Barcelona forward Kevin-Prince Boateng has said that he has no regrets over choosing Ghana over Germany at the international level. The 31-year-old started with the German side at the youth level but he thereafter switched his allegiance to the country of his father’s birth before the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.
Boateng’s international career has been shortlived, however, with him not featuring for the Black Stars since the suspension at the 2014 World Cup but he still has no regrets regarding the decision, he told Sky Italia: "I did some things when I was young, of course I'm not very proud of today. Although they are part of me, they were not very positive. In Germany there are many ‘straight’, very correct, and they did not much like my behaviour. So I saw the really long way to get into [Joachim] Löw's plans, so I said to myself. They want me in Ghana and I want to play for the National team. And in the end I made a very right
Ghana manager James Kwesi Appiah claimed that the likelihood of recalling Kevin Prince Boetang is still open for the national team. Regarded as one of the enigmas for Ghanaian football, Kevin Prince Boetang has been unable to satisfy the immense talent at his disposal and he has become something of a journeyman.
He was a regular for the national team before being taken out of the squad in 2014. He has been placed under indefinite suspension for his verbal assault at the coach during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The 31-year-old was found guilty along with Sulley Muntari. It has been reported that only an apology from the player would result in a recall to the national team.
Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has praised the qualities of midfielder Thomas Partey while stating that he could have played for either Manchester City or Manchester United. The Ghana international has developed through the ranks at the Madrid giants and he was recently central to their impressive 2-0 triumph over Getafe in the Spanish La Liga.
Speaking to reporters, Simeone was impressed with the showing of Partey in the centre of the park after influencing both first-half goals scored by Antonio Griezmann and Saul Niguez respectively. He added that the Ghanaian could have quite easily headed to the Premier League in another instance and rates him very highly within the club’s ranks.
Ghana international Christian Atsu has acknowledged that it is difficult to stop Mohamed Salah in his stride with the form he has been exhibiting over the past 18 months. The Egypt international was the standout performer for the Reds last term with 32 goals and 10 assists in the top-flight and he has continued with the same vein of form this season with 13 goals and seven assists during the first half of the season.
Among those, he contributed a goal and an assist in the recent 4-0 thumping of Newcastle United and speaking after that game, Atsu highlighted that it is tedious to restrict the threat from Salah with the ‘very good’ players around him, he said: “It's difficult to stop him as he's a great player plus very good players around him. For him when you have those players around you things become easy. To try to stop him is difficult but you have to make sure you stop all of them and not focus on one player.If you look at their results if Salah doesn't score, Mane scores or Firmino or somebody else.”
Crystal Palace striker Jordan Ayew has said that he is not concerned by the recent goalscoring drought with the Eagles. The Ghana international joined the Eagles on a season-long loan from Swansea City during the summer and he has since started seven of the club’s league matches with Christian Benteke on the sidelines with an injury.
Speaking to Premier League productions, Ayew insisted that he is unperturbed by his failure to contribute to the scoresheet for the south London outfit and he will keep working hard in order to translate his good performances in the form of goals, he said: “I believe in myself and have support from the club, players and gaffer as well.
Arsenal legend Robert Pires has said that Michael Essien was one of the best African players who had graced the Premier League stage during his time at Chelsea. The former Ghana international spent nine years at Chelsea between 2005 and 2014 and in this period, he went on to win two Premier League titles, four FA Cups, one League Cup and the prestigious Champions League crown.
Speaking to Pulse Ghana, Pires was full of praise for the former Blues star and admitted that the Ghanaian was very competitive whenever the Gunners in the centre of the park, he said: “I played against him sometimes and he was very strong, very competitive and a very good player with impact, especially in his position. He had good technique too. You know if you play for Chelsea then it means you have quality and Michael Essien had talent and that's why he was successful at Chelsea.”
Ghana assistant manager Ibrahim Tanko has refuted suggestions that Jordan Ayew and Andre Ayew have been problematic and a bad influence on the squad. Both players have been missing from the Ghana squad for the last 12 months and it is down to a poor disciplinary record. It is reported that both players have created a lot of problems for managerKwesi Appiah, as they are frequently found guilty of not adhering to the camp rules.Tanko has dismissed those reports and has claimed that both players should be back into the national team fold very soon.
Both players possess a lot of quality and it is extremely difficult for a small nation like Ghana, who are just trying to find their feet in world football, to cope without such players. Even though Ghana have been on a strong set of results over the last year, the team recently fell to a loss against Kenya in the African Cup of Nations qualifier. The setback raises concerns about Ghana’s ability to reach the finals. Ghana have also been struggling in terms of scoring goals with the team not managing more than 2.5 goals since beating Congo back in September 2017.
Ghana international Jordan Ayew is pleased to be moving in the right direction with Crystal Palace this term. The marksman joined the Eagles on a season-long loan from Swansea City before transfer deadline day last month and he has since managed to beat Christian Benteke to claim the centre-forward position.
On Saturday, Ayew played just his second game in the Palace shirt but he managed to provide the assist for Wilfried Zaha, who netted the winner in the 1-0 victory over Huddersfield Town. Speaking after that game, he said: “I am pleased because we won; the most important thing is the three points. I have been working really hard since I joined the club.
Ghana favourite Michael Essien has backed Thomas Partey to take up the country’s leadership role on a permanent basis after making immense progress over the past few years. The midfielder has transformed into one of Atletico Madrid’s regulars over the last few seasons and Essien feels the 25-year-old is now ready to lead the national side on a permanent basis.
Speaking to TV3, the recently-retired midfielder is quoted as saying: “There are good players in the team but I think Partey is doing great and he can lead the team. He is doing wonderful with his Club and the National team as well, he
captained the team on a few occasions and I think he will be a good leader.”
Ghana coachKwesi Appiah claims that Senegal and Nigeria have the potential to be a surprise package at the World Cup. Unlike in the last few editions of the World Cup, African teams are not the strongest this year’s tournament. This is due to a mixed run of form for teams like Nigeria. Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco are the other representatives from this continent. The group stages have produced a mixed draw for the African teams; Senegal are in a group containing Japan, Colombia, and Poland. Meanwhile, Nigeria are up against the likes of Iceland and Argentina in the group matches.
A major absentee from the World Cup is Ghana, who have been a steady force when it comes to major international competitions throughout the world. However, there has been an alarming dip in the quality of the Ghanaian national team and this resulted in the team failed to qualify for the World Cup 2018 in Russia. If Ghana had reached the tournament, they would have created a record of reaching the World Cup in succession as they were a strong presence at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Back then,Kwesi Appiah became the first local coach to help the national team reach the finals of the competition.
