Motivation wise, the Government and the Football Association have done their part. 5 million dollars as a budget for a tournament like the Africa Nations’ Cup is more than enough for any team to deliver but facts on the ground means that Ghana will even not qualify from the group let alone lift the cup.
Ghana over the years have this greater percentage of myth that goes against them. When there is higher expectancy of the whole nation for them to deliver, they disappoint and history is likely to repeat itself that minnows at times kick out Ghana from group stages.
The current team lack attacking potency because it’s very sad to take risk of paying penalty of 3000 dollars not meeting CAF deadline for an injured striker who if it was any football nation would not have taken him to the Nations’ cup. Even with our so called lethal striker, Asamoah Gyan, l don’t remember the last time the team scored more than 3 goals in a tournament.
This started from the last Nations’ Cup in Angola where one goal policy was our goal scoring anthem. The team lack good attacking midfielders who could score goals when the strikers are struggling, it isn’t like the era of Laryea Kingston.
The fact that Ghana were able to reach the last Nations’ Cup final with that thin scorelines doesn't mean that we are going to repeat that feat with this non-potent attacking team. Any one who has followed Ghana's Nations’ Cup record would see that it is not the big guns who normally eliminate us from the tournament but the minnows. Togo, Zimbabwe all have hurt us before so we should skip the idea that since the power houses are not in, we are by hook or crook going to lift the cup, it is illogical to conclude like that.
Again, Ghana fall short in preparation wise when did some of the foreign based players reached camp? The Ayew brothers, Kwadwo Asamoah, Agyeman Badu were all honouring their league matches the time we needed them in camp. Its not that they sought permission but what the FIFA rules say about the release of players by the clubs for tournaments?
Clubs have no choice than to release players two weeks before a tournament and if Ivory Coast upon all the stars they have could compel Toure brothers from featuring for Manchester City in the crucial FA Cup match against Manchester United, it must tell you that they are determined to quash that perennial underachiever tag that has haunted them for long.
l still don't know the criteria Goran Stevanovic used to pick his final 23 players? On what grounds? The team did not play any warm up match so what criteria did he use to edge out Derek Asamoah and Emmanuel Baffour?
The group that we find ourselves in is the most difficult group to me. Syli Nationale of Guinea’s squad is the most consistent as far as the African Nations’ Cup is concerned. Their technical handler is not like Goran who doesn't stay in the country where he works always wandering in his country Serbia with pretext of monitoring the foreign based players.
Guinea’s coach Michel Dusseyer is a consistent coach who has transformed the team ever since he was appointed. He was with the team in 2002 and 2004, and Guniea as a team have qualified for the last two Nations Cup quarter finals and they also have consistent veteran players like lbrahim Diallo, Dian Bobo Balde, Pascal Feindouno who have been in the team for the past four Nations’ Cup tournaments and l think with their experience, they will qualify ahead of Ghana in the group together with the Malian team which even our coach Goran is afraid of.
If a team as Mali can go to a tournament without deadly striker and midfielder like Frederick Kanoute of Sevilla fame and Momo Sissoko of Juventus, you should know the nature of the team we are going to encounter in the group.
Unless a miracle occurs according to what l have monitored already about this two teams in our group, Ghana has a way to go. Fact is sacred, comment free, thanks.
*Credit: Raymond Yeboah - Sportsinghana.com***
