Who is leading the 'PHD' agenda in Ghana?

I am sure many people would be wondering what do I mean by 'PHD'. Well, in this case, its got nothing to do with someone's level of education or someone's educational background.

In Ghana, 'PHD' is always described as a certain syndrome that affects almost every body in Ghana.
'Pull Him Down' (PHD)  attitude has gained grounds in Ghana football to the extent that many soccer crazy Ghanaians always seek one way or the other to bring someone down.

I want to lay emphasis on our attitudes towards coaches of the various national teams as well as players who, by dint of hard work or a little bit of luck, always get the nod to defend the national flag.

A couple of years back, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) was stampeded into a decision to settle for an indigenous coach for the senior national team, the Black Stars. This was after  majority of Ghanaians became certain that a Ghanaian coach could achieve a lot for the Stars with all the neccessary support from authorities.

We gambled, some what, with James Kwesi Appiah  in the 2013 Cup of Nations and his semi final achievement was tagged a total failure.

Authorities kept faith with him and he (Kwesi Appiah) is on the verge of taking the Black Stars to its third consecutive World Cup after that superlative performance by the Black Stars against the Pharoahs of Egypt.

Then, all of a sudden, a certain German coach by name Klaus Toppmoller came into the picture. What is unclear is the reason behind this rumour and the personalities leading such a crusade. There is this notion that Kwesi Appiah and Maxwell Konadu may need extra support in their bid to surpass the record of former coach Milovan Rajevac.

We all admit the handlers of the Black Stars may need extra hands, but do we need to bring in a technical director in the name of a German coach at this time?

There have been occassions when local coaches were nominated to help national coaches so why are we trying to depart from such arrangements. Is it not ironical that we have lost trust in our local coaches when in fact, local coaches are on the verge of taking the nation to another World Cup?

Why is it difficult for people to accept our own?

What at all do foreign coaches do differently to bring out the best in our professional players within a maximum of three weeks that our local coaches can't do? Can't we draw moral lessons from the fact that coaches Kwesi Appiah and Maxwell Konadu carved an unconquering side against Egypt because they were given ample time and support?

I don't know what is informing this Topmoller argument but whoever is behind this agenda should realize that we are not at Brazil yet so they shouldn't start counting their profit.

Any selfish desire or 'PHD' attitude at this moment may rock the boat to Brazil so the earlier we support our own, the better for all us.

In my opinion, there are more talented and motivated young coaches who would like to make a name for themselves by scouting for the Black Stars coaches. We should give them the chance to serve mother Ghana in that direction and drop the idea of a foreign coach at this time.

It would be unfair for some one to bring in a foreigner to quash Kwesi Appiah's dream of leading the Black Stars to the World Cup in Brazil.

Whoever will lead such an agenda would be seen as the number one 'Pull Him Down' (PHD) holder in Ghana.

That person should rather channel all his efforts in ensuring that FIFA rescinds its decision to allow Egypt to host the Stars in Cairo or ensure the safety of our players in Egypt when FIFA insist that we play the second leg in Cairo.

Africans who won trophies in 2012-2013 European soccer season

(A dummy post with an old article of mine to start my blog)

The European soccer season has seen a lot of African talents who, apart from trying to win laurels for themselves, also help to enrich the various competitions they find themselves in.

From the flagship UEFA Champions League to the Europa Cup as well as the English Premiership, Spanish La Liga, German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A, among other top European competitions, African presence has always been felt, be it fully blooded Africans or other nationals who originated from Africa.

The just ended 2012-2013 season saw a lot of African soccer legion making strides and winning laurels in various competitions as we recap the exploits of Africans who won titles in European soccer this season.

Europa Cup Success

English side Chelsea won the UEFA Europa Cup after a scintillating 2-1 victory over Portuguese side Benfica with the help of Nigerian duo John Obi Mikel and Victor Moses.

The Nigerians did not play a apart in the final but were part and parcel of the party right from the beginning of the season till the end.

The two Nigerian stars, therefore ended the season with gold medals from the Europa Cup.

Meanwhile, Chelsea were magnanimous enough to hand a winners medal to Senegalese striker Demba Ba, albeit, the former Newcastle United striker was unqualified to play for Chelsea in the Europa Cup due to his earlier involvement in the competition for Newcastle.

English FA Cup

Ivorian international Arouna Koney was the cynosure of relegated English side Wigan FC. Despite their condemnation to the English second tier soccer league next season, the Ivorian and his teammates crown their efforts with the FA Cup trophy after defeating highly rated Man City 1-0 in the final.

Arouna Koney therefore ended the season with a coveted FA Cup medal ahead of compatriot Yahaya Toure whose Man City failed to win a trophy this season.

 Spanish La Liga

Cameroonian international Alex Song may not have enjoyed a good spell at Barcelona but the former Arsenal man ended the season with a medal from the revered Spanish League.

Paradoxically, the Cameroonian international’s consistent form in Arsenal never won him a medal but a move to the Spanish giants which rendered him a bench warmer has turn around his fortunes as far as trophies are concerned.

He is now a proud winner of the 2012-2013 gold medal in the Spanish League with Barcelona not withstanding his lack of playing times.

Italian Serie A success

Ghanaian international Kwadwo Asamoah has been touted as a hugely talented soccer player even in his formative years with Udinese.

It came as no surprise when Italian giant Juventus captured him before the commencement of the 2012-2013 season. He never disappointed the ‘Italian Old Ladies’ as he quickly adapted to life in Juve and quickly settled in his new position as a left full back.

Asamoah has crowned his efforts with a winners medal in the Italian Serie A with Juventus.

French League 1 success

Paris Saint German (PSG) has finally secured the French title after a long wait and they did that with the help of Ivorian international Siaka Tiene.

Siaka Tiene is largely used a as left full back in the Ivorian national team but he was sometimes seen playing a midfield role for the new French champions. Life has been good for the big Ivorian defender especially playing alongside the likes of David Beckham and Ibrahimovic.

Turkish League success

Former Chelsea hit man Didier Drogba made a quick return to Europe after a short stint in China and landed in the Turkish League where he played alongside fellow Ivorian Emmanuel Eboue.

Defender Eboue has been in consistent for Galatasaray within a season or two until his country man Drogba joined him during the winter window. And the two played major roles in Galatasaray’s annexation of the Turkish League from bitterest rivals Fenabahce.

Dutch League success

South African international Thulani Serero and Ajax won the Dutch League under the tutelage of coach Frank de Boer.

Born in South Africa’s popular town of Soweto, Serero, a product of the Ajax Cape Town's youth academy was drafted into the Dutch giants and he has grown to be a promising midfielder for them.

He contributed immensely to Ajax’s successful defense of the Dutch topflight soccer league.

Scottish League success

Nigerian defender Efe Ambrose would be remembered for his role in the Super Eagles’ successful capture of the 2013 African Cup of Nations in South Africa but the talented defender will not end the year with just the African title.

Ambrose was a key member of Scottish champions Celtic during the 2012-2013 season alongside another African, Victor Wanyama from Kenya.

Wanyama who became the first Kenyan ever to have scored in the UEFA Champions League when he scored the first goal in Celtic’s historic 2-1 win over Barcelona on November 7, 2012 plays as centre back and a defensive midfielder for the Scottish giants and he is well known for his strength and pinpoints accurate tackles.

Belgian Cup success

Ghana’s Bennard Yao Kumordzi has remained a fringe member of the senior national side, the Black Stars for a while, but the young midfielder has made series of headlines in Belgium already in his first season with KRC Genk.

Kumordzi scored when Genk defeated Cercle Brugge 2-0 in the Belgian Cup final. He was not the only African legion in the KRC Genk set up as the likes of Derick Tshimanga of D. R. Congo, Senegal’s Kara Mbodji, Calvin Anele Ngcangca of South Africa, Ayub Timbe Masika of Kenya and Nigeria’s Kim Ojo were all part of the Belgian Cup success for KRC Genk.

Belgian League Success

Belgian giants Anderlecht won their 32 league trophy after the six top finishers of the season entered a 10-round with the points of the regular league table halved at the start of the playoffs. And Anderlecht shrugged off opposition from the other teams to end the season as champions.

This means strikers Cyriac Zoro Sede and Dieudonne Mbokani of Cote d’Ivoire and D.R. Congo respectively ended the season as proud winners of the Belgian top flight league.

 Portuguese League Success

Ghana’s new sensation Christian Atsu and Abdoulaye Ba of Senegal also ended the season with winners medals in the Portuguese League after FC Porto defied all odds to win their third straight league trophy after a hard fought victory over rivals Benfica in the penultimate stage and a final victory over Pacos Ferreira.

PS: This article did not make mention of other medal winners who find their rout in Africa but have naturalized for other European countries whiles at press time, there were more African players who were on the bridge of winning trophies in the climax of their various leagues.