Asamoah Gyan met expectations at Sunderland
GHANAsoccernet.com columnist Nii Ayitey Tetteh submits his terminal for Ghanaian players abroad after the just ended season.
There were times when they brought joy to your hearts, they had you screaming and punching the air with careless abandon, sometimes they made your heart beat faster, then there were the occasions they got under your skin and made you clench your teeth or bite your nails in anxiety.
Such were the emotions of fans of the beautiful game in the past 9 months as footballers in the various European leagues served up sizzling entertainment.
For us here in Ghana, our interest lies in how Ghanaian players in particular fared in Europe and on the international scene.
Did they make any significant contributions to the success of their teams or they came up short.
Sit back as I present to you my picks for esteemed and not so esteemed mentions.
Discovery of the Season:
A tough category to begin with. Last year, I went to the Accra Sports Stadium to watch the Black Satellites engage Benin in the final qualifier for the African U-20 Championship.
I had gone specifically to see if Jordan Ayew was worth the hype. Well, he didn’t exactly get my blood pumping.
Rather, it was another young man who caught my attention and I salivated at the prospect of his imminent progress. Step back Michael Essien, a new king would be in town soon. His name is Afriyie Acquah of Italian side Parlermo.
He is strong in the tackle, possesses a great first touch and commendable spatial awareness.
Afriyie just lost the Italian cup final to Inter Milan but for breaking into the Palermo first team and making 11 appearances late in the season, he is no doubt my discovery of the season.
Flop of the Season
This is a toss-up between Sulley Muntari and John Pantsil. Well, the thing with statistics is that though there is always a margin of error, it comes in handy just when you need it.
For scoring three own goals, a record-equalling feat in the English Premier League, Fulham’s Pantsil shades it over Muntari who was also sorely disappointing after his loan move to Sunderland from Inter Milan.
Comeback of the Season
This was always going to be a difficult one. Do I go for Daniel Opare or Prince Tagoe? Well, it is Prince Tagoe for me.
After the World Cup flop, the ‘Prince of Goals’ made fleeting appearances for Hoffenheim.
Come the January transfer window, Tagoe packed his bags and headed for Serbia.
In Partizan Belgrade, Tagoe found a new home where he flourished. He scored 12 goals in 18 appearances, quite a remarkable feat considering it was achieved in the second half of the season.
Tagoe, as we say in the local parlance “e dey bee for you k3k3”
Defender of the Season
This award fully fits Daniel Opare as a glove. He made over 20 appearances for his new club Standard Liège after enduring a torrid time at Castilla (Real Madrid Reserve Team).
He contributed significantly to Liège winning the Belgium Cup and placing 2nd in the league. His decision to move to Belgium has served him well, even earning a call up to the Black Stars.
Midfielder of the Season
So he scored only two goals in 38 games, but do not be deceived, Kwadwo Asamoah played a huge role in ensuring his club, Udinese, qualified for next season’s UEFA Champions League.
He played in a rather withdrawn role and for a player gifted with such immense talent and vision; his efforts have not gone unnoticed.
No surprise he is on AC Milan’s shopping list. If Kwadwo could add goal scoring to his game and he would be onto big things at Milan, if that move eventually materialises.
Goal of the Season
The manner, importance and the timing of the goal is what makes Asamoah Gyan’s silky strike in injury time against England the stand out goal of the season.
With the game slipping out of Ghana’s hands, Gyan virtually danced his way through a crowd of English legs before picking his spot and placing it at the blind side of Joe Hart to level the score in the historic friendly.
That was pure magic! I can watch that goal a thousand times and not get bored.
Move/transfer of the Season
After an impressive World Cup, Kevin Prince Boateng moved from then relegated English side Portsmouth on loan to Ac Milan via Genoa.
Phew! That was windy right? However, he made the most of it with 26 appearances and three goals as Milan claimed the Italian title.
Now that the move has been made permanent, we can hope to see Kevin a little more settled and also earn more caps than the mere two he made in Ghana’s jersey over the course of the season.
Most exciting player of the Season
Castro again o o, featuring Baby Jet! No, I am not about to do a rendition of Castro and Asamoah Gyan’s Hiplife song, African girls.
No, I have no such intentions. I would spare your ear drums the cacophony.
I would leave that to Sunderland striker cum musician Asamoah ‘Baby Jet’ Gyan. He sings, he scores goals and celebrates by doing dance steps with his ‘back on’. How much more exciting can it get?
Gyan provided full entertainment rivalled by none.
Kevin Prince Boateng tried to score points in injury time by mimicking Michael Jackson’s moonwalk steps to celebrate AC Milan’s annexation of the Scudetto but it was a little too late.
The popular choice is ‘Baby Jet’. Even Linda, Barbara, Monica, Diana and Gifty couldn’t agree more.
Young player of the Season
It has to be Jordan Ayew, no doubt. Following in his brother, Andre’s footsteps, the younger Ayew held his own over the season, making 21 appearances and scoring two goals as Marseille placed second in the league and won the French Cup.
For the 19-year-old the future is definitely bright. Word of advice Jordan; you can cry a river all you want but not when game is on.
I hope this award doesn’t elicit another bout of tears. Oops! What did I just do?
Player of the Season
The toughest decision I had to make. Three players were in the running; Kwadwo Asamoah, Kevin Prince Boateng and Andre ‘Dede’ Ayew.
21 year old Dede however is my undisputed choice for Ghana’s player of the season in Europe.
The main reason I chose him ahead of the others is largely due to the fact that he was more of an influence for his team over the course of the season.
Making 36 appearances and scoring 11 goals, Dede showed passion, skill and enough drive to aid Olympique Marseille’s annexation of the French cup and to 2nd position in the league.
He was also crowned Olympique Marseille’s Player of the season. Kudos brother!
P/s. No award was given for goalkeeper of the season because Richard Kingson, Stephen Ahorlu and co. didn’t pull their weight enough to merit an award.
Are you in agreement or is there an award I have omitted, maybe ‘benchwarmer of the year’, let me know.
Nii Ayitey Tetteh
niiayitey29@gmail.com
Read more here:
Feature: End Of Season Awards For Ghanaian Players Abroad