Stephen Appiah

For part 17 of the series, I caught up with Joseph Epton from Ghana. Apart from being a student , Joseph scouts young football talents and helps assist them in developing a professional football career. So he does know a bit more football than your average arm chair/internet critic you find these days!

I thank Joseph for agreeing to the interview.

Tell us a bit about the Ghana football history and the football culture which exists

Ghana, the first country south of the Saharan Africa to attain independence, lies on the west coast of Africa and its bordered on the East by Togo, the West by Cote d; Ivory and on the North by Burkina Faso.

Football is the number 1 sports in Ghana and serves as a source of pleasure and entertainment for many Ghanaians. Ghanaians are very passionate about football are heart broken whenever the national team loses in a competition. Ghana boasts long and distinguished football history and enjoys a status among the heavyweights in the African continent. It has enjoyed tremendous success on the youth level, winning the world under-17 title twice and finishing second at the World Youth Championship twice as well.

Ghana is a four-time winner of the African Nation Cup: 1963, 1965, 1978 and 1982. Ghana has a track record of producing exportable talents who pursue professional career in Europe, Asia and other parts of the world. The existence of football training centers has also helped in nurturing these talents. Ghana has talented players but unfortunately, the Black Stars were unable to capitalize on their success in Africa and make it to football’s most prestigious tournament – the World Cup – at a time when many Ghanaians thought that their team deserved a place in
The finals. After decades of underachievement in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Ghana will make the first appearance at the World Cup Finals in Germany 2006.

Tell us a bit about the Road to the World Cup the qualification, and the emotions the fans went through at the time.

Many had ruled out Ghana’s chances of qualifying ahead of DR Congo, South Africa and Burkina Faso. DR Congo and Burkina Faso were expected to create surprises in the group. However, South Africa were the favorites since they have featured twice in the World Cup finals in 1998 and 2002 respectively. Ghana did not have a good start during the qualification after a 1-0 defeat by Burkina Faso and fans of the national team became unhappy and less confident but they quickly recovered and had two consecutive wins against South Africa (3-0) and Cape Verde (2-0), in order to maximize their hopes of World Cup qualification. South Africa lost hopes of qualifying after a shocking home defeat at the hands of the Black Stars 2-0 during the return leg in June 2005. Ghana’s historic qualification sent thousands of jubilant fans to the streets of Ghana to commemorate the team’s achievement – dancing, singing, partying while vehicles on the other hand had their roles to play with honking horns reminiscent of the vocal sound of trumpets airing passionately during a state occasion.

What style of football does the national team play?

The Ghana senior national team is midfield and defensive oriented. Their defensive and midfield prowess was also exhibited as they proved to possess one of the best defenses and midfield during the qualifiers, conceding only four goals in the ten matches. The Black Stars are always a side that parade a four-man midfield (4-4-2 formation), as the midfield has remained their strong point in their style ever since. I must be candid - Ghanaian strikers are not that prolific but in midfield and defense that can match any country boots to boots.

How do you think Ghana will fare at the World Cup?

Two negative factors - disappointing performance during the African cup of nation in Egypt this year and Ghana is one of the toughest groups in the World cup. After Coach Ratomir Dujkovic named his squad there has being so much criticism. Most Ghanaians think that the current team lacks the experience which is necessary to succeed at these types of tournaments. But I am very optimistic about Ghana’s chances of succeeding tremendously at the World Cup finals. Ghana will qualify from the group stage and it’s likely to meet the world cup favorites, Brazil which will be one of the difficult tasks Ghana can possibly to face. But I hope Ghana can create surprises when they make their debut in the World Cup and move to the next stage of the competition and might possibly be in the quarter finals or semi-finals or probably even in the finals.

Who will be the most important player for your country?

Michael Essien is the engine block in Ghana’s midfield and Africa’s most expensive player (when he moved from Lyon to join Chelsea is the English Premier League for £24 million). He played an essential role in seeing Ghana qualify for the World Cup, scoring three goals, will be out create some impression in Germany.

Which player in your country’s side would you most like to get rid of?

After Coach Ratomir Dujkovic name his squad, there have been so many criticisms and some have threatened to demonstrate on the issue of the exclusion of midfielder Baaba Armando who most Ghanaian think is the better option than Razak Pimpom of FC Copenhagen. Realistically, the right and left wing backs are likely to be replaced.

Who are the players to watch from the other countries?

Ronaldhinho, who is the God of football, and words are so weak to express his abilities and skill. I think we shall see more of him though. There will be other outstanding players like Thierry Henry, Adriano, Messi and Rooney.

What will be your excuse in the event of failure?

Being drawn against Brazil or loosing key players to injuries.

Have you got the right manager?

I will say no because the current coach is inexperienced and lacks confidence and builds the team only around a few players and when they are lost to injuries, brings about abysmal performance to the nation. This was depicted during Ghana’s first round exit during the African Cup of nation.

What advice would you give him?

I will advice him to be very optimistic in life and to adopt more tactical and technical options.

Which team do you most want to beat?

The Italian national team of course and the Brazil national team who seem to me impossible and everyone’s dream.

Where will you watch the matches?

At home since I can’t afford to travel to Germany this time around but hope to be in South Africa for the next competition.

How keenly will the World Cup be followed in your country?

Every Ghanaian like’s football and TV’s will be brought outside for the less privileged that do not have access to watch the competition as well. Football is just like a religion here in Ghana.

Who will be the player of the tournament?

Ronaldinho.

Who will win the Golden Boot?

Thierry Henry.

Who will be the surprise team of the tournament?

Ghana, Togo and Ivory Coast.

Finally, Who will win the World Cup?

Brazil will win the world cup but I won’t be surprised if other teams like England, France and Holland win the cup but will definitely play Brazil in finals.

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I hope you enjoyed part 17. Follow up questions for Joseph can be e-mailed to me. Also, feel free to contact me if you would like to be interviewed or know a friend who would like/could be interviewed. Specific questions for specific countries which might pop in your mind in due course may also be sent.

For the rest of the interviews, check out the World Cup interview series page.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 17th, 2006 at 8:03 am and is filed under Football. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.