Former Ghana captain Stephen Appiah has advised journalists and football fans not to overly hype new Black Stars sensation Christian Atsu.
Appiah believes too much hype could put enormous pressure and unrealistic expectations on the player which could affect him in the long run.
“I think Atsu is a good player. I have watched him play and watched some of his videos on YouTube and I think he has a future with the Black Stars but please you people should not overhype him. He has had an amazing two games for the Black Stars but I am sure that when he gets a bad day in a game in the future the same people singing his praises will start insulting him,” Appiah added while answering questions from journalists when he turned up with friend Michael Essien during a charity donation at Ewutu Breku in the Central Region last week.
Atsu, popularly tagged ‘the Ghana Messi’, scored on his debut at the Baba Yara Stadium with a well-taken 85th minute strike during a 2014 World Cup qualifier against Lesotho. He followed that up with another impressive performance when Ghana lost 1-0 to Zambia in another World Cup qualifier a week after his debut.
However Atsu knows his newfound fame and fortune won’t last forever and was earlier quoted by Ghanasoccernet.com as saying that he knew tough days were ahead.
Atsu stated in that interview with Ghanasoccernet.com that he was well prepared to face harsh criticisms when his current impeccable form dips.
The former Cheetah FC player, who spent last season on loan at Rio Ave from Porto FC where he emerged the best player, is however taking the flurry of praises in his stride knowing all too well they could easily turn into hate chants from the over-demanding Ghanaian football fan.
“For me it is also very important to be praised when you do a good thing and also if you do a bad thing of course they have to rebuke you,” he told Ghanasoccernet.com.