Meteorites hit the earth to form craters, but I do not know if meteors in Space can be crushed. If they cannot, then the one on earth, the Black Meteors, were flattened on Tuesday night by Morocco at the ongoing U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.
Ghana’s Black Meteors won 3-2 against Congo in our first game. Although the team was not particularly impressive conceding two goals, they gave our Olympic dream a bright start. We have not participated in the Olympic football event since 2004 and the Black Meteors are promising to end the string of disappointments this time.
Thus, the win over Congo was satisfactory, but the Meteors crumbled against Morocco with no option now except to beat Guinea in the last group game to advance. So, what is it that hit the Black Meteors? I could not watch the match. I kept asking for updates in a WhatsApp group as I led a night event somewhere. I was shocked that we lost 5-1.
What hit the Meteors? I have been reading comments of colleagues who watched the game and a couple of their thoughts strike a chord in me as they provide some useful answers. “The lack of structure in the defence of the Black Meteors we saw against Morocco is similar to Ibrahim Tanko’s team of 2019,” wrote TV3’s Owuraku Ampofo.
“Repetitive but Ghana has players much better than what we watched tonight in Morocco. Most of whom won’t even require major coaching to implement ideas. The self-interest call-ups [are a lot] too much” said Citi FM’s Godfred Akoto Boafo. “A necessary reminder that no matter how much hubris we have about being Ghana and having talent, not maximizing that talent will lead us nowhere. Team looked so poor today” opined TV3’s Yaw Ofosu Larbi.
“We need a reboot” remarked Joy FM’s Fentuo Tahiru. “Our football is at an all-time low. It is not just the results, technically, the players are so poor”. Why I agree with these assessments is not the fact that they are blunt. They are also true. Our football needs honest leadership, structural changes with careful investment to properly develop the talents we have.
As Godfred Akoto Boafo says, if player callups would be dotted by parochial interest as witnessed under the current football administration, our investments would be heavily undermined and for national team football that would always lead to embarrassment.
Coach Tanko later said that his players were tired besides over-respecting the Moroccans. How do you over-respect your opponent? From every account, the Moroccans were just good. It is no fluke. Morocco’s win speaks more to their emerging dominance and impressive displays at various levels of the game on the continent.
It is deliberate state investment. It is careful panning by people who roundly understand what they are about and who will not settle for less or allow interests other than that of the state to dictate what should be done for the right results. It is either we consciously gravitate towards that end or continue hanging on to hope with no real work.
As coach Tanko said, “We still have a chance in this tournament, we have a last game, so we are going to prepare for that.” Well, I only pray that we get desired outcome to push us to grabbing the Olympic ticket and there would be more to be done to remain at the top level of African and world football if we truly want that.
