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Take a Bow: ‘Local Coach’ James Kwesi Appiah to Debut on the World Stage-World Cup 2014 | ‘The Black Man is Capable Of Managing His Own Affairs’

James Kwesi Appiah
James Kwesi Appiah

When the Black Stars line up late tonight to take on the might of the United States of America, a little bit of history which is being threatened to be overshadowed by all the brouhaha of a world cup is going to take place. For the first time in the history of Ghana, the Black Stars are going to be led by a black man on the world stage, at the senior level.

Admittedly ours is a short romance with the world cup, this just being our 3rd tournament overall, but this does not in any way diminish the significance of the occurrence. Ghana’s first president Dr Nkrumah is amongst other things, famous for his utterance that “the black man is capable of managing his own affairs”. And after trusting in the white man to take us to our first two world cups, Kwesi Appiah was given the chance and has, rather spectacularly, led the team to the world cup in a manner more flamboyant than either of his predecessors could manage.

We have a rather unfortunate tendency in this country to dismiss the value of our own products, and this pertained to our choice of a national team coach for a long time. Which is why the exploits of Kwesi Appiah should not be glossed over, as in being successful he makes a case not only for himself, but for all local coaches and for our ability to perform just as well as the foreigner given the right conditions.

READ ALSO: Ghana Vrs USA: How Ghana Can Beat USA-World Cup 2014

Kwesi Appiah’s initial appointment was met with incredulity and indifference by a large section of the Ghanaian public. There were those who believed a local coach was the way to go, but Kwesi Appiah himself was largely untested as a manager at the top level. Admittedly, he had been assistant coach of the Black Stars for several years prior; this did not however diminish the calls of his critics who felt he was entirely out of his depth.

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Ghana Vrs USA Match Preview: Do Or Die Battle For Group G Underdogs-The Black Stars

Celebrating the BlackStars Win In Ghana
Black Star Fan

The Black Stars of Ghana will take on the United States coming Monday night as they kick off their third successive world cup campaign.

And for a third successive world cup, the Black Stars would have to beat the team from across the Atlantic if they are to have any realistic chance of making the next round. Paired in a so-called ‘Group of Death’ alongside European heavyweights Germany and Portugal, either side are aware of the value victory in this game would bring; as a loss would all but guarantee the elimination of the side in question.

In two previous world cup encounters, Ghana beat the United States 2-1; in the Group stage in Germany and at the second round stage in South Africa.

Bob Bradley led USA into both encounters, and his successor-Jurgen Klinsmann is not eager to suffer the same fate as the American. Klinsmann has already brought a change of style and mentality to the United States’ team, and from watching Ghana demolish South Korea 4-0 a week ago in a friendly is well aware of the threat his side would be facing.

“Obviously a great result for Ghana” Klinsmann said of the 4-0 win. “I wanted to see them myself and have an impression there, and we have that now”

Nevertheless, the German believes despite the history and pedigree of the Black Stars, his side can stand toe-to-toe with the them.

“We feel very confident going into this game against Ghana. But we also know what Ghana represents, one of the top nations in Africa, no doubt about it”

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