Ghana profit from a brilliant youth programme

Ecstatic joy reigned on West Africa’s Gold Coast on the evening of October 8, 2005. Twenty one million Ghanaians celebrated exuberantly after the first ever qualification by their national team, the “Black Stars”, for a football World Cup. In the main cities Accra and Kumasi people danced in the streets, and Ghana’s President John Agyekum Kufour insisted on transporting the football heroes home in his private jet from the decisive 4-0 win in the Cape VerdeIslands, and then hosting a lavish party for them.

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The World Cup qualification is a national lifesaver for the near-bankrupt African country, which neighbours two other World Cup participants, Togo and Ivory Coast. The former British colony, independent since 1957 and now a member of the Commonwealth, has been on the brink of bankruptcy for years, due to political mismanagement in the last century. In addition there was a dramatic drop in the price of cocoa, the country’s second-most important exports after gold. Now the football players give the country new confidence, and for many hopes of an economic boost.

After all, Ghana defeated the top favourites South Africa, who will host the 2010 World Cup, in Africa Group 2. They won their matches against South Africa3-0 and 2-0. Neither could the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire, stop the triumphant progress of the “Yellow Golds”, considered by many experts to be currently the strongest African team along with Ivory Coast. Serbian coach Radomir Dujkovic must be credited with playing a major role in the success. The 59-year-old successfully coached Rwanda’s national team before he took over Ghana in December 2004.

At that moment half of the qualifiers were completed, and Ghana was one point behind South Africa. Dujkovic immediately took up the “rod of iron” and argued with some of the stars, among them Samuel Osei Kuffour, 29, then one of Bayern Munich’s defenders and now with AS Rome. For disciplinary reasons, Djukovic dropped Kuffour from the squad several times, most recently for the decisive match in the Cape VerdeIslands. Thus he strengthened the team spirit. One draw and four victories in a row in the second round proved the domination of the team, currently in 62nd spot in the FIFA World Rankings (September 2005). They lost only the opening match in Burkina Faso, and ultimately won the group by five clear points.

Ghana has boasted some excellent individual players in the past. First of all Abedi Pele, Africa’s Footballer of the Year three times (1991 to 1993), a Champions League Winner in 1993 with Olympique Marseille, a veteran of 50 Bundesliga matches with 1860 Munich between 1996-98, and recipient of his country’s highest award, “Order of the Volta”. And Anthony Yeboah, who scored 96 goals in 223 matches with Eintracht Frankfurt and Hamburger SV in the 1990s, and was twice the best goalscorer in the German Bundesliga. But the idea of team spirit is new in Ghana’s football. “We always had good players, but only our generation has moulded into an excellent team”, says Ghana’s new superstar, 22-year-old Michael Essien of London’s Chelsea FC.

The defensive player, who graduated from the youth of SC Bastia, moved for a staggering 38 million euro from Olympique Lyon to StamfordBridge in the summer of 2005. According to his agent Fabien Piveteau, the midfielder had also received offers from Manchester United, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, London’s Arsenal, and Juventus Turin. Essien has kept his feet firmly on the ground in spite of all the praise that has made him the most highly rated defensive midfielder in the world. “If some people maintain I would be the best in the world in that position, I simply don’t believe them. But it is right that my wildest dreams are coming true”, Essien disclosed to the French sports newspaper L'Equipe.

Stephen Appiah, 24, is Essien’s congenial partner in midfield. As captain he is responsible for the offensive strategy. He moved from Juventus Turin to German coach Christoph Daum’s Turkish “Süper Lig” club, Fenerbahce Istanbul, for eight million euro last summer. In addition to the two superstars, youngster Sulley Ali Muntari has also attracted attention. The 21-year-old, 1.80m tall, right footed star from Udinese Calcio has long been a regular player with the Italian Champions League participant. At the age of 16, Muntari was already a member of Ghana’s U20 team that finished runner-up at the 2001 World Cup in Argentina. His dynamic play often reminds of Brazil’s Kaka, and his intelligence around the pitch compares with that of Dutch strategist Edgar Davids.

Nineteen-year-old Asamoah Gyan of FC Modena is a heavyweight in the attack. Gyan and Appiah (four each) and Essien (three) scored most of the 17 goals in the qualifiers. Gyan’s attacking partner is mostly Matthew Amoah, 24, of Vitesse Arnheim. And in reserve is Augustine Ahinful 31, of Ankaragücü, one of just three in the squad who are older than 30. The defence is managed by Kuffour, John Mensah, 22, of Chievo Verona, and Emmanuel Pappoe, 29, of Moadan Sport Ashdod/Israel. Two German Bundesliga legionnaires, Hans Sarpei (VfL Wolfsburg) and Ibrahim Tanko (SC Freiburg) also played in the qualifiers, with others, Isaac Boakye (Arminia Bielefeld) and Lawrence Aidoo (Energie Cottbus), on the “waiting list”.

By qualifying for the World Cup, Ghana’s Football Association finally benefits from its excellent youth programme that led to the U17 World Cup titles (1991 and 1995) and two U20 silver medals (1993 and 2001). And the successes also pay off in hard currency: the three-year contract with German sportswear suppliers Puma is worth approximately 10 million euro from 2006.

The footballers will not have time for Christmas celebrations this year, however. The Africa Nations Cup, the African Championship, is scheduled for January in Egypt. And Ghana would like to win the title for the fifth time overall, but for the first time in 24 years. That’s why national coach Dujkovic has set up a training camp for four weeks before, starting on December 19, to prevent the mishap of 2004 when Ghana was eliminated in the qualifications by Rwanda, whose coach then was -- Radomir Dujkovic.

The coaching veteran knows only too well that his job on the Gold Coast is not a save haven. Ghana has had 31 coaches in the 47-year-old history of its Association: among them six Germans, Karl-Heinz Marotzke (1968-70), Karl Weigang (1974-75), Rudi Gutendorf (1986-87), Burkhard Ziese (1990-92 and 2003), Otto Pfister (1993) and most recently Ralf Zumdick (2003-2004).