The appointment of Avram Grant as head coach of Ghana’s national football team came with mixed feelings among many Ghanaians. The pedigree of the coach was not in doubt but the timing of his appointment did not go down well with many. The closeness of the appointment to a major tournament like the African Cup of Nations was a concern and people wondered what impact he would make. Others called for the team to be left for caretaker coach Maxwell Konadu who took over from his boss James Kwasi Appiah half way through the qualifiers after he was sacked. The argument was that, since Maxwell knew the team very well and had eventually qualified them to the Nations Cup, he should take them to the tournament then Grant can take over after the AFCON. It may be too early to be accessing a Coach who is barely two months into his 27 month contract with the Ghana Football Association. Having said that it is worthy to note that there have been some significant changes to the Black Stars team, these can be attributed to the coach.
The coach has taken some bold decisions which have impacted on the team positively. The decision to stick with goalkeeper Razak Briamah is one of them. In the last nine matches of the Black Stars prior to the AFCON 2015 tournament, 4 difficult goalkeepers including Razak had man the post. It includes 3 games at the World Cup in Brazil where Adam Kwarasey and Fatau Dauda were used, then 6 games in the AFCON 2015 qualifiers where Fatau Dauda, Stephen Adams and Razak Briamah were used. This sends clear indication to the opponent that there is a problem with the goalkeeping position of the team. The coach has stuck with Razak in all his matches so far at the tournament, this would help build the confidence of the player and also earn him some experience. This will also divert the attention of opponents from the goalkeeping woes of the team.
Benching John Boye was another decision that has impacted on the team positively. The coach started another debutant Daniel Amartey in his place for the first 3 games. He was one of the best performers of the team but was replaced in the third game against South Africa when he got injured. It is no secret that John Boye’s form had gone downwards since 2013 but he walks in and out of the team with no competition. Even his recent return from injury during the qualifiers where Awal Mohammed had played so well in his absence, he still walked straight into the team. After being on the bench for a couple of games Boye started the quarter final against the Syli National of Guinea and was excellent producing one of his best performance for the team since 2013. The healthy competition for places in the team is something worth giving credit to the coach for, this has brought the best out of the players and everyone is playing his heart out. Something that was missing in the past and the coach can take credits for it. The competition in the midfield of the team is also worth mentioning. Muburak Wakaso and Afriyie Acquaye are now the preferred pair in the heart of the team to Rabiu Mohammed and Emmanuel Agyeman Badu. The coach quickly identified some lapses in the game of both Rabiu and Agyeman Badu and corrected it by replacing them with Wakaso and Afriyie and it has paid off. There was no fluidity between the pair of Rabiu and Agyeman Badu because after Rabiu had expertly destroyed the play of the opponent he was not able to pass properly to his team mates there by losing the balls. Agyeman Badu who enjoys joining the attack in possession most of the time was not able to find team mates with searching passes.
In Ghana’s first match against the Teranga lions of Senegal where the team lost 2 – 1, the coach and players were heavily criticized. The coach used an unfamiliar 3-5-2 formation in that game and the team played so well in the first half where they took the lead through an Andre Ayew’s penalty after Christian Atsu was brought down by the Senegalese goalkeeper. The team was nonexistent in the second half and the Teranga Lions dominated the game right from the start to the end. Mame Biram Diouf got the equalizer and Moussa Sow got the winner with seconds to end the game. The coach reverted to the familiar 4-4-2 which the team has played comfortably. The call for Jordan Ayem to be played from the bench had also be a massive one from most Ghanaians. Jordan undisputed is a great player but has struggled in the tournament. After starting 3 matches the coach replaced him with Kwasi Appiah. It might have been a tactical decision from the coach or one that was influence by the call of the many Ghanaians. The good thing is that, the coach has shown that though he is able to take bold decisions, he is also willing to listen and learn from his mistakes. The attitude of the team has change; players are now playing with a lot of determination and are showing signs of hunger to achieve something. Clearly the coach has won their hearts and they are playing for him.
After less than two months into the reign of Avram Grant as the coach of the Black Stars, undoubtedly there are some visible changes that can be credited to him. We can only hope that it continues like this even as the team seeks to break the cup winning drought for Ghana in Equitorial Guinea. Coach Avram Grant can be assured of one thing, the expectation of Ghanaians is very high at all times and one can trust that when he starts doing the wrong things the same voice that is being used now would be used to point it out to him.