A weekend that proved player quality is not the defining Black Stars problem

This weekend, it was almost as if whoever was in charge of the global football script was a Ghanaian, positioned to shut down once and for all a debate we should not even be having in Ghana football.

Hurt by one point from two games against Sudan and an outpouring of frustration at the result, Ghana coach Otto Addo sort to manage expectations of Ghanaian football fans by reminding us the quality of players available to the Black Stars now, is nowhere near what has given us the audacity, in his view, to expect them to beat teams like Sudan and Niger.

Ghana fans, he said are “sometimes a little stuck in the past and we always refer to the past.” He can’t he continued “compare our players who have been playing Chelsea, Barcelona, Juventus, Inter Milan. We had all these kinds of players

I can’t compare them with all due respect to our players now. Maybe they will get there but we are not there now.”

Otto Addo was effectively telling us to simmer down expectations. It was a fair defence from a coach under pressure to explain why two glorious wins in 2026 world cup qualifying in June 2024 have been followed by three hopelessly poor displays in Afcon qualifying marked by a mix of incredibly poor finishing, a complete lack of invention, a lot huffing and puffing and many lamentable defensive errors.

We would get into how the players used the past weekend to firmly contest that view of reduced quality but even before them, we can interrogate that statement and whether Addo himself was not “stuck in the past” and blinded by nostalgia while making that statement.

There are two Ghana teams that Addo could possibly have been referring to when he made that statement.  There was the team that qualified and played at the 2006 world cup which the current Ghana boss was a part of. And then there was the 2010 team that came within a kick of becoming the first African country to reach the semi finals of the world cup.

They were brilliant teams, the embodiment of Ghanaian passion, teamwork and quality. But the greatest quality of those two teams was not the outstanding individuals; it was their amazing attitude, their ability to finish off teams without a fuss, the passion they oozed when they put on the shirt, the organization, the fact that they didn’t leave you in any doubt that they cared and playing for Ghana meant a lot to them/

The 2006 world cup qualifiers was defined by the brilliance and leadership of the former Juventus midfielder Stephen Appiah as it was by goal scoring of the Vittese Arnheim colt hero Matthew Amoah. It benefitted as much from the capacity of Joe Tex Frimpong to emerge from the bench and influence a game as it was by the brilliance of then rising star of Ghana football Michael Essien who joined Chelsea midway through the qualifiers. When Asamoah Gyan and Sulley Muntari had the profound impact they did on the 2006 world cup, they were not at Inter Milan or Barcelona. They were still basically cutting their teeth with Udinese, a profile you could say fits a lot of players in the present generation.

Even in 2010, that world cup team was not packed with global superstars strutting their stuff. Asamoah Gyan was really coming into his own at Stade Rennes. The 2010 world cup gave him a lift. Kevin Prince Boateng had given his career another lift at Portsmouth. It was after the tournament that his days of AC Milan and Barcelona came. That team, was the handiwork of Milvan Rajevac who put big names in their place, prioritized team work and was not afraid to give youngsters a chance. That is why the likes of Jonathan Mensah, Samuel Inkoom and Andre Ayew got so many minutes.

In fact, you could make the case that our worst world cup campaign was founded on the very idea that you need talents at Chelsea, Juventus and others to do well. In 2014, Kwesi Appiah made the mistake of thinking that way without figuring out his team harmony. So, he picked Kevin Prince Boateng when he had abandoned the team, drafted in Michael Essien who was nearing the powers of his form and Sulley Muntari when he didn’t much need for them. That plus the explosive subject of allowances and bonuses caused the most shameful cocktail Ghana has been served at tournaments.

So, no, it is not true that the expectation of the current Black Stars fan is not commensurate with the quality at the team’s disposal. It is a realistic expectation. And we see the evidence every week.

Gary Lineker called Fatawu Issahaku a special talent and doesn’t understand why he doesn’t understand often. Inaki Williams did what he barely does for Ghana; slotting away half chances with casual ease for Atletico Bilbao. Antoine Semenyo looked way more decisive, efficient and at ease with both feet for Bournemouth. In Holland, Ibrahim Osman showed why he is held in high esteem with a brilliant display of pace, power, a direct approach and end product with a goal and two assists. There were performances of note from Gideon Mensah in France, Christopher Baah did his thing in Belgium.

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The above examples are by no means to claim that the present crop of players are playing at the level of what Michael Essien delivered for Ghana at the 2006 world cup or what Asamoah Gyan provided for Ghana in 2010. There is no Sulley Muntari in the current team either but it is not for a lack of talent because their club careers even this early suggest the talent is not the missing link.

So hopefully Otto Addo can work on the grit, the determination, the teamwork, the concentration so the Black Stars stop conceding poor goals because this the players are not at that level yet falls flat in the face of multiple evidence from our past and from the international football scene.

The post A weekend that proved player quality is not the defining Black Stars problem first appeared on 3News.

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