Kwasi Appiah, Gyan finally reconcile

It was an emotional scene to behold when the Black Stars Coach, James Kwasi Appiah, and his general captain, Asamoah Gyan, buried the hatchet at a meeting held at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Accra yesterday afternoon.

The meeting, which was called at the instance of Gyan, was meant to iron out differences between the two personalities following a misunderstanding which greeted Coach Appiah’s decision last week to strip the Kayserispor striker of the captain’s armband and make him the team’s General Captain, while relinquishing his captaincy to Andre Dede Ayew last week.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic after yesterday’s meeting, Coach Appiah said he was particularly happy with the cordial manner in which the proceedings went and ended on an amicable note.

According to him, he had taken Gyan as his little brother and was, therefore, hurt by the player’s reaction to the captaincy issue.

He, however, noted that the player was remorseful during the meeting, which was the most important thing to do after the unfortunate incident.

He disclosed that the former Stars skipper, who attended the meeting in the company of his elder brother, Baffour Gyan, and some members of his media team, said he was sorry for what happened and apologised for his conduct and explained that it was due to a misunderstanding which was blown out of proportion.

Gyan went on to assure the coach of his readiness to work with him and his teammates to help achieve the nation’s fifth African Cup of Nations (AFCON) target in Egypt.

“Though I was deeply hurt, I emphasised on the fact that our differences should not override the supreme interest of the nation,” the Stars coach said.

He stressed on the need for the entire team to focus on the upcoming tournament and how to win Ghana’s fifth AFCON title.

It will be recalled that Gyan, who did not take kindly to the decision to strip him of his captaincy, announced his retirement from the national team last week Monday, only to rescind his decision two days later after being impressed upon to do so by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Sequel to that, a repentant Gyan called on the Stars coach to arrange for an urgent meeting with him on his arrival in the country to resolve the conflict.

Also present at the meeting were Veronica Commey, a Personal Assistant of Coach Appiah, and Asante Forkuo, a Cape Coast-based radio presenter.