My torturous sleepless night was because I kept analyzing yesterday’s Ghana v USA game in Natal, Brazil in my head. What possibly went wrong after dominating play?
We didn’t deserve to lose I kept saying to myself. My night was more torturous because I shudder we will crash out of the tournament soon.
There are positives we need to pick from yesterday’s game however and there are negatives which may haunt us again against Germany unless something drastic happens.
Kwadwo Asamoah
I totally disagree with those who feel Kwadwo Asamoah was used wrongly at the left back position. Critics feel that way because in my opinion, he did his job so well people felt he was being useless there.
When he decided to join the attack, he was even more brilliant! I’ll borrow President John Mahama’s words; “very often in Ghana we have a very short memory.”
In the last two African Cup of Nations and the 2006 and 2010 world cup tournaments in Germany and South Africa, I recall how sports journalists, so-called analysts and Ghanaians in general criticised Kwadwo Asamoah for not stepping up in midfield when he is expected the most. Now the same people are clamouring he be put in midfield. Please!
Kwesi Appiah
I don’t want to be labeled one of those who never see anything good with the Ghanaian at the helm. He did an incredible job during the qualification to the world cup.
We scored more goals than any other qualifying team, a sharp contrast from his “One goal project” predecessor Milovan Rajevac.
A caller on Citi FM’s Citi Breakfast Show said something I think was very profound, that Kwesi Appiah has lost to almost all the “big-name” coaches he has encountered.
Recently Dutch coach Louis Van Gaal in an international friendly. But honestly to put it bluntly, yesterday Kwesi Appiah was tactically bankrupt!
I was scandalized by his post-match interview; that he delayed the introduction of Kevin Prince Boateng and Michael Essien because he was hoping the Americans will get tired then they can come and pile more pressure. Like seriously?
Is Kwesi Appiah the only coach who doesn’t know that this US team does not wear down? Obviously, he had no clue about his opponent which is quite shocking.
Again, was it difficult to tell that trying to get the crosses in from the wings targeting Asamoah Gyan wasn’t working? For a whole 45 minutes we kept at it. No results. And Kwesi Appiah looked on and just couldn’t vary his tactics.
In the last world cup in South Africa, Uruguayan coach Oscar Tabarez in an interview said the most difficult team he played was Ghana because we constantly were changing our shape on the field.
That is a mark of good coach in charge of his team. Kwesi Appiah certainly was not in charge, period! Bitter truth is that, if he fails to command against Germany on Saturday 21st July, we will certainly catch an early flight back home.
Lack of concentration
Its amazing that at this level of competition we still talk about lack of concentration among Black Stars players.
This same beast called “lack of concentration” cost us against Uruguay in the 2010 world cup, Italy in the 2006 world cup, the final of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations against Egypt in Angola.
I feel sorry for John Boye who has been one of Ghana’s best central defenders in the last few years. Somehow, he was playing like a zombie yesterday, with both of US goals coming from his territory.
He may finally wake up against Germany and I trust he will, only that his deep slumber has cost us an important game in this tournament.
Ghana v Germany
Germany is the second most successful team at the world cup. And this is not by accident. Former Bolton Wonderers player and manager Michael A. Porter drew an interesting link to the culture of Germans which permeates all aspects of their lives contributing to their successes at the Mundial too. Excellence, efficiency, ruggedness and above all consistency.
Don’t look far, just look at Mercedes Benz, VW, Audi, etc.
The German national team possesses all these in their current team.
So how do we beat such a team? I think there is another factor in football the stars have shown in the last two world cup tournaments we need to bring to bear on Saturday – DETERMINATION! Determination against all odds, play beyond scientific tactics, give 120% more and we will smile after playing the German machines.
By: Nana Boakye-Yiadom/citifmonline.com/Ghana