 |
  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
FRONTPAGE VIEWPOINT MAGAZINE BY SECTION Special Report Business Nigeria COVER POLITICS BUSINESS & ECONOMICS BACK OF THE BOOK REGULARS NEIL FORD LETTERS PUBLISHERS NOTE AROUND AFRICA POLITALK WILMOT ADVERTISING Email us for advertising information COMPANY PROFILE MISSION TEAM EDITORIAL BOARD DIRECTORS |
|
|
Click here for the NewsAfrica Special Focus Article Satellites soar to victory ONE OF football’s most captivating fairytales was written in Egypt last month when Ghana’s Black Satellites became the first African team to lift the Under-20 World Cup trophy. The victory came in a 4-3 penalty shootout against Brazil following a zero-goal match and 30 minutes of extra time at Cairo International Stadium on October 16. The feat was even more stunning because Ghana was down to 10 men after central defender Daniel Addo was shown the red card in the first half. Midfielder Agyemang Badu converted the final kick of the tournament to earn Ghana its place in history. Dominic Adiyiah’s award as top scorer and best player added to Ghana’s achievement, exorcising the ghost of defeat it suffered against Brazil in the 1993 finals and Argentina in 2001. Adiyiah, is now set to join European giants AC Milan in January. Not many people would have put their money on Ghana winning, given the controversy surrounding the team before they set off for Cairo. Allegations that coach Sellas Tetteh’s selection of players was based on an ‘ability to pay’ made national headlines, prompting an investigation by the Ghana Football Association. One of the players that Tetteh overlooked was Ishmael Yartey, who had excelled himself at the Under-17 level at both the African championship in Togo and the World Cup in Korea, both in 2007. Tetteh also overlooked 16-year-old Torrick Jibril, star player for Accra Hearts of Oak in the local league. The Black Satellites’ success has made the allegations irrelevant, for now, just as the conspicuous absence of prolific striker Saddick Adams – as a result of a four-month FIFA ban – never proved to be a problem. It has to be said, though, Brazil had the upper hand in the final but wasted glaring scoring chances and fluffed their overwhelming advantage during the penalty shootout. It all added up to what Ghanaians are calling the hidden hand of destiny, one that also seems to have marked Tetteh’s career. For many years an assistant coach to the national team, the Black Stars, Sellas Tetteh’s reassignment to the Black Satellites robbed him of involvement in big time football. Yet the opposite has occurred. He left Egypt with the unique profile of leading the Satellites to three trophies in as many tournaments, losing just once to Angola in June 2008 in the second leg of the African Championship. They triumphed at the African championship in Rwanda in January and swept honours at a West African Football Union (WAFU) competition in Nigeria before completing the treble in Egypt. As the whole nation celebrated the Satellites’ triumph, it must have been a fulfilling moment for the revered Abedi Ayew Pele, three-time African Footballer of the Year and former skipper of the Black Stars. Despite his legendary commitment to the Stars during his heyday, Abedi’s biggest success might have been his role as a teenager in Ghana’s triumph at the African Nations Cup at Libya 1982. As captain of the side 10 years later, he steered Ghana to the final of the same tournament in 1992 only for the team to lose to Cote d’Ivoire on penalties in a barren game he missed through suspension. In 1998, he retired from the national team after Ghana’s disastrous appearance in Burkina Faso. But in Egypt 2009, it was his son, Dede, who as team captain lifted the trophy as FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, presented the Under-20 World Cup trophy to Ghana. |
|
|
|
CURRENT ISSUE 
| |
|
| NEWS AFRICA | [ home | news | archive | advertise | subscribe | contact ] |
Designed, hosted and powered by 247webhost.net