Ghana is classified internationally as a football nation. A nation that is blessed with so many potentials in football. Decades over decades, there have being players who starts their journey with lots of promise from the juvenile levels, giving lots of hope that they will be able to shine and rise to the apex in international football. Some of these factors are the reason why our Black stars are in a deplorable state such that after qualifying for world cup, we are begging dual citizens and Ghanaians born abroad to come and play for us.
Dating back to the 90’s, the likes of Nii Odartey Lamptey, Awudu Issaka, Emmanuel Bentil and Owusu Afriyie ‘Bayie’ were all tipped for greatness from the juvenile tournaments they played for the country, however, they were not able to replicate that in the various clubs they played and ended their careers abruptly.
Fast forward, this menace again resurfaced in the 2000’s as Ghana also had prominent players that showed lots of promise in the youth levels but has failed as professionals in their football careers.
Very prominent among them include Dominic Adiyiah. After winning the golden Boot in Fifa u 20 tournament and getting a big money move to Ac millan, Adiyiah had never be able to stay relevant in any club he has played and have change a whole lots of clubs. Today, he plays in the second division in the Thailand League.
Another name that comes close to Adiyiah is his striking partner, Ransford Osei. He was the silver shoe winner in u 17 tournament. Osei struggles with all the clubs he played. We can talk of Saddick Adams, Daniel Opare, Fred Adu who naturalised for United States of America and now works in a nightclub.
Recently, the case of Aminu Mohammed who was transferred to the Etihad Stadium from Wafa for about $2million. The youngster have struggled in all the loans that he has played and have been released by the Cityzens. These are the things that is weighing our black stars down as the quality that we need are not manifested in our numerous players based on several reasons. The Football Association must prioritise the transfer and monitoring of our youngster who will be transferred to Europe and help in their growth and development. One big question is, why are the North America players able to play and excel even at young age in big clubs but our brothers are not able to? Hmmm, only God knows.
