CHAN: The turning point!

Suddenly, a crazy soccer nation such as our beautiful Coast of Gold made heroes of the gallant raw talents that took up the mantle to defend the nation at the African Nations Championship (CHAN) which ended in South Africa last Saturday.

The courageous fighting spirit that drove the local Black Stars through to the grand finale forced the citizens of South Africa to join hands with the Black Stars supporters to throw their weight behind the team which displayed such admirable qualities.

My good friend, Maxwell Asabir, a very vocal Phobian supporter and an ardent sports analyst, was extra quick in calling on the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to adopt a policy which would enforce the selection of, at least, three local Black Stars as a sign of promotion to every future senior Black Stars selection. He was very loud on "Asempa FM" the other day on account of the team’s heroics at the tournament. They deserved all the plaudits!

Yes, on the whole, the Stars scored only four goals in regulation time right from the group stage to the final where they lost the cup to Libya. And that was remarkable. The one-goal project worked to perfection. The only goal deficit they suffered was a penalty converted by Libya - the team that eventually won the CHAN trophy - at the group stage. 

Some die-hard fans who sat back to watch all the proceedings admired the prowess of the team and even went to the extent of calling on President John Mahama to quickly order for the arrangement of a jumbo jet to convey over 500 additional supporters to South Africa to add to the supporters who were already singing and dancing to boost the morale of the men on the field to bring home the cup.

That was after the Stars had eliminated their Nigerian counterparts in the semi-finals on penalties. In fact, all looked so smooth for the grabbing of the trophy which had eluded them since 2009 when the competition commenced in Cote d'Ivoire. Nobody can tell whether the additional 500 vociferous supporters could have whipped up the team's enthusiasm to overpower the Libyans who were equally bent on winning their first African silverware in history.

I am particularly happy for the Libyans who have not seen peace for the past three years since the civil war broke out in the wake of the overthrow of President Quadaffi. It was one war the world has not been able to quantify its total casualty, and I believe the cup going there by the youthful talents will go far to assuage the bitterness and bring permanent peace and happiness.

Of course, those who advocated for the flying of more fans were expecting some huge returns, noting that the senior Black Stars who travelled to Libya in 1982 to bring the Cup of Nations home might have put some brakes on the winning of the cup, and that a louder voice might have done the magic. 

Some even said that the Stars should have worn black arm bands to serve as remembrance for the recent demise of hardworking Emmanuel Quarshie, who led the senior national team to that singular achievement. I knew the Libyans were having greater plans for the cup and were, as usual, seen praying harder openly in the stands during their matches, especially during the penalty shootout. Perhaps, they knew the final match would end in penalties, and they were ready for it.

The hero of the 1982 Africa Cup was goalkeeper Owusu Mensah who made some wonderful saves down to the final penalties. And this time around, most fans rate goalkeeper Stephen Adams as the hero for his exceptional performance, conceding only one goal (a penalty goal as such) throughout the tournament. I believe that such a tournament material will not be forgotten when Coach Kwasi Appiah, who saw it all in South Africa, picks his team for the Brazil World Cup.

I like the continuous collaboration of the national head coach and his assistant Maxwell Konadu who took charge of the CHAN team and steered them to the silver medal feat. The cup beckoned Konadu, but as the Nigerian coach Stephen Keshi reiterated, the element of luck can change man's destiny in many ways. 

For Nigeria, the defeat at the hands of their counterparts from this Coast of Gold will be a topic for discussion for many months, possibly to the point of the commencement of the Brazil World Cup, as the pressure they put in but could not yield results resulted in their poor showing in the penalty shootout. Stephen Keshi must have very little problem picking some good materials from the CHAN competition to add to his final list for the big world fiesta in Brazil.

It is expected that all African countries that have qualified for Brazil such as Algeria, Cameroun, and Cote d'Ivoire might have been gingered by the South African event to work harder towards the world assignment. Africa stands the chance to make it bigger than it had done over the years, and all will depend on how determined we will be. 

The CHAN is supposed to be a turning point for a number of local stars, and it is my hope that they will not feel complacent and work harder to improve on their standards. The sky is the limit! Good luck!