His young team may have lost narrowly in last week’s Africa Nations Cup final, but, already, Ghana’s coach Milovan Rajevac is moving on. The previously unheralded Serb forged a youthful, resilient unit from diminished resources to take the Black Stars within touching distance of the trophy they have craved since their last continental triumph in 1982. Having gained acclaim and admiring glances from fans, pundits and scouts alike, the next step for Ghana is to re-integrate a tranche of established stars into the hungry, disciplined group which maximised their talents in Angola.
The first step in this process was yesterday’s announcement that versatile Inter midfielder Sulley Muntari would be welcomed back into the fold ahead of the summer’s trip to South Africa. The former Portsmouth man had gone AWOL ahead of the Nations Cup – Rajevac even spent two days in Milan, waiting for Muntari to reply to his calls – and so was unceremoniously dumped from the squad. One of the brightest in the Black Stars’ galaxy, Muntari instead remained with Jose Mourinho’s squad – featuring (to little effect, it must be said) in the Milan derby on the same day as his erstwhile team-mates were downing the hosts in the CAN quarter-finals.
Rajevac has been quick to build bridges – assuring the press that the problem was merely a “misunderstanding” which has now been “sorted”. Pragmatically, the 56-year-old coach said:
“For the World Cup you need players with experience. Players like John Mensah, John Paintsil, Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari. They will be important players for the World Cup.”
“But it depends on how much they want to play, because I want players who are willing to give their best for Ghana.” He concluded: “All the players who got the chance in Angola used it very well so there will be a lot of competition.”
Such a blend of youth and experience can only strengthen Ghana’s claims as the most eminent hope of ‘home’ success at the first African World Cup. Of the other candidates, Paul Le Guen’s Cameroon are perhaps too flaky; Algeria – blessed with a certain amount of capricious talent, but far too erratic; Nigeria – lacking in any cohesion and genuine quality in key positions. As for South Africa themselves; progress from the first phase will be considered a minor miracle in itself. That leaves only the Ivory Coast.
That’s the glamorous, orange-shirted Côte d’Ivoire of the irrepressible Didier Drogba; of the indestructible Yaya Touré; a side of astonishing power, athleticism and no little finesse. Yet Les Éléphants find themselves drawn in a hideously difficult group alongside favourites Brazil, talented Portugal, and the hard-running 11-man defensive blockade that is North Korea. Should they somehow emerge from such a tough section, then, rightly, the Ivorians would feel confident of further progress. However, Coach Vahid Halilhodžić opined, in the aftermath of their Nations Cup exit: “Some of my players can't handle the favourites’ status and the problem is in their heads.”
A better bet, then, would be for the Ghanaians to escape Group D – comprising a German team in transition, ageing Australia and the dangerous Serbia, of whom Rajevac will be acutely aware.
It’s far from a straightforward passage, of course – and England might await in the last 16 – but a squad comprising those who so impressed four years ago in Germany, such as Essien, Muntari, Mensah and the rehabilitated striker Asamoah Gyan, cannot be discounted. Add to the mix a whole host of talented youngsters (or Black Satellites, as they’re known), and Rajevac can boast of a potent formula.
One of the stand-out youngsters in the recent Nations Cup team (though he surprisingly didn’t feature in the official ‘squad of the tournament’) was dynamic full-back Samuel Inkoom, of Swiss club Basle. The callow 20-year-old narrowly missed out on a golden treble with final defeat in Angola, having already triumphed at both the African and World Youth Championships (in Rwanda and Egypt respectively) last year.
Inkoom’s natural style is one of all-out attack; relying heavily on endless reserves of energy and speed to dig himself out of defensive holes when necessary. The effervescent right-back rarely looked out of his depth taking on both Fulham and Roma in this season’s Europa League; featuring heavily in the offensive play of the side he joined only last summer from Asante Kotoko. Fulham’s Paintsil will struggle to reclaim his berth in the Ghana back-line, should Inkoom maintain his vast progress between now and June.
Allied to those of the new generation, including centre-half Isaac Vorsah and exciting midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah, Ghana will also hope to call upon their once-talismanic captain Stephen Appiah – who struggled with injury and, somewhat bizzarely, lack of employment for the past two years, before recently securing a move to Bologna in his second home, Serie A. With all these tools at his disposal, coach Rajevac will be expected to make a serious impression on the global stage in four months time.
Had Egypt managed to successfully negotiate their intoxicating qualifying struggle with neighbours Algeria (though they managed an unedifying measure of revenge in the spiteful CAN semi-final between the North African nations), they’d undoubtedly pose a significant threat to any opponent. Though the Pharaohs won a somewhat parochial battle in Angola, they will be absent from the war – to which the beaten Black Stars will be heading off to fight.
So will Ghana finally become Africa’s first world champions? Not likely. Perhaps the first African finalists? Don’t put your semi-detached on it. But the continent’s best hope of an illuminating run through the earlier stages of the greatest show on earth? Certainly.
No comments:
Post a Comment