By: Thomas Boakye Agyeman

Date: 26-11-11

Coach Maxwell Konadu has boldly claimed that about six players in the current Asante Kotoko team are capable of winning places in the Black Stars final 23 man squad for the African Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

 Maxwell believes he has seen enough of the talents that abound in Ghana’s league and is making a strong case on behalf of the players to be considered for selection into Ghana’s team for the AFCON.

Coach Goran Stevanovic is expected to announce his final 23 players for the AFCON on December 15 2011 and there is an intense debate as to whether locally based players could find their way into the team.

“The current Black Stars team as seen at the World Cup is one of the best in the World and though as the current FIFA rankings dictate we are second to Cote d’Ivoire but everyone knows Ghana is Africa’s best. We have our team already and should not be touched but apart from the core members, there are others who could prove their worth giving the opportunity, and I have some of these players in Asante Kotoko who I believe have made strong cases to justify their entry into the national team”, Maxwell told the Kotoko Express.

Asked to mention the names of the players he feels could make an impact in the Black Stars and justify it, Maxwell first mentioned Nathaniel Asamoah adding “he is a brilliant young man who is waiting to explode. I have monitored him closely and especially when he’s in the national colours and I believe he can be with the Black Stars without being found wanting. He can be very useful on the right side of the Black Stars attack and he is very skillful, flexible, creative and do not need invitation to score but does it to admiration”

The second player Maxwell mentioned was Yahaya Mohammed, who has had several ins and outs of the youth teams of Ghana and has been described as one of the brightest spots in Ghana’s league currently.

“You know Ghana abounds in midfield talents and I bet Yahaya Mohammed is in a class of his own. Much has been said about Kelvin Boateng who is currently out of the Black Stars but I bet Yahaya Mohammed can make Ghanaians forget about Kelvin. Agyeman Badu and the other guys make things thick for Ghana and are in form but Yahaya could be considered to compliment their efforts. He is superb with his tackling, his recovery rate, passes and distribution are excellent and he is an expert on dead ball situations while his energy and strong nature rates him above others”.

He then mentions the name of Baba Abdul Rahman whom he describes as already standing the chance to win the premierships’ discovery of the year.

“Baba is from nowhere and a previously nobody but look at the ease with which he has broken into a strong team like Kotoko, take on opponents, stop experienced players and he keeps on surprising all including himself. He abounds in confidence and as Ghana lacks a natural left full back as we have been using different players, Baba should be looked at. When the Black Satellites travelled to Italy, I understand scouts were all over him. He abounds in confidence and he is one of our hopes for the future”.

With three players mentioned already, the 39 year old Kotoko coach who hails from Nkoranza in the Brong Ahafo region continued that the likes of Awal Mohammed, Yaw Frimpong and others in the team have all done enough to justify a call into the Black Stars. He explained that the availability of John Paintsil, Samuel Inkoom and Daniel Opare in the team makes it difficult for Yaw Frimpong and said he is good for the team but might need to wait a little. On central defender Awal Mohammed, Maxwell said despite the criticism that he is fond of committing infringements around the 18 yard box, which can never be a fact as the player is an intelligent and neat tackler.

“Yes he has committed mistakes before but that is part of the game. He is growing and maturing very fast and could be a perfect player to understudy John Mensah and Isaac Vorsah. He’s got the height and never takes his eyes off the ball. I have told him that whenever he is beaten, that is not the end of the World as we still have the goalkeeper to stop the ball and he understand it now. Awal and his other colleagues can now boldly take on any team and stand up to the test”.

Finally, Maxwell predicted a good performance for the Black Stars in the AFCON but warned that Ghana should not underrate any of the teams. He said the fact that countries like Nigeria, Egypt, Cameroun and South Africa missed the show should not make Ghanaians and Black Stars supporters think Ghana will have it easy and smooth.”Ghana should play her own game and bang in the goals but should not wait to trail before exerting pressure on opponents, which when abided, could clinch the title for Ghana”, said Maxwell who as a deputy Black Meteors coach to Kwesi Appiah recently conquered Africa for the gold medal in the All African Games in Maputo, Mozambique.