It was meant to be a battle heightened to the gods; a feast where Zeus himself was in two minds on coming down to dine at the table of men. And even though scores of immortals did show up that day, it neither the god of thunder, nor the pharaohs of the Nile, but rather, the elite Stars of the West; the Black Stars of Ghana.
The multitudes expected a fierce contest, but alas, the Black Stars churned out immense performances which had blown the Pharaohs out the Nile, transiting them into their tombs. It was a result which sent shock-waves reverberating across the continent. The Pharaohs, five time champions of Africa had been beaten 6-1.
For followers of the African game and fans of the Pharaohs, the temptation to blame Egypt’s capitulation on the then unrests in the country would have been too great to resist, but then also, it couldn’t be forgotten that the Pharaohs had so far romped through their qualifying group with cheer ease; winning every single match. Nor must it be discounted that the core of the Egyptian team was made up of pros of the Al Ahly club, who once again emerged champions of African club football.The Black Stars must have been doing something right then…The Stars were the perfect blend of old experience, and young potential. Some members of that team were into the final years of their careers, and would definitely have been looking to the exit with a bang. In Sulley Muntari and Michael Essien, the Black Stars had proven quality, and an extra incentive to shine. A place at the 2014 world cup in Brazil would definitely be the last for both, and with an embarrassment of midfield talent available to the stars, they knew they were by no means guaranteed a starting berth.
Midfield had always been a gold mine for the West African nation, but more so now, with the names quite literally rolling off the tongue. There was Andre Ayew, son of the legendary Abedi Ayew Pele, who had led the Black Satellites to Africa’s first world youth triumph, and had made the step up to become a linchpin in the senior setup;winning the 2011 BBC African player of the year. Then there was Kwadwo Asamoah and Christian Atsu, both silky left- footed maestros with the flexible ability to unlock any defense.Central midfield was well marshalled too, with Agyeman Badu as impressive as any midfield General, and with a ferocious shotpower on him as well. and then the ever controversial Kevin Prince Boateng to pick from for a starting berth at the center for the Black Stars. And leading the attack was the much maligned, but ever so crucial Asamoah Gyan.
With many of those players competing, and impressing in the UEFA Champions’ league at the time, the Black Stars seemed were a team coming to the fore, and gelling very admirably. Ghana was at last looking the formidable force they had threatened to be for a very long time.
With just the final leg of the tie against Egypt inline to confirm qualification to the world cup, spirits in Ghana and in the team camp was kited; with one Ghanaian official aptly summing it up, “no man born of a woman can stop us from going to Brazil”And quite frankly, much more than a minor miracle was needed for the Pharaohs to overturn a five goal deficit, even in their own back yard.And it did turn out so, despite losing the second leg by two goals to one in Cairo, the damage had already been done in Accra, the Black Stars had qualified!And whether or not the Black Stars would eventually live up to expectations come the world cup was a matter for another day, but one thing was for sure, that was a great time to be Ghanaian.
Written by: Yaw Nyamelegbe @yaw_gbe
Edited by : Eric Matey @1st_Rey
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