The Black Stars of Ghana enter the Mali 2002 competition for the 14th time and with one of the best all-time records. Ghana jointly holds the record of four winner’s titles with Egypt, and boast of three other appearances in the final of finals, making it a total of 7 total appearances in the final of the African Nations Cup. This means that apart from the up-coming competition, which kicks off in a couple of days, the Black Stars have failed to make it to the very final game just 6 times. 

This is indeed a remarkable record and thus connoisseurs of the game usually expect Ghana to do well at the tourney. However, since 1992 Ghana has failed to perform to expectation and for the first time probably, Ghana is not a likely favorite to win the trophy. 

Many factors have contributed to the sub-par performance of the Black Stars in recent times. Inconsistency and the lack of adequate preparation has been the bane of the Black Stars and the authorities have failed to arrest the situation with more pragmatic policies. For example, during the qualifiers for Mali 2002, Ghana used a total of 42 players in the various qualifiers. Out of this number only 12 are included in the squad for Mali. During these same qualifiers, two coaches were in charge of the team at various times – Cecil Jones Attuquayefio, who incidentally was Africa’s coach of the year or 2002 and veteran trainer Fred Osam Duodo, who is also the current coach.

In preparing for Mali 2002, the Ghana Football Association planned for 17 games to help determine the right blend of players for the competition in a bid to make an impact. Unfortunately only five matches have been played so far. The result of the preparatory exercise has yielded a squad of very young and inexperienced players who are expected to see the Black Stars through the competition. The Ghanaian soccer authorities indicate that this is the beginning of long-term preparations for Ghana to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. Ghana has never qualified for the World Cup at the senior level but continues to be a force to reckon with at the junior world cup level. 

Ghana will be represented in Mali by 10 locally based players, five of whom are from top club Accra Hearts of Oak, and 12 foreign-based players some of who are graduates of the U-21 side that won the silver medal at the 2001 U-21 World Cup staged at Argentina. Notable among these players are Derek Boateng, who plays for Panathinaikos in the Greek First Division, Abdul Ibrahim Razak, who plays Serie B side, Empoli and Michael Essien, one of the main midfield architects of French side Bastia. Also included in the Ghanaian team is goal-scoring phenomenon Ishmael Addo, who has won Ghana’s premier league goal king for the third consecutive time, scoring 22 goals which includes 3 hat-tricks. These star players average 20 years in age. 

The Ghanaians also possess a little bit of experience with the inclusion of Bayern Munich star and aspiring African Footballer of the Year, Sammy Kuffour. Emmanuel Duah, who plays for Unaio Lieira in the Portuguese league is also one of the experience players as well as Hearts of Oak’s Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour, the Captain of the team, and who is the record holder for the highest number goals scored in an African Champions League competition. Most of the other players are relatively unknown, but may be good enough materials to display the Ghanaian soccer artistry well known over the years. There is no question about the abundance of skillful talents in the Ghanaian game, but the failures of administration and organization may well take its toll on the Black Stars as they go to Mali.

Many of the more experienced star players of the Ghanaian side are missing, either through injury or were not invited by the technical handlers of the side. Stephen Appiah who plays for Parma in Italy’s Serie A and who was one of Ghana’s top scorers during the qualifying matches is out of the competition as a result of injury. Also missing form the Ghanaian side is Charles Amoah who plays for Austrian side Sturm Graz, Samuel Johnson, a midfield pillar at Fenerbahce, Christian Gyan of Feyenoord Rotterdam (Holland), former captain Charles Akonnor of Vfl Wolfsburg (Germany), Alex Nyarko of AS Monaco (France), Mohammed Gargo of Udinese (Italy) and Augustine Arhinful who is the leading scorer of the Turkish league and who plays for Ankaragucu.   Ghana thus lack experience and consistency going into the competition and is not considered a favorite to win the competition with the squad that has been presented. Coach Fred Osam Duodo, a veteran trainer with an African Nation’s Cup title in 1978 would have a lot to do to see the Black Stars perform to their potential in the competition. Ghana is placed in Group B with other African giants, Morocco and South Africa as well as Burkina Faso. A lot depends on how Ghana fares in her first two games, which will be against the Moroccans and then the South Africans. If Ghana is able to pick up three points at least from these two games, they may well on their way to the quarterfinal of the competition. Otherwise, it remains an uphll task for the Black Stars to surmount the competition in that group. The Black Stars will be based at Segou where they will play most of their group matches.
Ghana Factfile:

FIFA
RankingsAfrica – 9th 
World – 59th
(for other rankings see here)

Qualifying results
* Preliminary round - bye. 
* Mini-league - Lesotho 3-1 home, 3-3 away, Zimbabwe 4-1 2-1, Democratic Republic of Congo 3-0 1-2

Appearances: -  14 Times - ’63, ’65, ’68, ’70, ‘78, ’80, ’82, ’84, ’92, ’94, 
’96, ’98, ’00, ‘02

Record

1963 - winners, 1965 - winners, 1978 – winners, 1982 - winners 
1968 - runners-up, 1970 - runners-up, 1992 - runners-up
1996 – fourth
1994 - quarterfinals, 2000 - quarterfinals
1980 - first round, 1984 - first round, 1998 - first round, 
 

All-Time Matches  P W D L F A 
GHANA   53   31-9-13   76-46

Squad according to jersey numbers:

Goalkeepers: 
12. Sammy Adjei (Hearts of Oak)
James Nanor (Hearts of Oak) 
22. Abubakari Kankani (Ghapoha)

Defenders: 
19. Kofi Amponsah (PAOK Salonika/Gre) 
14. George Blay (Standard Liege/Bel) 
Mohamed Hamza (Real Tamale Utd) 
Samuel Kuffour (Bayern Munich/Ger) 
John Mensah (Genoa/Ita) 
Amankwah Mireku (Hearts of Oak) 
15. Princeton Owusu-Ansah (Obuasi Goldfields) 
21. John Pantsil (Berekum Arsenal)
Midfielders: 
7.   Matthew Amoah (Vitesse Arnhem/Ned) 
9.   Prince Amoako (Saturn/Rus) 
16. Emmanuel Duah (Uniao Leiria/Por) 
8.   Michael Essien (Bastia/Fra) 
20. Razak Ibrahim (Empoli/Ita) 
Emmanuel Osei Kuffour (Hearts of Oak)
Strikers: 
18. Ishmael Addo (Hearts of Oak) 
13. Isaac Boakye (Goldfields) 
10. Derek Boateng (Panathinaikos/Gre) 
17. Baffour Gyan (Slovan Liberec/Cze) 
11. Alex Techie-Mensah (Neuchatel Xamax/Swi)

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*Hearts Of Oak are one of the leading, if not the leading football club in Ghana, winners of the African Champions League 2000.