Black Stars In Action Aug 11

HE SENIOR national team, the Black Stars will play their first match after their quarterfinal 2010 World Cup exit, hopefully on August 11, which is a FIFA date for friendly matches for national teams.

Lawyer Kwesi Nyantakyi, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) President, making the announcement on Metro TV, said Ghana’s opponent would be announced soon.

Following the Black Stars historic feat in South Africa, he noted, several teams from across the globe have officially written to test their strength against the Black Stars on August 11.

Though Lawyer Nyantakyi could not mention names, he stated that his outfit was weighing proposals and would very soon settle on the Stars’ opponent for the friendly.

On whether Ghana should retain Serbian trainer Milovan Rajevac for qualifying Ghana to the last eight of the World Cup, the GFA guru said for him alone, the coach has performed exceptionally well and should be maintained.

He was however quick to say that the decision of prolonging the stay of the coach doesn’t rest on the GFA alone, noting that his outfit, in collaboration with other stakeholders, would decide the fate of Milovan Rajevac, whose contract expires next month.

Still on the future of Coach Rajevac, Lawyer Nyantakyi suggested “objective appraisal of the coach’s stewardship should be made to determine his future with Ghana .”

Soccer fans lambasted the Kwesi Nyantakyi-led GFA for appointing Coach Rajevac on grounds that the Serbian national could not speak the English language and could therefore not communicate properly with the players.

However, the coach has proved all his critics wrong by chalking numerous landmark feats with the national team. Prominent among them are listed below.

Coach Rajevac guided the local Black Stars team to finish second at the maiden CHAN tournament held in Cote D’Ivoire in 2009, following it with another silver medal win at the Angola 2010 Africa Cup of Nation where Ghana paraded virtually a young team.

The Serbian national who seems to have the Midas Touch, led the Black Stars to qualify for the 2010 World Cup with ease with two matches to spare.

At the World Cup proper, Coach Rajevac rubbed shoulders with the best trainers on the planet by shepherding the Black Stars to equal Cameroon (1990) and Senegal’s (2002) record of reaching the quarter final stage of the Mundial.