who is 20 years and plays for Olympique Marseille, a side that plays Champions League football?”
Andre, urging his brother on, said it was always normal to receive intense criticisms if as a player you fail to perform – he has been a living testimony of this feature when he was subjected to the rage of Ghanaians at the 2008 Nations Cup as a rookie.
“You can only wait for things like this and it’s normal that if he doesn’t do well, people hit him. It’s not the matter of the age but it’s the matter of the character and the pressure that he undergoes in Europe.
I think he handled this pressure very well. He has proved to everyone that he is going to become a great player and I hope that he is going to continue like that till the end of the tournament.”
