Former Black Stars player, Charles Taylor, has indicated that Asamoah Gyan’s suggestion of building Black Stars around Mohammed Kudus is not plausible.
Taylor explains that in Europe, building a team around a poster boy is not a problem, but doing so in Africa would create divisions in the team.
He said centring the team around Kudus would draw hatred for the player because other players would feel undervalued.
“In the European setting, I agree with him, but in African, I don’t. In Europe, a coach can say ‘We are building the team around this player’ and no one will have ill intent about the player. But our system does not work that way. The other players will be peeved and it will affect the quality of the team,” he told Angel TV.
The Ghana Premier League legend continued that Gyan’s statement might cause a split within the Black Stars, adding that some players are unhappy with Kudus being treated as the poster boy.
“What Asamoah Gyan said will create divisions in the team (Black Stars). Already some players are not happy about the Kudus hype. I talk to some of them and I know some of them who are still at the Black Stars.”
Taylor advised against expressing such views publicly, noting that it could disrupt the harmony in the team.
“So we need to be careful because such a comment doesn’t help the team. We don’t build Black Stars around one player. When it happens like that there will be confusion and the team will be worse than we are seeing.”
Asamoah Gyan, in an interview with Asempa FM, said it is evident that Ghana football is in the ‘Kudus era’ and thus it is only right to make him the fulcrum of the team.
“When I was coming up, we had Michael Essien, Stephen Appiah, Sulley Muntari and at a point it got to me. Players have come and gone. We had the Abedi Pele era, Stephen Appiah era, Michael Essien era and the Asamoah Gyan era and now it looks like it’s Kudus’ era,” he told Asempa FM.
“I mean he is the only Ghanaian player performing in Europe. And not just in any league, but in the Premier League,” he added.
EE/EK