Milovan Rajevac – to stay or not to stay?

The Stars are home to a tumultuous welcome. The spirits of fans, players and officials were afloat when the gallant Black Stars touched down at the Kotoka International Airport. Even though the stars were to touch down at 23:00 GMT, chanting fans started gathering as early as 16:00 GMT, setting the atmosphere for an uncontrollable welcome party. As early as 6:00 AM on Tuesday morning, fans were seen having a jam with some of the players at the Aphrodisiac Night Club.

Suarez and his cheating antics may have robbed them off the opportunity to write their names in the history books, but Ghana’s Black Stars will remain the heroes of our time. But the unflinching faith of the team can be summed up in the statement of Captain Stephen Appiah when the team touched down ‘..I am not a prophet, but I can promise you that we shall qualify for 2014 and go to Brazil as title contenders’

While the nation celebrates the incremental successes of the Black Stars, a pertinent question will linger – Will Milovan Rajevac’s contract be renewed?

How I rate the performance of the Black Stars at South Africa 2010

[1] Daniel Adjei: I expected him to keep the bench warm and he did it that job well. With London 2012 and African Nations Cup 2012 approaching, Adjei will have his chance soon (NO RATING)

[2] Hans Adu Sarpei: I expected a good performance from the lateral defender. For me, he was reliable in this tournament. His maturity was admirable. I hope he has enough football in him for one more tournament, African Nations Cup 2012.

Since Sarpei is fast approaching retirement, it might be in the long term interest of Ghana if an alternative lateral defender is cultured with some exposure. Harrison Afful, Jerry Akaminko, David Nii Addy, Ibrahim Morro, Godfred Sakka and a few others could be given the chance. (6/10)

[3] Asamoah Gyan: The pseudo-name ‘odumfukumfu’ is given to one who save you while at the same time kills you. Here in lies the paradox of Gyan; the chap who fetches water for the home, yet ends up braking a lot of pots.

Asamoah gave Ghana the best tournament of his life. He was exceptional on the ball and contributed so much to the game. At 25, Gyan could come good at Brazil 2014. It was rather unfortunate that the Baby Jet could not knock home the penalty which would have taken Ghana to the semi-finals of South Africa 2010 (8/10).

Angola 2010: Believe in yourself – Stephen Appiah tells Black Stars

Stephen Appiah

Injured Ghana captain, Stephen Appiah has urged the Black Stars to believe in themselves as they take on the host nation Angola in the quarterfinals of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations.

He congratulated the Black Stars who, according to him, had surmounted all obstacles to reach this stage.

Stephen Appiah, who is not at CAN 2010 due to injury, heaped praises on the youngsters for showing character and determination to beat Burkina Faso 1 – 0 and as such progressing to face Angola in the quarter final on Sunday.

Black Stars – The dawn of a new era?

Black Stars

Three refreshing and somewhat related news items have triggered a chain of wishful thoughts in my mind these past few days. First, Stephen Appiah has finally signed for Bologna after several months without club action. He can finally

Dominic Adiyiah gets the recognition for the foundations of hard work he laid from his Feteh Feyenoord Academy background through his limelight moments at Heart of Lions to his glorious performances for Ghana’s U-20 at Egypt 2009. He gets the chance to grow younger at A.C. Milan – where the stars never grow old.

Then, the icing on the cake! Milovan Rajevac has gone shopping in Sellas Tetteh’s store of stars – six U-20 players have been invited to play against Mali at Babayara Stadium on the 15th of November. whethere we like it or not, the years pass by, times change and a new era begins. we may be witnessing the dawn of a new era! A watershed moment!

When does losing make people feel good?

Black Stars lined up for a game (courtesy GFA.ORG)

I have been hearing some amazing justifications why it feels good for Ghana’s Black Stars to lose to Les Écureuils (The Squirrels) of Benin since Ghana’s 0-1 loss to Benin on Sunday October 11, 2009 at de l’Amité, Cotonou in the World Cup 2010 qualifier. Why would anyone feel good when his team loses a game? If I did not know the Ghanaian mindset better, I would have been surprised to read or hear such comments. Losing is bad. Period!

 Unless one is putting up a defensive attitude to offset the demoralizing effect of a loss or one is trying to make a point with the loss, losing cannot feel good. Besides the sense of accomplishment one feels after winning anything, a scientific connection has been drawn between  winning any sport game and the production of neurotransmitters (endorphins) that diminish feelings of pain. Endorphins are believed to block pain from reaching the brain. It is therefore a beautiful lie when people claim it is good that Ghana (on a 100% run this year) has lost to lowly Benin.