They are heart breakers. The feeling between what their actions or inactions cause your heart to feel and the one that results from a lover leaving you seem different, yet the consequence is the same- rejected, dejected and in pain.
They are Black Stars, the senior national team of the republic of Ghana. When they are in their elements, they can force a president to carry physical cash in an aircraft from Ghana to Brazil.
When I was a little younger, it was a delight to watch them- Abedi Pele Ayew, Tony Yeboah, Tony Baffoe and later Nii Odartey Lamptey, Mohammed Gargo, Osei Kufuor among others. They did not win any trophies, but they were a delight to watch.
Their inability to win laurels was not for lack of scoring goals. They scored, even from unimaginable distances and angles- free kick from the middle of the park and ‘corner to goal’. Mohammed Gargo and Tony Yeboah on my mind. Even when they lost, the refrain on the streets was ‘we lost to a better side.’ Not anymore. Why?
Composition of the Ghana Football Association
For the ordinary observer, it seems well structured with international affiliations to FIFA and Confederation of African Football et al. However, I see a structural cause of our woes in there.
That’s because if you elect the President of an association from a group of football team owners, you can only expect that he or she would have an interest in fielding players from the teams they own in the Black Stars for obvious reasons. If anyone tries to fight this arrangement for obvious reasons, that person will not find favour with those who matter in the FA.
He is no more in office, so I can cite him for instance. The beleaguered Kwasi Nyantakyi owned Wa All Stars while he was GFA president.
I have no doubt that the prevalence of this phenomenon of conflict of interest within Ghana’s FA hinders the selection of the best possible players from our local league or elsewhere. I may not have ready evidence to back this claim, but my colleague sports journalists confirmed my suspicion when I raised it once during a debate.
No wonder even those of us who are not that close to the FA see conflict written all over them anytime they have to select their leadership.
A house divided against itself cannot stand- Abraham Lincoln.
Player selection
As hinted above, deep throat sources associated with the GFA point to intense lobbying for slots in the senior male national team anytime they have to play a tournament. And in many instances, extraneous factors, rather than competence qualify players to be fielded.
In the case of the Ayews- Dede and Jordan, who seem to be the source of Black Stars-induced pain these days, my information is that no GFA President is able to brush aside their father’s influence. This invisible pressure from Abedi Ayew Pele, evidently, led to the inclusion of Andre Dede Ayew in the squad that went to La Cote D’Ivoire for the 2023 African Cup of Nations.
Otherwise, of all the capable and qualified players to play for our senior national team, why would we include an ageing player, who has lost steam in a team whose task was so arduous- break a forty-two-year-old AFCON-trophyless record?
Team cohesion
Another thing. The approach of assembling foreign-based excelling professional football players with Ghanaian antecedents (a.k.a frefrekobo) seems brilliant. But I see it as plucking the low hanging fruits due to the ease of reaching them, without regard to the possibility that the ones up on the tree may be juicier.
Yes. Up on the tree are our brilliant players in the local league. Despite the wretched nature of our football fields, they endanger their feet and other body parts to entertain those who care to watch, to the best of their abilities. But when the time comes for glory, fame and money in international tourneys, we ditch them for fair-coloured boys whose only claim to Ghana is the name they bear.
The local boys, in my opinion, are the answer to the trophy lessness of the Black Stars. Apuu!! You would say. That’s because you are not thinking outside the box. My evidence is in the Black Queens who are on winning ways. From what I gather, those of them who reside outside are very very few- maximum 3.
Imagine having the core team members of the Black Stars based in Ghana. Two Saturdays or Sundays in a month, they meet to play against one team or the other. The result will be cohesion- knowing what to do when and how with one another on any part of the pitch.
Come to think of it, what language do they speak among themselves, when some are born in non-English speaking countries? Especially if they have not learnt the Queen’s language?
Coach selection
Talking about language brings me to the kinds of coaches we have brought in to coach the team in the past. Milovan Rajevac, with an interpreter in tow.
Then a thoroughly socialized Brit with his Ghanaian DNA as a major criterion for his selection, was brought in to coach an internationally-composed team. The result? Scoreless matches. Even when they score through set-up pieces like penalty way earlier in the game, they are unable to preserve their ‘unimaginable’ lead to the end of the game due to ecstatic excitement towards the end.
Camaraderie is missing, thus indiscipline can be found in camp. That’s what I heard. If that was the case, then the point about players don’t respect local coaches has become moot.
When CK Akunor was appointed, I thought it was a brilliant decision. However, he could not deliver. When I discussed with my colleague sports journalists, I made the point that, per my observation, CK could not be blamed entirely for the team’s faux pas. I pointed to the other points I have raised above. We argued it for a while. In the end, they found some wisdom in my position. ‘The GFA is too complex for CK to survive in there,’ they said.
It’s time to go
I know good football when I see one although I am not a football fan. That’s because I don’t get my desired fun in 22 people chasing one ball, sliding each other to the ground, hitting the backs of their heads against each other and sustaining life impairing and threatening injuries in the process, death in some cases where the players have underlying ailments.
Anytime I am asked which football team I support; I mention Accra Hearts of Oak. That’s because my dad introduced me to it- I don’t know anything about them except the fact that the team was established in 1911. In the European league, I used to mention Chelsea as my favourite because Micheal Essien played with them. If they pushed further, I get exposed.
People find it strange that I don’t know football. I guess it is because I am a man. As indicated earlier, I obtain my fun elsewhere. But when it is Black Stars, it is only appropriate that we all support- the women too. However, when your support is rewarded with such painful experiences, who would like to subject him or herself to that?
I noted all the pain with which many of our compatriots spoke about the cluelessness of both coach and players. I don’t know whether you saw the video of a livid grandma that went viral? She was referring to how the Black Stars of yore played. She was so pained. Hence, she booted the air so strongly that I bet she would be surprised at her capability if the video is shown to her later.
That is why I don’t watch matches of today’s Black Stars. I only check scores and join in watching the replay of a goal of ours. Even penalty kicks they miss it sometimes. Therefore, I am unable to look when it has to be taken. Wei!
Therefore, if you see me watching my favourite telenovela series when a Black Stars match is ongoing, please don’t deride me. That’s because in that telenovela, I derive knowledge on how to ‘scheme’ my way into getting what I want in life. I get to know that when you are in need and someone makes a suggestion, it might well be that he or she is the ultimate beneficiary of that proposal. And more.
Those of you who can’t live without football. Notice is hereby served that watching Black Stars, in its current state, is not good for your health.
I won’t comment on the announced efforts by the GFA to recruit a new coach. The reason is that if the causal factors are not addressed, a new coach will only end up increasing the list of former coaches of the Black Stars. The focus should be on the players- how to get them to play as a team. The coach, in my opinion, is a technical guide whose skills become relevant when it matters most.
Once the team is working, a good coach then becomes a bonus. Once again, the Black Queens serve as my evidence.
This is why I have a love-hate relationship with the pain-full Black Stars.
Aurevoir – That’s goodbye in French
Let God lead! Follow Him directly, not through any human.
The writer is the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Columnist of the Year- 2022. He is the author of two books whose contents share knowledge on how anyone desirous of writing like him can do so. Eric can be reached via email eric.ayettey@mediageneralgh.com
The post From Eric’s Diary: My love-hate relationship with the pain-full Black Stars first appeared on 3News – First In News | Ghana News Updates.
