15 April 2011
The progress of Ghanas senior national team the Black Stars over the past five years present the perfect picture perception of the country.
Quarter-finalists at the 2010 World Cup and finalists at the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola in the same year are the highlights with the recent away 1-1 draw with England showing progress in the countrys game.
In the latest Fifa ranking, Ghana is ranked 15th worldwide and first in Africa and this adds to the notion of a pleasant picture of the countrys game.
But beneath the facade is an unmistakeable anxiety.
The Black Starlets, the countrys U17 side, were knocked out of the qualifiers by Senegal which started the nose dive for the other sectors of football in the country.
Sudan booted out the Olympic team from the qualifiers and the CHAN team bombed out in the first round of the tournament without even drawing a game let alone win a match.
Now the countrys U20 side the Black Satellites have got the chance to salvage something for Ghana otherwise the quest for the Black Stars squad to continuously evolve with talented players would not be achieved.
The reigning U20 can salvage Ghana football on two fronts if they manage to qualify for the World Cup in Colombia later this year as the Africa Youth Championship starts in South Africa.
The main objective is to win the tournament in South Africa but the most important goal is to qualify for the World Cup and they have a hard act to follow.
Their predecessors swept the field winning the WAFU 20, Africa U20 before going on to clinch the world title under coach Sellas Tetteh.
With players like Dominic Adiyiah, Andre Ayew, Jonathan Mensah, Samuel Inkoom and the rest, they were able to conquer the world which now puts pressure on the squad led by Hearts of Oak star Mahatma Otoo to match the standard.
The squad faintly mirrors the Andre Ayew era with some experienced players at the high level including Otoo and his club team-Karim Alhassan.
Then there are about eight foreign-based players in the team who have acquired the necessary experience to be able to give a good account of themselves.
In Richmond Boakye Yiadom and Kwame Adebayor Nsor, the Black Satellites have the well-built good finishers who Ghana can count on for goals, sharply contrast the typical physique of Ghanaian players .
Even though there are several qualified top players like Jordan Ayew of Marseille, Afriyie New Essien Acquah of Palermo and Manchester Citys Abdul Razak missing from the squad because of club commitment, the present team should be able to at least qualify for the World Cup and that is by finishing among the top four.
If coach Orlando Wellington and his lads are able to achieve that goal, hope for Ghana football and local coaches will be revived after the three disasters of the Black Starlets, Black Meteors and the local Black Stars.
The Black Satellites good showing in the tournament can help some of the boys break into the Black Stars especially if they qualify for the World Cup and Ayew, Acquah and Abdul Razak join the squad.
The expectation is high given our recent history in the tournament but frankly the yardstick should be a World Cup place.
