FEATURE: A progress report on the form of AC Milan nidfielder Sulley Muntari

Published on: 27 December 2014
FEATURE: A progress report on the form of AC Milan nidfielder Sulley Muntari
Sulley Muntari

By Ed Dove.

Soon after taking the job of Ghana national team head coach,Avram Grant admitted that he was considering inviting SulleyMuntari and Kevin-Prince Boateng back to the national side.

As reported on the Official Ghana FA website, the ex-Chelseaboss had the following to say about player selections for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations:

"It’s open for every player that is willing to give everything for his country and to understand that with all the developments in football, money etc the main competition is with the national teams. Any player that will be proud to wear the national jersey and give all his passion to the team and have the quality of course, the doors of the Black Stars will be open to him.”

“From my point of view, when we say a new beginning we mean a new beginning. We don’t have to look at the past we have to learn from the past. My target is to have a new beginning for everybody who is ready to come and play for the Ghana national team. So this is my target and am speaking with the FA about it and it will be to learn from the past not to look at it."

certainly suspected that an injury to Kwadwo Asamoah, who has been ruled out of the Afcon [via BBC Sport] would tempt Grant to turn back to the two experienced, talented campaigners. Similarly, Ghana have been drawn into the tournament’s Group of Death—alongside Algeria, South Africa and Senegal—and the Israeli boss is naturally keen to draw on all possible expertise.

Ultimately, Grant resisted the temptation to name either Muntari or Boateng and decided to turn to new faces such as Enoch Kofi Adu of FFMalmo when naming his provisional Afcon squad [via CitiFM Online].

Is the coach right to have ignored the former Portsmouth midfielder, now 30, based on his performances for AC Milan so far this term?

While Muntari brings undisputed baggage, has he not done enough over the last six months to prove to the Black Stars’ management that he can still make a valuable contribution to their effort in Equatorial Guinea?

It’s been a mixed first half to the season for Milan.

The Rossoneri have lost only three matches and sit in seventh place, better, at least, than last term’s dismal eighth-place finish.

However, they are still far from the dominant force that their fans have come to expect and have, too often, struggled to finish off games and actually beat teams.

There has also been too much inconsistency. Filippo Inzaghi’s side have strung two wins together only once since the first two matches of the campaign.

Muntari, similarly, has struggled for consistency.

On the opening day of the season he was outstanding, scoring a goal as Milan beat Lazio 3-1. Since then, however, his capacities have only been seen in fits and starts.

There was the excellent display against Chievo (again marked with a goal), and the dominant performance in Milan’s 3-1 away victory over Verona, but latterly, he has struggled to impact games and has fallen down in the club’s midfield pecking order.

Admittedly, his momentum was killed in November, when he was both suspended (after picking up four yellow cards) and was also ruled out with a groin injury [via Gary Al-Smith of SuperSport]. He only played 76 minutes of first-team football last month, and hasn’t started a game since.

To his credit, though, Muntari has shown his quality in patches.

I have mentioned the goals above, but it is also worth noting that the Red and Blacks have only lost one game (against champions Juventus) whenMuntari has featured.

Statistically, there is little that is outstanding, but the ex-Sunderland man is a good all-rounder and contributes both defensively (averaging 1.7 tackles and interceptions per gameaccording to WhoScored) and offensively (again, WhoScorednote a pass-success rate of 79.9 percent).

He is also versatile, and he has started matches on the left side of midfield, as a defensive midfielder or in the centre of the park.

Finally, Muntari has, once again, demonstrated the kind of penchant for controversy that has caused problems for Ghana in the past.

A hard tackle on teammate Marco van Ginkel in training has left the on-loan Chelsea man facing 45 days on the sidelines, according to James Cannon of Squawka.

Cannon writes: “The Italian press claimed that Inzaghi was furious withMuntari, and considered fining the former Portsmouth and Inter midfielder for the tackle.” The coach later denied these reports [also via Squawka].

This incident has once again reminded Milan fans and Ghana supporters that while Muntari brings undisputed dynamism and versatility, his dark side can re-emerge at any moment.

Ultimately, Grant deemed him unworthy of the risk.

Source: www. bleacherreport.com

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