Hundreds of Al Ain fans surprised Asamoah Gyan at Al Ain Airport at 1am when he arrived from the AFCON
In as much as I welcome constructive criticism(s) as a politician, I must admit that some of these criticisms are doing my head-in because of their irritating nature.
Though I am not in any relation with the Black Stars’ leading striker Asamoah Gyan, I feel the need to come to his defence with the viewing to showing Gyan that he is not alone.
In spite of the many who might not like him just because he has missed two crucial penalty kicks in the national team, there are millions out there who admire and see him as our role model.
Criticism, according to Frank Clark, is like rain, it should be gentle enough to nourish a man’s growth without destroying his root. We will therefore be doing a great disservice to our motherland if we fail to factor Frank’s advice in our criticisms of the Black Stars in general and Asamoah Gyan in particular.
This is because such destructive criticisms could dampen players’ spirits, ruin their football careers, and also deter potential good footballers from playing for the national teams.
It is a fact that Asamoah Gyan is what he is today because of the opportunity given him by the nation. However, as a Ghanaian, Gyan is also entitled to any goodies that Mother Ghana has for her children. It is in the light of this that I caution a section of the public of their utterances against the Black Stars, especially Prince Tagoe and Asamoah Gyan.
As somebody put it, words can make and unmake our future and therefore we should be careful in the choice of words as we share our opinions on the performance of Black Stars in the recent tournament.
Every football fan should by now understand that there are three major things in a football match, that is, win, lose, and draw. Besides, in a tournament like AFCON 2012 where 16 teams were involved, there could only be one winner.
Personally, I don’t think the Black Stars and its technical handlers went to this tournament with the view to occupying the 4th position. The aim was to beat every team to clinch the 1st position (win the tournament) to make Ghanaians happy. Similarly, Gyan who hitherto had carried the senior national team on his shoulders single-handed did not intentionally miss the penalty. I remember how the sporting public received the bad news that Gyan might miss the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations tournament because of the injury he picked in a football match at the club level. But against all odds, his doctors worked behind the clock to ensure that Gyan was available for the tourney. In the tournament itself, Gyan’s commitment was not in doubt even though he was half-fit. We were all witnesses to his courage and skills at the tournament and his penalty miss in the 9th minute of the Ghana – Zambia semi-final match cannot be used as a weapon to vilify and crucify him. That to me will be unfair on our part.
In fact, I admire Gyan for his courage and if 10% of Ghanaians could possess and use Gyan’s courage in their fields of endeavour, this country could be a better place than we find ourselves today. In football and in life, we need courageous people like Gyan, people who can take and bear risks at crucial times. Why do you think Gyan took the penalty and not any other player? Was it the case of one-eyed man in the city of the blind? Well, if a penalty miss should make a player unpatriotic, then renowned players like Lionel Messi, Ronaldo, and Didier Drogba would have retired from active football long time ago. Who doesn’t know that Roberto Baggio, Pele, Platini, Maradona, and Zidane all missed crucial penalties in their playing times? These examples seriously reveal the uncertainties in penalty kicks and therefore Asamoah Gyan should rather be commended for his boldness in taking the penalty kick and not be condemned as such.
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