Vigour Personified

The rains had stopped; the sea closed its gates. A deadly famine had spread throughout the southern Accra Plains, the home of the Ga people. The long wait of hunger was painful. Then when the harvest finally arrived and food became plentiful, the people celebrated with a festival that ridiculed hunger. That is the tale behind Homowo, which means ‘hooting at hunger’, the widely celebrated festival of Ghana. Thus is the nation’s mind. They hoot and howl at hunger, and dance with the ball. They may be a bit harsh in their tackles, but they are a hard-working group who are such a fierce force. The Black Stars have conquered the Czechs, next is America, and then may be the mighty Samba boys. “We know America is a big country and Ghana is a small country,” the chief of the army says, “But it's just a game of football.” Stephen Appiah doesn’t want to take the game to any higher level more than a sport. He is modest in words, but all mighty men are like that.

Turn back the clock a year before. It was a Champions League group game between Fenerbahce and Schalke. The Turkish side were trailing 3-2 with something more than ten minutes left. A free-kick from deep wide right was headed clear by the German defence, but only as far as to one man waiting at the edge of the box. He brings the ball down with his left foot, then all in a flash, lifts and clips the ball to the left top corner of the post. Goalkeeper was shell-shocked with the speed. It was a goal that combined deftness, splendour, pace and awesome strength, one of the goals of the season. The scorer was none other than the Ghanaian captain, Stephen Appiah. Then the commentator screamed, “If he leads his country in next year’s World Cup, he will take that desire with him, that swine force, that determination, and Ghana will be a force to reckon with him at the helm”. Those words have come true. Appiah has led Ghana in Germany to new heights. He has formed an implausible partnership in the middle of the field with Chelsea’s Michael Essien and they have been instrumental in their win over the Czech Republic. Gyan Asamoah may be among the goals, Kingson maybe the man keeping the clean-sheet, but for both, the helping hand has been provided by Appiah. That is Stephen Appiah, he comes back to defend, creates the moves from midfield and provides the passes leading to goals. The pass that led to Gyan’s goal that stunned the Czech at the start of the game is an example of his vision.

Stephen Appiah started playing for his country from his teenage. He was much of a striker at the start of his career. When he moved to Italy from the Accra’s ‘Hearts of Oak’, to join Udinese, as any other African player migrating to Europe, he was a player who was not aware of his position. Then in the next three seasons with them, he became a midfielder. Parma snatched him at the turn of the millennium, but Viral Hepatitis came on as a monster. He fought and his days at the Ennio Tardini were not that bright. Then he was loaned to Brescia, and there he caught the eyes of the Turin giants Juventus. When the ‘Old Lady’ was calling, he couldn’t resist. He helped Juve win the title twice, then in a fight for a regular starting place, almost lost out to young Manuel Blasi. That prompted a move to Turkish club Fenerbahce. There he settled into a defensive midfielder role. In Italy he had to go through the wings occasionally, but in Turkey, he realised that he belongs to the centre. He is one always to take centre stage. Taking the captaincy of the national team, he hasn’t had to look back.

Appiah often engages in violent battles in the field. He is so stern in his dealings and ferocious with the opponents. The whole of Ghana is like that. Essien might have hurt a few knees, but people criticising him for sacrificing the beauty of the game are not aware of his early years. He started earning bread for his family, to stop his mother doing the same. She had been baking and selling bread in a market outside Accra to help raise her five children. The unkind past had a lot of bruises in the minds of these Ghanaian footballers; it is that what they are inflicting upon their opponents on the field. Also the war has to be a bit brutal when it is for such an esteemed crown. Now Listen to the songs of Elvis Presley, “Black stars keep behind me, black stars / There’s a lot of livin’ I gotta do \ Give me time to make a few dreams come true.” The Black stars are here to make their dreams come true. They might end up with nothing, there is a lot of living they have to do, but one thing is for sure, Stephen Appiah and Ghana will not give up without a fight.