Exclusive: Kwasi Appiah, Gyan to smoke peace pipe
Embattled Black Stars coach, James Kwasi Appiah, and striker Asamoah Gyan are set to smoke the peace pipe after a four-day crossfire turned the two pals into sworn enemies.
According to an inside source, Gyan, who retired from the Black Stars and made a sudden u-turn within 72 hours, is remorseful now and ready to patch up with the soft-spoken Stars coach after that unfortunate altercation early this week.
The source told Graphic Online Sports that Gyan, a.k.a. Baby Jet, actually tried to reach Coach Appiah via telephone unsuccessfully before coming out publicly to rescind his decision to retire from the national team on Wednesday.
He later followed up the call with a text message, indicating his desire to meet him on arrival in the country on Monday after featuring in Kayserispor’s last league match against Büyüksehir Belediye Erzurumspor on Sunday.
Kayserispor are placed 11th on the Turkish Super Lig table, while their opponents are 17th in the 18-club league and are threatened by relegation.
Gyan was impressed upon by President Nana Akufo-Addo to reconsider his decision via telephone after receiving a briefing on the captaincy brouhaha from Coach Kwasi Appiah at the Jubilee House last Tuesday.
The President’s invitation of the Stars coach followed the confusion which erupted after Gyan’s decision to retire from the national team on Monday after Kwasi Appiah had informed him of his decision to make him the general captain and appoint Andre Ayew as the new captain of the Black Stars for AFCON 2019.
However, Gyan, who is the most successful player in the Black Stars set-up currently, took exception to the coach’s decision which was communicated to him on Sunday and opted to call time on his career with the senior national team.
The planned meeting between Coach Appiah and his former captain is expected to restore their hitherto cordial relationship and help calm down tension in the team barely one month to the Egypt 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) announced a 29-man provisional squad on Wednesday to embark on a three-week training tour of Dubai ahead of the tournament.