The Black Stars

I know the friendly with Ghana is more than a month away but having just brought my tickets for that game as well as Australia v China, I’ve been hit by a sudden surge of enthuaism to provide some information about the team dubbed The Black Stars. For those that did not know, Sydney actually has quite an extensive Ghanian community who will undoubtedly be out in force and will certainly provide an added level of atmosphere to the game. For those who are forgetful like me, Australia actually played Ghana in late 2006 in a friendly at Loftus Road. The game ended in a draw with Aloisi putting Australia ahead before an error from Schwarzer allowed Agogo to put Ghana level. The Stars of The Black Stars Ghana should have at least one player that everyone will recognise, Chelsea’s all action midfielder, Michael Essien. He will undoubtedly be the most expensive player on the pitch with Chelsea forking out a whooping sum of just over $50 million Australian when they secured his services from Lyon. At Chelsea, Essien has been used mainly in midfield although he showed in versatility last term when he played at both centre and right back. For me, along with Drogba, Essien was the standout player for Chelsea last term. His energy drove Chelsea’s progress in the Champions League and his performance against Valenica in the quarter-finals was a great display of what can be achieved when technical talent is combined with boundless energy and athelticism. Let us hope he will be fit and ready to put on a show in mid May. Ghana’s other Premierhsip star is Pompey’s attacking midfielder, Sulley Muntari. Muntari has developed the habit of scoring spectacular long-range goals and he has a handy record of 11 goals in 38 games for the national team. Grella or Valeri, or both, will certainly need to ensure that Muntari is not given too much room around the edge of the box because he will certainly be looking for pull the trigger if given half a chance. Junior Agogo was something of a relevation for Ghana at the recent African Cup of Nations where he finished as Ghana’s joint top-scorer with Muntari after bagging three goals in the tourament. The Australian defence should already be familar with Agogo as he bagged Ghana’s equaliser in the friendly at Loftus Road. Wilkshire should certainly be familiar with him as they were teammates at Bristol City. Agogo is currently plying his trade for a traditional powerhorse of English football, Nottingham Forest who are currently struggling in League One or England’s third tier. Players like him and Wilkshire really show how a player can still perform and excel on the international stage despite playing lower divison football. This bowes well for the likes of Carle and Garcia who are both playing in the Championship. Ghana also have a few injured stars. Unless you follow the Italian league, I doubt you would have heard of Udinese striker, Asamoah Gyan. After an impressive loan period with Serie B outfit, Modena, he returned to Udinese. He played in the African Cup of Nations but he was apparently carrying a thigh injury in the tourament. We could see Gyan if he recovers in time. Another major attraction that Australian fans will probably miss out on seeing is Ghanian captain, Stephen Appiah who plays for Fenerbache. The Turkish club was recently eliminated by Chelsea after an impressive run to the quarter finals of the Champions League. Appiah is on the long-term injury list with a knee-injury. Expect Everything I’m expecting the game to be fairly open and enteraining. African teams, particularly Ghana, have the reputation of playing open, attack minded football which was certainly on show in the recent African Cup of Nations. In that tourament, spectular goals were in abundance and only two games ended nil-nil. So, be ready for the unexpected in what should be a good game of football. And Us As for the Australians, this game will be a real opportunity for Pim to experiment before the vital qualifiers. The Championship duo of Carle and Richard should really be given a chance, particularly Carle who put in a solid performance against Nigeria on his lasting national team outing. This game could also be important for Kewell as it seems unlikely that he will be given the chance to get first-team matches under his belt at Liverpool. The A-League duo of North and Djite will be given another chance to impress, particularly Djite who was very unlucky to miss out on a start against China due to a late injury. While the Singapore game was basically arranged for the A-League players, this game against Ghana will be used as preparation for the European based players for the qualifiers that follow. While I expect the likes of North, Djite and Thompson to be involved, I doubt any other A-League player will be called on to play a significant part.