Ghana's rivarly with Nigeria is renewed this Sunday at the Ohene Djan Stadium when home grown players clash in the African Nations Championship final round first leg tie. Nii Ayitey Tetteh believes there is no value lost even without their megastars.

" Do you remember the Black Stars winning a trophy since Television went coloured in Ghana" Chioma, my Nigerian friend confidently teased, as we took our seats in one of Accra's favourite lounges for a quick beverage.

Now as much as that hurt, I was not going to take it lying down, I quickly searched my mind for a counter and retorted in two words- Brentford and Accra- venues of the Stars last two victories over the Super Eagles to underline the Stars present superiority.

As Ghana and Nigeria?s home-based stars lock horns this weekend in the final CAF African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifier, you can expect similar debates across Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi, Lagos, Kano and Abuja.

Now this may not be the A-Teams but Ghana-Nigeria any day, boys or girls, grannies or toddlers would ignite passion and long drawn arguments.

Chioma was just about throwing another jab when the waiter walks up to take our orders.

Hot chocolate please, Chioma sighs and inquires if milo would not be a better option, the pun clearly intended at the poor record of the Stars coach, Milovan Rejevac.

Despite our differences we both agreed that the match holds many prospects.

Redemption:

The last weekend was a sour one for national sides as the Starlets and the Queens were surprisingly eliminated from their respective competitions thus a really low general morale.

The onus thus lies on the home-based Stars to lift the mood and one man whose performance would be under the radar is coach Milovan Rejevac.

This encounter presents a perfect opportunity for the coach to win back the confidence of the Ghanaian populace, badly shaken by a poor run against relatively weaker opposition.

Winning only against Lesotho, drawing with Tanzania and Tunisia and losing to Libya and South Africa inspires little confidence.

The Stars go into the match without John Boye, Dominic Adiyah, David Nii Addy and Osei Banahene who have secured foreign contracts.

Milovan would however have at his disposal all the big names on the local scene, Eric Bekoe, Jordan Opoku, Agyeman Badu, Samuel Inkoom, Daniel Yeboah , Yaw Antwi, Alex Asamoah, captain Edmund Owusu Ansah amongst others as he plots the fall of the local Super Eagles. 

Milovan has spent enough time with these local boys and his influence should be brought to bear and allay the fears of doubters with a resounding victory.

The fans would also be looking out for a clear distinct style of play which has been missing in previous matches.

At the opposite end, Okey Emordji, coach of the local Super Eagles, has been brimming with confidence ahead of the encounter as he seeks to rely on Captain Efe Ambrose, Uche Otorogu, Bello amongst others as the Nigerians also attempt a morale booster after host nation Equatorial Guinea did the unthinkable by eliminating the serial winners, Super Falcons from the 6th African Women?s Championship.

Perfect Opportunity:

At end of 90 minutes, all the stake holders would be evaluating various interests.

The players would have put in strong performances to qualify for the finals proper where they can market their talent.

Those players knocking on the doors of the Team-A would have boosted their chances.

The coaches would have identified credible replacements for regular Team-A players.

The organizers of the local leagues in both countries would have marketed the league by way of high level of play exhibited by both sides.

And most importantly Ghana would have positioned itself favourably to exact revenge on Nigeria for the eliminating the Meteors from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Amid these thoughts, the waiter gently reminds Chioma to make her order.

Chioma settles for coffee, without sugar and cream while I change mine to Milo! Yes milo because I have a good feeling about this one.

The waiter confesses he's Gambian and thinks the game would be handled fairly by his country men.

He suggests we return Sunday night for dinner to settle scores and before he concludes we both reply 'PERFECT'.


Nii Ayitey Tetteh

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