Black Stars’ new jewel in the crown barred

THE new jewel in the Ghanaian crown, midfielder Edmund Addo, who helped Moldovan club, Sheriff Tiraspol, tame Real Madrid in the greatest upset in UEFA Champions League history, will not face the Warriors, in the two World Cup qualifiers.

The Black Stars will host the first qualifier, at the Cape Coast Stadium, on Saturday, before the two teams clash again, in Harare, three days later. Both countries will be under the guidance of new coaches, with Ghana investing their campaign into the hands of Milovan Rajevac, who was in charge of the Black Stars, when they came of age, at the 2010 World Cup finals.

The Warriors have also turned to their former coach, Norman Mapeza, who has returned for a fourth stint with the team, tasked with clearing the mess, created by clueless Serbian gaffer, Zdravko Logarusic.

Loga was eventually fired, after only managing just one win, in 14 matches, during his disastrous spell as the Warriors head coach.

Zimbabwe are bottom of the group, with just a point to their credit, without a goal in two matches, after a goalless home draw against a makeshift Bafana Bafana.

They then suffered an embarrassing 0-1 defeat, at the hands of Ethiopia. The two matches were set to provide the Black Stars with a platform, to unleash their new midfield star, 21-year-old Addo, who has been basking in glowing headlines, in recent weeks.

Addo was one of the stars of lightweights, Sheriff Tiraspol, when they went to the Santiago Bernabeu, on September 28, and beat the record 13-time European champions, 2-1, in a Champions League match.

Jasurbek Yakhshiboev and Sebastien Thill’s late stunning winner, sandwiched between a penalty, converted by French forward Benzema, powered the Moldovan lightweights into dreamland.

The Ghanaian midfielder was called into the Black Stars squad, where he was set to make his debut in the back-to-back World Cup matches, against the Warriors.

However, he won’t feature in the two matches, after his club barred him from travelling to Africa, for the two matches, arguing the Ghanaians sent in their request, for his services, late. His late draft came after Fiorentina midfielder, Joseph Alfred Duncan, advised the Ghanaian Football Association he would not feature in the two matches against Zimbabwe, because of injury.

Some reports, in the Ghanaian media, have claimed Duncan even faked his injury, in order not to feature, in the matches against the Warriors.

“With regards to my absence from the national team, I spoke with the head coach of the Black Stars but there was a miscommunication somewhere but I don’t remember saying I was injured,’’ he wrote on his social media platforms.

‘‘Online bloggers academy, get your facts right before putting fingers on a keyboard. If I want to refuse a call up, I will do so and not by faking injury.”

With Duncan unavailable, the Ghanaians had turned to rising newboy, Addo, who now says his dream is to play for English powerhouse, Manchester United.

“Ideally, my dream is to play for Manchester United,’’ he told Ghanaian radio station Joy FM. “Which player doesn’t want to be in one of the strongest football clubs in Europe?

“I am no exception.

“Since childhood, I have been rooting for the Red Devils but, today, you have to work hard.

“I strive to get a chance to prove myself in the Champions League.

‘‘Now, this is the most important thing.” Addo completed 92.3% of his 13 passes in the game against Real Madrid, the highest percentage of any player who completed more than two passes, for the Moldovan side.

His absence from the Black Stars squad, for the two matches against the Warriors, means he won’t, for the meantime, get a chance to line up in midfield, with the likes of Thomas Partey.

The Arsenal star has already arrived in Ghana, for his latest dance with the Black Stars, after his previous flirtation with the national team, in June, sparked a lot of controversy. There were reports he was expelled from the national team, for failing to report for duty, ahead of the friendly international against Morocco.

However, the GFA later clarified the midfield powerhouse had sought permission, which was granted, to be away from the national team.

Partey was also forced to directly deal with the negative reports but claimed there was a lack of trust, and oneness, in the Black Stars camp.

“Between ourselves, we know what’s going on,’’ he told TV3. ‘‘Sometimes, bad news will go outside and we don’t know how those things come out.

‘‘We have to trust each other, we have to keep things to ourselves, work harder no matter what the situation is.

‘‘Whatever people are thinking about us, we have to believe in ourselves.

‘‘We are the ones who are inside, we know how much we love each other, and how much we want to help each other, so we have to continue doing that.’’

Mohammed Kudus, Kamaldeen Sulemana, Jordan Ayew, Andre Ayew and Daniel Amartey are some of the heavyweight players who have been drafted for the matches against the Warriors.