An African problem, or what?
An issue that has over and over again compelled analysts of African football to rack their brains came up for discussion at a forum in Accra last week.
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The forum, attended by the movers and shakers of Ghana football, was an interactive session with world-acclaimed manager, Ottman Hitzfeld, as part of a programme put together by Allsports, a sports news platform.
Renowned Ghanaian manager, Ben Kuofie, wanted the opinion of Hitzfeld on why African countries, in spite of upsetting reigning world champions at World Cup tournaments, never made it to the final, let alone emerge as champions.
He cited Algeria’s triumph over Germany in 1982, Cameroun’s earth-shaking humbling of Argentina led by the legendary Diego Maradona in 1990, and Senegal’s exercise in courage that brought high-flying France down to earth in 2002.
Of course reference was made to Ghana’s conquest of the Czech Republic and the United States of America, then ranked second and fourth best in the world respectively, before Germany 2006.
Hitzfeld’s response was straight to the point. He identified the inability of African countries to sustain the momentum of such victories, and the loss of focus when it mattered most, as some of the causes.
I would like to add that in some cases we have tended to show too much respect to countries of the developed world, even when the pendulum appeared to be swinging in our favour.
As we prepare to make our third consecutive World Cup appearance, I’ve heard people express lack of confidence in the Black Stars to progress beyond the group stage. The presence of all-conquering Germany and Portugal that boast the much-dreaded Cristiano Ronaldo in our group simply gives them goose bumps.
Football-crazy Ghanaians have every reason to dread an encounter between this country and either Germany or Portugal. Personally, I feel apprehensive about our opening game against the US more than the subsequent ones against Portugal and Germany.
Fact is, the match against the US is going to be a very difficult one, because the outcome will define the fate of either team at Brazil 2014. The Americans will, for sure, not exit the World Cup the third time running at the hands of Ghana without a fight.
I have always cautioned against people assuming that because we beat the US in 2006 and 2010, a third victory is a matter of course. Victory can go either way, although it must be stressed that Ghana has a psychological advantage.
As for the US team talking too much ahead of the big clash, it must be seen as a mind game to help them roll back a psychological barrier. However, as has been stated already, we need not be taken in by any false sense of certainty.
As far as the matches against Germany and Portugal are concerned, people need not throw up their hands in despair.
Just as Cameroun, Senegal and Algeria succeeded in making nonsense of the class of Argentina, France and Germany respectively, Ghana can also rise to the occasion at Brazil 2014.
At the end of the day, it will all come down to how to sustain the momentum of big stage conquests, focus and the desire to die for a slice of history.
The can-do spirit can go a long way in making big things happen.