<<Print>>

For the umpteenth time since 1982, the Black Stars have failed in a mission that looked all along achievable. The football exhibited by the national soccer team in 90 minutes against the Chipolopolo of Zambia, cannot win any tournament. That is the bottom line. For a serious championship like the African Cup of Nations semi-final encounter, there was no urgency in the Black Stars game. The national team performed as if they were in an exhibition game -all fanciful without penetration. Against Guinea and Tunisia, the opponents became too physical. But Zambia came to play the game as it should be played giving the Black Stars all the opportunity to exhibit their skills. But it was an exhibition without any penetration. For the first 20 minutes, the Black Stars had all the opportunity to bury the Zambians under an avalanche of goals. First, star striker Asamoah Gyan casually flicked a penalty for the Zambian goalkeeper to make a save. Even after that the Black Stars had enough opportunity to win. But star performers played as if that particular game did not include the art of scoring. It is unfortunate, but the bench aided the exit of the Black Stars. When Derrick Boateng picked up a yellow card and was still making rash tackles, the conventional wisdom was for the Serbian coach Goran Stevanovic to withdraw him anytime there was the opportunity to pull a player out. Instead, the coach rather removed star striker Asamoah Gyan. His absence freed the Zambian to move from defence into attack. The Chronicle acknowledges that Gyan, who is still half-fit, was not as mobile as he should be. All the same, his very presence meant that Zambia had to commit at least two men in defence to keep an eye on him. To add insult to injury, the coach removed Gyan and replaced him with Prince Tagoe, the former Prince of Goals, who has forgotten the art of scoring long ago. Tagoe only came to add up to the numbers with very little contribution to the national game. The Chronicle is in no doubt that Stevanovic has ended his romance with the national game. He cannot take Ghana to the next challenge which is the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. He may be a top performer in his native country. Goran is not the man Ghana football can rely on for the future. He promised to deliver the cup. He has failed woefully in the course, of which he has wounded national pride. We learn too that the coach is not prepared to listen to any advice. We do not believe he has any use for this nation anymore. His tactics were wrong and selections very strange. On the whole, it was a disastrous tournament for this proud nation, no matter how anybody would look at it. The players and their handlers have let Ghana down badly. The Chronicle would like to suggest to the teeming football-loving population of this country not to shed too much tears for the Black Stars. Yesterday, they sang their own funeral dirges.