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Black Stars Show Stripes Of all the images produced by Manchester United's 2-1 win in the Uefa Champions' League final last May, perhaps the most enduring is that of Sammy Kuffour, the Bayern Munich defender, on his knees, pounding the turf with his fist as the final whistle sounded. The Ghanaian had played out of his skin for 90 minutes, only for his team's 1-0 lead to evaporate in stoppage time. His anger, frustration and despair at a missed opportunity was clear for millions watching live or on television to see. The moment summed up the fortunes of the Black Stars, his compatriots at international level: a team of huge potential has frequently fallen at the final hurdle when chasing the big prize. For a country that has spawned a host of world-class players, Ghana's failure so far to reach the World Cup finals has been unpalatable for the nation's football followers. Success in the African Nations Cup and various youth tournaments have underlined the talent available, but it has been left to the likes of Nigeria, Cameroon and Morocco to make the continent's mark on the biggest stage. Nevertheless, Ghana will be among the favourites when qualifying begins for the 2002 tournament in Japan and South Korea. Perversely, the Black Stars' chances may be improved by the recent retirement from inter- national football of two of their greatest players, Abedi Pele and Tony Yeboah. The pair's rivalry and disagreements constantly unsettled the team camp, no- tably in the African Nations Cup finals of 1994 in Tunisia, when their squabbling is believed to have played a part in their defeat in the quarter-final. Both Pele and Yeboah left Ghana for the higher-paying clubs of Europe, as have almost all the country's leading players, a trend common throughout Africa. Of the few to have played in England, Yeboah made the biggest impact, gaining huge popularity during his two years at Leeds United. A £3.4 million signing from Eintracht Frankfurt in 1995, the striker scored 24 goals in 44 league starts, including hat-tricks against Ipswich Town and Wimbledon and a spectacular long-range goal in Leeds' 1-0 win over Liverpool. The Premiership currently contains two other outstanding players born in Ghana. Sadly for the national team, both Marcel Desailly of Chelsea and George Boateng of Aston Villa left the country before starting their careers, and have committed themselves to France and Holland respectively. Desailly was part of the Marseilles side that won the European Cup in 1993, when Pele was among his colleagues. The latter's trickery and pace in attack earned him three consecutive African Player of the Year awards from 1991. He has stepped down, but the family is represented in the national side by his younger brother, Kwame Ayew, the Sporting Lisbon striker. Mention of the name Pele is a reminder of one of Ghanaian football's sadder stories. Having scored twice on his sixteenth birthday when making his debut for Anderlecht of Belgium, and then inspiring Ghana to victory in the Under-17 World Cup in 1991, Nii Lamptey was described by the original Pele, the Brazilian legend, as having the potential to become the world's best. Unable to cope with such high expectations at such an early age on a foreign continent, the striker saw his career spiral downhill, a situation worsened by injury. After failing at, among other clubs, Aston Villa and Coventry City, he is now marooned in the German second division. Other veterans of that 1991 victory, though, have realised their potential. Kuffour, voted the best defender in the Bundesliga last season, may yet get the chance to gain revenge on Manchester United in the Champions' League this season. Another, Mohamed Gargo, has established himself in Italy's top division as a defender at Udinese. Ghana will hope that more high-quality players are on their way to the top: the nation reached the subsequent three Under-17 World Cup finals, winning in 1995 and finishing runners-up in 1993 and 1997. In contrast, their African Nations Cup successes were achieved earlier. Victors in 1963, 1965, 1978 and 1982 (a tally that puts Ghana joint top with Egypt in terms of title wins), they were unable finally to add a fifth earlier this year when co-hosting the tournament with Nigeria. After scraping through the group stages, they were beaten by South Africa in the quarter-finals. That setback led to further criticism of Ghana's persistence with foreign coaches. They were led by Giuseppe Dossena, an Italian, who is the seventh coach from abroad to be tried in the past decade; all four Nations Cup wins came under the guidance of a Ghanaian. How Ghana's long-suffering football supporters would love any coach to lead the team to the next World Cup finals - and Kuffour's fist to be raised in celebration - instead of pounding the turf in despair. |