HISTORY -MAKING GHANA QUALIFIES FOR THEWORLD CUP 2010 QUARTERS

Finally after 120 pulsating minutes, Ghana moved into the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time in her history.Ghana have thus equaled a similar record achieved by Cameroun in 1990 and Senegal in 2002.
The Black Stars achieved the victory over The Stars and Stripes through spectacular strikes by Germany-reject Prince Kevin Boateng in the 5th minute while World Cup Golden Boot contender ,Asamoah Gyan, rocked the American net with his scorcher in the 2nd minute of extra time.The Yanks had their goal via a penalty expertly taken by talisman,Landon Donovan in the 62nd.
It was indeed a tale of two halves and lived up to its pre-match billing.Prior to the match media hype was that the USA intended to avenge the 2-1 loss to their counterparts at the FIFA World Cup in Germany,four years ago.In fact Stephen Appiah's penalty which knocked the Americans out of the World Cup was a sore point.So the stage was set for an epic battle and both sides were ready!
Ghana,in red,totally dominated the first half while ,the Americans owned the second half.Just after 5 minutes,disaster struck the Americans.Kwadjo Asamoah dispossessed Ricardo Clark in midfield, set up Kevin Boateng ,who breezed past the gawking American defence and dragged his carpet shot wide of the despairing dive of Tim Howard into the net for the opener.
Needless to say this superb goal unsettled the white-jerseyed Americans who have a habit of giving away early goals[Group C opponents,England and Slovakia]. From then on Ghana did as they pleased with the ball piling pressure on the American defence without increasing their tally.
However again composure deserted the Yanks when speedster Robbie Findley failed to put away a golden chance when in the clear.Kingston came to Ghana's recue with a stuck-out left foot to deny the Yanks.
Kwadjo Asamoah who left Demerit in his wake had his connection firmly smothered by Howard who also came up big with a couple of other saves.
A totally different picture payed out after the interval for the Yanks with the introduction of midfielders Maurice Edu and Benny Feilhaber. These sublime players made all the difference and the tables turned with Ghana increasingly on the backfoot. It was a surprise though that 19 year old defender Jonathan Mensah was penalized for clearing from a marauding Clint Dempsey.That penalty was indeed controversial just like Ghana's four years ago.Landon Donovan wrong footed Richard Kingston in converting the penalty.His kick caressed the inside post before settling in the net.
In one of their surging runs, a pass from midfield found Jozy Altidore,whose delayed reaction kick just veered wide off the Ghana back post with both Kingston and captain Mensah committed.Earlier on Michael Bradley had beaten the offside trap but his limp shot was easily cradled by Kingston.
America continued to press their advantage with the addition of Herculez Gomez but it was the Ghanaians who benefited in the 2nd minute of extra time.Carlos Bocanegra challenged Asamoah Gyan after a lofted midfield pass but while the striker was still off-balance ,he struck in a thunderbolt left footer that Tim Howard could only claw at. That goal deflated American hopes of taking the day and Ghana took possession of the game until full time,with Andre Ayew strutting his stuff allover the field much to American discomfort.
Maurice Edu's teary face ,the deeply-disappointed eyes of Coach Bradley and Donovan's bowed down head told it all,while the animated dance by Asamoah Gyan and diminutive AnthonyAnnan summed up Ghanaian and African emotions.
However the pictures that will stay with me forever are the ones on both sides of the match. The first was a frontal of Kingston in prayer with outstretched arms imploring God for mercy.The second was at the end with the shot from his back with outstretched arms in thankful prayer with Ghana flags dancing in the background.He knew what mercies he had received.... the race is not to the swift...

Ghanav USA preview[South Africa 2010]

When Ghana trot onto the field later today in Rustenberg against the USA they will be seeking to confirm their superiority over the Yanks and to uphold the only 'hope of Africa' tag in the World Cup 2010.The Yanks will on the other hand will be gunning for a sweet revenge for the 2-1 loss to the Ghanaians in the last World Cup in Germany.
Ghana who have found goal scoring tough,[they have found the net only twice in this World Cup]will be coming up against a U.S side that has abundant confidence stemming from their recent superlative performances at the Confederations Cup[trounced Egypt 3-0,stunned Spain 2-0 and just lost 3-2 against Brazil after leading 2-0 at half time]
The U.S have also comeback from a goal down against England in this World Cup to salvage a draw.In a thrilling match against Slovenia they again came back to draw 2-2 only to lose a legit Maurice Edu goal in stoppage time which could have given them a victory.
Against Algeria the USA played with heart and great spirit to move into the second round via a last minute Landon Donovan goal. All of this shows the ability of the Americans to muster patience and take a match by the scruff of the neck when all seems lost.
Will the USA be able to reproduce that spark against a Ghana side that is fond of dominating possession and sealing its defence?In the only other previous meeting ,Ghana took the lead via an opportunistic Haminu Dramani goal while the US pulled even through goal machine Clint Dempsey. Ghana sealed the victory after captain Stephen Appiah sent goalie Kasey Keller the wrong way.
The U.S. had protested that penalty award which they claim Razak Pimpong faked against defender Oguchi Onyewu.Playback did not reveal any compelling case for Ghana's penalty but the harm unfortunately had already been done and the U.S went out of Germany 2006 at the group stage, a disappointing turn of events after a quarterfinal place at the previous World Cup in Japan-South Korea.
This time it will be American grit against Ghana's composure and poise. With America bidding for another World Cup,the Stars and Stripes will be firing on all cylinders to convince skeptics about their ability and also to better their quarterfinal performance in 2002.The key for the Yanks as I see it may be Buddle and Gomez,whose goals and ball holding skills may prove crucial.
I don't see any change in Ghana's line-up but captain Stephen Appiah may come in to distribute, take tornado shots and push the warriors forward.The Black Stars of Ghana will also be driven by legend Camerounian Roger Milla's boast about how good they are and their will to die for a host continent whose other teams[Nigeria,Cameroun,LaCote d'Ivoire,Algeria and South Africa] have disappointed.
I daresay these reasons will make this a thrilling match to the finish and the team that take its chances well will come out smiling into the quarters.

USE YOUR OWN PEOPLE.

Ghana has a crisis of confidence as they step onto the field Wednesday in South Africa to face 3 time World Champion Germany in a crucial group stage tie.The crisis does not lie in their opponents ,rather it lies with their coach Milo Rajevac.The coach's utterances after the match with his native Serbia gives us a clue as to what he wants to happen.
He did not celebrate after Ghana's victory as if expecting a different result. He even went as far as snobbing his assistant,Kwasi Appiah when he attempted to congratulate him.His excuse was that he did not celebrate as a sign of respect to Serbia.What would have better was to rejected his pay for the month in sympathy with his country.He should know who pays him and behave professionally.
Already there have been voices complaining about the conflict of interest Milo has engendered.Joe, a 45 year old Ghanaian says his actions speak louder than words. "He obviously wants Serbia to qualify ahead of Ghana. So he would do all in his power to achiweve that. Remember he picks the team"Zaire in 1974 lost 9-0 to Yugoslavia because their Yugoslav coach had a hand in their defeat because of the same conflict of interest.
Ghana's first president ,Kwame Nkrumah who founded the Black Stars would be confounded by our mentality now. Why would the Ghana Football Association[GFA] be prepared to pay Mr. Rajevac $45,000 and his Ghanaian assistant a $3,000 monthly pittance?How do you expect him to respect Africans or Ghanaians?It seems to the GFA favors expatriate coaches over our local coaches not because we lack excellent coaches but for that same mindset that foreign is always better even if they have no credentials to show.Osagyefo taught that we should be self-reliant and use our own resources,which was why Ghana became a beacon of Africa at that time.
If Ghana had recruited a Ghanaian coach she would not be in this crisis.because you can trust your own to do their best for you without being bothered by a possible betrayal.
I think Ghana must part ways with this coach after his contract expires because he does not serve their interest. They should consider how the United States decide to stick with an American,Bradley who has so far done exceptionally well with the material he has.There is nothing like using loyal people.Nigeria must be ruing their dismissal of Amodu Shuaibo who qualified them to the World Cup.
After all is said, our trust should be in God rather than men.

Surprises at the World Cup 2010.

The FIFA form books have been shredded in the past few days at the ongoing World Cup in South Africa.Unsung teams have made nonsense of the ranking system and have made mincemeat out of the so called 'big' teams.
Otto Hitzfield led Switzerland shocked FIFA #2 Spain 1-0 ,while Japan's Blue Samurai tamed the Indomitable Lions of Cameroun by the same margin and Brazil struggled to assert its suoeriority over North Korea for 60 minutes before slipping by 2-1.Unconvincing France also took a 2-0 humbling from Mexico,England played a listless drawn game with Algeria,while Serbia accounted for 3 time World Champions Germany 1-0.
Some have attributed this trend to the demanding European league and the many UEFA sponsored tournaments.However some have also said perhaps those ranked teams and players so hyped by the media are not so good as they are made out to be.How the media loves to gush about these teams and their players!
So far media favorites as Argentina's Messi have not found the net,England's Rooney has found the going frustratingly goalless,as Portugal's Ronaldo has been surprisingly anonymous.
Perhaps the so called unknowns at the world stage should take my grandmother's advice in Ga kaa kwe moko dzoo ni oke dzo or simply put, play your game .And indeed if they do follow her advice the fingers that clutch the golden diadem on July 11 may well be from a so called 'small team' or nation.

Milo ,well done but get a life!

We watched the FIFA World Cup 2010 match between Ghana and Serbia in the balcony of a hotel in Irving,TX.,just before church service at 0900CST. Our pastor had graciously allowed us to watch the match which coincided with our church service.Ghana won 1-0.
What had caught my eye on the screen was how our coach Milovan Rajevac aka 'Milo' had refused to celebrate with his assistant Kwasi Appiah after the Ghanaian victory.Appiah who stretched out his arms for an embrace was turned away by the scowling Serb.I believe the reason he did this was to signal to his countrymen that he just needed to take care of business and did not want to gloat over the victory.
Keeping in mind that his house in his homeland had been burnt down after the World Cup draw that pitched his country against his employers . I felt he at least should have acknowledged Appiah instead of that classless snub.
Perhaps he was fearful of reprisals from his countrymen downplaying Ghana's win"Perhaps we were lucky... it was difficult playing Serbia..."All of this was an attempt to placate and pacify his homeland.Tough luck!This is the way it is and he just has to realize that his allegiance lies with the piper-Ghana Football Association.
Anyways[!],Ghana and Serbia took turns in dominating the match so I determined that possession was at 50% apiece.However what seemed to have turned the tide was Serbian defender Kuzmanovic's handling of a flighted ball meant for the itching boots of Germany-born Kevin Prince Boateng.Asamoah Gyan sent goalie Stojkovic the wrong way in the resultant penalty kick.I think Kuzmanovic should have been sent off instead of Lukovic who although had committed a bookable offence on Gyan could have been reprimanded.
Asamoah who had earlier in the second-half grazed the Serbian post with his header,saw his shot in the dying minutes again come off the same post that had denied him earlier.Another revelation was Andre Ayew who ripped apart the Serbian defence several times and was unfortunate to see his diving header miss the post by inches.Shot stopper Richard Kingston killed off Serbian hopes with a stupendous double save around the 75th.
I do think Ghana missed the virtuosity of Essien and a finisher although they have an embarrassment of midfielders.Milo has been able to craft together a team who are capable of great things.However, this tournament is all about scoring goals and this what they must try to accomplish against Australia whom they meet next on Saturday June 19.Good job though and more foot or rather boot grease.C'mon y'all!

Black Stars:ATTITUDE OR ALTITUDE

Ghana has an attitude or rather altitude problem.As the Black Stars,the national football team prepares for FIFA World Cup in South Africa a few days hence,all their preparation till they landed in South Africa yesterday was mostly on low-lying terrain instead of the altitude they will be playing at.
What is wrong with this?The problem is that we might have lost a strategic and crucial edge in the preparation towards this very important competition.Judging from where we have been training -Paris -and what we have been doing different from other more accomplished football nations,our attitude towards this defining tournament is lackadaisical and imprudent.
Ghana is lined up against Serbia on June 13 at the picturesque Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenberg which sits at 1500 metres above sea level,while The Black Stars take on Australia in Pretoria's Loftus Versfeld Stadium anchored at 1400 metres on Juneteenth.Four days later,the Ghanaians trek to Johannesburg's Soccer City which rises 1753 metres above sea level to engage three-time World Champions, Germany.
You see,Paris, France where the Black Stars were preparing for two weeks and from where they took on acclimatized Holland in their 4-1 loss,lies less than 200m above sea level.In the other friendly match they pipped World Cup 2010 absentee,Latvia by a lone goal in low lying London.Why is the altitude important in this preparation towards the world's most glamorous fiesta?
The saying goes that good things happen when opportunity meets preparation.It is crucial for all teams preparing for South Africa because most of the venues are above 1000 metres above sea level.And training in Paris will NOT adequately prepare us for the oxygen-thin air in South Africa. In fact not being acclimatized means our boys are going to struggle to breathe while those who had the wisdom to prepare ahead of time will have the going easier.
Cameroon,England,France, Serbia and a host of other teams spent time training on mountains for that purpose. In fact it was in one of these camps that France found out that their skillful midfielder Lassane Diarra carried the sickle cell trait and therefore found the going tough and had to be cut from the team.England spent two weeks in Austria,while Ghana was in flat Paris.
Anyone who is born in lowlands know how lung-labouring it is when you move to mountainous areas,especially athletes.Legendary England coach ,Fabio Capello has admitted that a major point in this year's World Cup would be the altitude.A visibly drained,Landon Donovan,US captain, raised an important point after their 3-1 victory over Australia in a South African friendly three days ago.He said they wanted to test their fitness and whether 'they will last 90 minutes'.England striker Jermain Defoe said that the struggled while playing in their last warm -up match against a local side although they won 6-0.This proves that playing at altitude is very different from playing on the flat.
In one of World Cup qualifiers against Malawi,Ghana went up 3-0 in the first half but struggled to keep the scoreline at 3-2 after the effects of the oxygen deprived altitude began to tell on them. Meanwhile the Malawians were lively in the second half and almost pulled off an upset.
Ghana arrived in South Africa on Sunday so arguably we have one week before our first match against Serbia who have been training at altitude for longer.Against these sides,Germany,Australia I would venture that the wall of separation will be those who have enough wind in their sails at the end.
I sincerely hope altitude plays a small part in the matches.I also wish I could say that this opportunity will collide with our preparation for good things to happen to us.On the other hand after staying in that altitude for some time you get used to the thin air and we might be banking on the 3 days between matches to recover enough for the next one.
Above all I hope our officials plan well next time for any similar challenge and do what is prudent for our attitude to determine our altitude in this tournament.

Eto'o fils take it easy...

So Samuel Eto'o fils says Roger Milla should shut up?So the Cameroun captain and striker says the pioneer talismanic player has not achieved anything? And because of Milla's pronouncements about his alleged non-performance in the national team,he considering opting out of his country's participation in the Mundial.
Perhaps now the Inter-Milan striker has forgotten where he came from,he has forgotten that he and many Africans have benefited from Milla and company's performances in the past World Cups when only 2 or 3 African countries participated.In fact he has even forgotten or was not even born when because of the stellar performances of the Indomitable Lions in those days,African football was seen at the world stage.Milla and Cameroun singlehandedly took the World Cup1990 by storm when they went all the way to the quarters,only felled by two soft Lineker penalties in their 3-2 loss to England.
Why is his outburst unfortunate?Perhaps now he is far richer than Milla or the earlier 'fathers'.And wealth and fame has a way of going to your head.And I think this skillful player has forgotten the honor that a 'father' or an elderly man is supposed to receive.Basically in African societies elderly men are expected to be accorded respect because of their age,their status and achievement. No matter how rich you are your 'poor' father can still advice you because he brought you into this world.In other words,the opportunities that the present generation of millionaire players have were created by the previous generation of players like Roger Milla,George Weah[Liberia],Abedi Pele[Ghana] and many others that space would not allow me to mention.
The Bible says that a son is disciplined by a loving father.I think Milla said those things as away of encouraging him to do more,not as a disparaging remark.And even if he meant to castigate him,Eto'o fils should have taken it in good faith and treated it as fatherly advice.
Milla,Weah,Ayew and all those like them who carried Africa on their shoulders on the World stage should be given the respect they deserve because the young ones like Eto'o ,MichaelEssien[Chelsea and Ghana] etc rode on the shoulders of these football statesmen and ambassadors to become who they are now.Meanwhile I certainly respect the football prowess and acumen of Eto'o whose flair and deadly accuracy in front of the posts have proved the undoing of many a defence.
For African football to progress and rule the world,the present generation of players must forge strong relationships with those who began it all and blazed a path for them.And for African teams in the World Cup in South Africa this year, go all the way!