Sports
Gyan’s Himalayan hurdle to Qatar
Gyan – Eyeing a return to the Black Stars
Asamoah Gyan is a house-hold name in Ghana, and for many years – even decades to come, he would remain so.
If for nothing at all, he is the nation’s top-most goal poacher (51) for the Black Stars and Africa’s highest scorer at the global stage (World Cup) with six goals. Indeed, he is celebrated worldwide by football’s disciples.
Indeed, many Ghanaians have been waiting patiently for the former Liberty Professionals, Udinese, Rennes, Sunderland and Al Ain striker to broadcast his retirement from the sport that gave him so much fame. But that mega-announcement never game. Instead, Gyan – perhaps, stunned the world last week when he declared his intention to do his last hurrah at the Qatar 2022 World Cup in November with the Black Stars.
According to the enigmatic Gyan, he had begun a strenuous training regime that should put him in grand shape for possible selection into the Stars’ squad. But that decision had been met with mixed feeling from the public – majority of whom were in opposition to Gyan’s return as they cited various reasons including raucous events that led to Ghana’s first round exit at the 2014 World Cup tournament in Brazil.
One of the people to bark against Gyan’s intended plans for Qatar is the former Minister of Youth and Sports under whose administration the Black Stars’ camp in Brazil caught fire, culminating in his sack by then President John Mahama.
“Asamoah Gyan was the Black Stars’ captain and told me that they can’t concentrate because the money issues have become a distraction and until they get their money, they can’t concentrate. The money issue was the main factor we encountered in Brazil,” Mr Afriyie Ankrah stormed.
Indeed, the players had held the nation to ransom at the Brazil 2014 World Cup, demanded their appearance fee be paid without which they were not going to train ahead of the last group game against Portugal. . They held on to their threat.
Also to kick against Gyan’s manoeuvres is owner and bankroller of King Faisal, Alhaji Karim Grusah.
“Personally, I don’t support his decision to play for the Black Stars at the World Cup. He should rather join the team as an ambassador or advisor,” he told the media.
However, the 36-year-old Gyan – known popularly as Baby Jet, is drawing strength from the exploits of Cameroonian legend Roger Milla – whose heroics at the 1990 World Cup, where he scored four goals for his country, is still etched on the minds of thousands across the world.
Unlike Gyan, Milla was very active before being drafted into the Cameroon national team – the Indomitable Lions. He had been active in the Réunion Islands, playing for St Pierre FC.
This was shortly after he had announced his retirement from international football, having inspired Cameroon to win the 1988 Nations Cup.
Obviously, the same cannot be said about Gyan who has not kicked a ball in a long while.
In November 2020, the Ghanaian legend returned to his home country’s domestic league for the first time since 2003, signing a deal with Legon Cities which was reportedly worth more than $1million.
Many had tipped him to spray the league with goals, but alas, that was not to be. His weight had depleted his sharpness in front of goal.
No wonder, he played six matches in all with no goals, nor assists. Put together, Gyan played 103 minutes in all, 79 minutes in the league and the rest, an FA Cup game against Uncle T United.
His first game was against Dreams FC at Dawu, on December 5, 2020 where he made a second half appearance; played eight minutes and also featured against them in the second round.
Gyan played two matches against Asante Kotoko for combined minutes of 47. Again, against WAFA in Legon Cities’ shirt, he lasted one minute on Matchday 25. That is not looking good for a player who wants to work his way back.
Anyway, the betPawa Ghana Premier League starts next month. Let us see what he brings on; that is if he gets hooked to a club. Perhaps, too, it would have been more honourable taking a bow now.
PlainTalk with John Vigah
Ghana Premier League side, Nations FC, may have suffered the drop in the just ended Premier League and are destined for a fresh campaign in the Division One League (DOL).
But they stand a huge chance of remaining in the elite stage of the game as they face Dreams FC in an epic MTN FA Cup final at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium tomorrow at 6pm.
Dreams FC have been there before; going ahead to taste the honours in the 2022-23 season after defeating King Faisal.
Coming from a season that saw them crawl from the initial stages of the league to finish on a respectable fourth position, they come in as strong favourites to double their honours in the nation’s second top football competition.
History favours them in this regard. On their first final, they conquered and based on this, connoisseurs of the game have tipped them to make it ‘two-on-two.’
But Nations FC have been empowered by the age-old adage that “He that is down need fear no fall.”
Nothing can be worse than suffering relegation and exiting the limelight as far as exposure is concerned.
But the FA offers a decent opportunity to make them stay relevant.
Conquering Dreams FC would not just make them MTN FA Cup champions. It will grant them the prestigious slot to represent Ghana in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) second tier club competition- the Confederations Cup.
With Dreams FC harbouring the same ambitions, the stage is, therefore, set for a final that promises to be explosive and uncompromising.
The situation of Nations FC might have come to many as a surprise, considering their promising start to the season, with their defence especially, marshalled by Black Stars defender, Razak Simpson, and colleague central defender, Raymond Grippman, earning a lot of reviews.
But despite the struggles they endured at certain times of their campaign, the MTN FA Cup always provided slices of good fortunes as they managed to navigate their way to the final.
Road to the top
Nations FC began the MTN FA Cup competition on a promising note, enjoying some good runs with a win over DOL Zone Two side, Ebony FC, in the Round of 64.
That landed them in a tricky encounter with another high-flying Zone Two candidate, AshantiGold SC, a side that eventually won the title from the zone to qualify to the Premier League, but escaped.
At the round of 16 stage, they encountered and defeated Ghana Premier League side, Swedru All Blacks, 2-1 to gain progression to the quarter final stage where they edged Berekum Chelsea on penalties.
A dicey semi-final awaited them against Aduana FC in Swedru. It was a game Nations was given little chance to escape considering Aduana FC’s form but once again, they conquered to secure a final berth.
In total, the Abrankese-based club have scored eight goals and conceded only two throughout the competition, making them one of the strongest defensive sides in the tournament.
For Dreams FC, they defeated Division One League Zone Three side, Semper Fi, 2-1 to progress to the next stage of the competition where they accounted for Division Two side, Asanska FC, 2-0.
That handed them a quarterfinal berth where they faced Inter Allies and drew one all before winning 4-3 on penalties.
The happiest moment in their success story was a 3-2 semi-final win over GPL winners, Medeama SC.
With that feat, Dreams have been touted as potential winners as the match comes at a time the Nations FC side may be psychologically down over the weight of the challenge they face in the next season.
However, the competition has gain notoriety for not following any form guide and outcomes mostly coming as major surprises.
In this regard, Dreams may be tipped as favourite candidates but though Nations are wounded, the stakes could revive an insatiable desire to apply the brakes to turn the dreams of Dreams FC into a nightmare.
Support
The support from MTN Ghana has no doubt improved competition among the clubs with the attractive incentive packages for participating clubs.
MTN Ghana, which is celebrating 30 years of operations in Ghana, formally became headline sponsors of the Ghana FA Cup in the 2010/2011 football season after the competition had returned from an eight-year hiatus.
The first edition under MTN sponsorship was won by Nania FC, who defeated Asante Kotoko 1–0 in the final at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Since then, the competition has been known as the MTN FA Cup, with MTN renewing its sponsorship several times — in 2013, 2017, 2020 and again for subsequent seasons.
By Andrew Nortey
The Black Stars have opened camp in Cardiff ahead of next week’s international friendly against Wales.
The team is being taken through training drills by head coach Carlos Queiroz.
Thirteen players trained at Dragon Park on Monday, with others expected to join the squad on Tuesday.
They include Ernest Nuamah, Brandon Thomas-Asante, Jordan Ayew, Caleb Yirenkyi, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, Elisha Owusu, Gideon Mensah, Marvin Senaya, Jerome Opoku, Benjamin Asare, Joseph Anang, Solomon Agbasi, and Alidu Seidu.
The Black Stars will train in Cardiff for one week ahead of the international friendly against Wales on Tuesday, June 2, before traveling to the United States of America.
Coach Carlos Queiroz will use the period to assess his players before naming his final squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Twenty-six players will be submitted to FIFA on Monday, June 1, as mandated by the competition regulations.
The Black Stars are drawn in Group L with Panama, England, and Croatia. They will open their World Cup campaign against Panama on June 17 in Toronto before facing England and Croatia in their other group matches.
