Sports
Akonnor, don’t be overly desperate!
DESPERATION to succeed may be adorable, but sometimes, it could trigger a negative adrenaline for failure.
In the case of the coach, they dare not play the Russian roulette; they got to be wholly focused, calculated and strategic in their manoevres to clinching the desired result. For, desperation can ultimately lead to destruction.
So, what are we trying to say, at all?
Somewhere last week or so, we were boldly told that the ‘sweat merchant’ of the Black Stars – Coach Charles Kwablan Akonnor, had handed a call-up to Kelvin Yeboah – a 21-year-old Italian-Ghanaian forward who features for Austrian Bundesliga side SK Sturm Graz.
The prolific Yeboah, nephew of Ghana’s retired icon Anthony Yeboah, is reported to be in some swashbuckling, smashing form in Europe – banging in goals like nobody’s business.
So, Ghanaians were naturally elated with the supposed ‘big catch’ when Yeboah’s name thundered across the country – believing Ghana was steadily building a formidably winsome team for a famished African conquest (Cameroon 2021). Fiasco!
Sadly, barely 24 hours or so later, we were almost stunned into petrified silence to learn that the same player had reacted positively to a call-up into the Italian Under-21 team over Ghana’s senior national team – a former FIFA World Cup quarter finalist.
The Italian Under-21 team were to play against neophytes like Luxembourg and Montenegro during the international break.
Indeed, many thought it was a huge embarrassment to the nation to watch Yeboah choose an Under-21 outfit over a senior national team of his native people.
But do not blame Yeboah! He has committed no crime. There are 64,000-dollar questions that have to be answered.
Question number one: How was Yeboah invited? Who spoke to him, and did the young precocious striker agree to the invitation? Why would he opt for the Italian U-21 national team when very aware that Ghana had struck the first move? What did we not do right in this regard? Did Akonnor really have a personal interaction with him ahead of the call-up? Or, we were just interested in giving Yeboah an invitation in order to avert Italy from initiating any move?
Whatever the response may be, it is limpidly evident that the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and Akonnor failed in snatching the talented finisher; and that is not good for the Black Stars brand.
Perhaps, we may not have lost Yeboah totally since he was not invited to Italy’s senior national side, but seriously, we ought to pick some harsh lessons in this regard.
The other day, too, we were told Ghana’s Southampton of England sturdy defender, Salifu Mohammed, was all-too ready to play for the Black Stars and was subsequently handed a call-up only for the player to turn his back on the nation.
Coach Akonnor himself had assured us of his availability, but we were later to dine with another disappointment.
It is true we need hordes of quality performers to build up the Black Stars into a fearsome unit. However, we must not out of desperation compel or cajole players into featuring for Ghana. No, it must not happen!
True, we may not have garnered home the African Cup ‘Holy Grail’ for nearly four decades – after the glories of 1963, ‘65, ‘78 and ‘82, but the senior national team is still freshly attractive.
No matter what the situation is or how it looks like, players – whether megastars or superstars, must not be kowtowed to in an attempt to woo them into playing for their own motherland.
They must play out of a supreme conviction to serve their country, and once they decline, we should respect their decision and leave them to their fate.
By so doing, we will succeed into erecting an aura of respect and reverence around the team whose members would now feel more nationalistic and be prepared to die a little more for a country that holds them in high esteem.
Attention will be at the Golden City Park in Berekum tomorrow as Hearts of Oak lock horns with Berekum Chelsea FC in a Ghana Premier League Matchday 6 game that promises an electrifying atmosphere.
Lying sixth on the league table with two wins and three draws, the Phobians visit a ground that has been favourable to them in recent times. In their last three visits to the Golden City Park, Hearts have amassed seven out of nine points, putting them in strong contention to win.
Head Coach Mas-Ud Didi Dramani says, “The team is making progress in its tactical identity despite the lack of goals, and this is something we are working on ahead of this game.”
Hearts will come face-to-face with former coach Samuel Boadu, whose side lies a distant 13th on the league table with a win and a draw from four games. Coach Boadu is yet to celebrate a victory over the Phobians since joining the Berekum lads and would hope this fixture marks a turnaround.
Ninth-placed Vision FC would trek to the Nana Fosu Gyeabour Park in Bechem to play Bechem United, while new boys Hohoe United host Aduana FC at the Hohoe Sports Stadium.
Returnees Swedru All Blacks will welcome Basake Holy Stars to the Swedru Sports Stadium, with defending league champions Bibiani Gold Stars staying put at their backyard, the Dun’s Park, to welcome second-placed Heart of Lions FC on Monday.
Today at the TnA Stadium in Tarkwa, Medeama SC will clash with Samartex FC in a Western derby. Other games scheduled for today would see Eleven Wonders FC host Karela United at the Swedru Sports Stadium, while Dreams FC face Nations FC at the Tuba Astro Turf.
By Raymond Ackumey
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Ghana coach Otto Addo may not command the kind of fear and respect like Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Luis Enrique and others in the modern game, but in his small corner, he is gradually climbing the ladder to greatness in Ghana, Africa and the world at large.
The aforementioned coaches attained greatness with club sides and, therefore, open an argument over whether one is not comparing apples to oranges. But no matter how one looks at it, they are all coaches harbouring similar ambitions to attain greatness in their fields.
Otto Addo is one of the young and upcoming coaches holding a lot of promise and was getting experience with his association with Borussia Dortmund in Germany until his path was directed by a Ghana call.
Although he was born in Germany, Otto Addo’s association with Ghana football dates back to 1999, spanning a period of about seven years; commencing with a 5–0 rout of Eritrea on February 28. He gained international prominence when he joined the squad for the 2000 African Cup of Nations. He featured as a midfielder in the team for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
But like it’s often said, a prophet is not recognised in his own home and his efforts partially went unnoticed. He’ll go into the annals as one of the Black Stars coaches to have been fairly or otherwise criticised not just by ‘football people’ but fans who doubted him.
His sack has been discussed at various platforms by people whose knowledge and tactical acumen about the game remains questionable. Ghana’s Minister for Sports and Recreation, Mr Kofi Adams, at one point openly stated his doubts over Otto Addo’s ability to actually deliver.
No coach would feel secured in such turbulent times, but coach Otto Addo kept his calm and composure. On the corridors of his employers, however, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) president, Kurt Okraku, openly rallied support for him, though a few ‘doubting Thomases’ still questioned his credentials.
That painted a picture of a people that forget easily and are quick to crucify. In a brief moment of adversity, Ghanaians forgot how Otto Addo was brought in to pluck qualification for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup from the jaws of the Super Eagles of Nigeria with a solitary goal over two legs.
The upshot of that feat was not one any Nigerian would want to remember. The scenes after the match were awfully chaotic, as fans vented their anger on facilities at the stadium. Back in Ghana, it was partying all night and day.
Otto Addo was labeled the football magician. He achieved something no Ghanaian coach had ever accomplished; a feat which Ghana with her all-time best teams could not attain. That was the climax to which Otto Addo took Ghana football, generating calls to start believing in the Ghanaian coach.
Following that to the World Cup proper was another story altogether. It was, or may have been, our poorest show at any of the four World Cup appearances. And just as it was stipulated in his contract, he bowed out after the Qatar World Cup to mind his Borussia Dortmund business with peace.
But as fate would have it, nature found a way to renew his romance with Ghana football after an unconvincing start to the America, Canada and Mexico dream World Cup under special advisor turned coach, Chris Hughton.
Ghana started the qualifiers on a winning note but not a convincing performance. It was saved by an Inaki Williams goal scored on the sixth minute of additional time against Madagascar at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium. The Black Stars then slumped to a 1-0 defeat at the Stade de Moroni to Comoros to heighten calls for a new technical direction.
Then stepped in Otto Addo when Ghana occupied the fourth position in Group I with three points but with the countries in the group evenly matched.
By Andrew Nortey
