Feature: "The Monkey dey work, Baboon dey chop" syndrome
Posted On Monday, 24th September 2012
The Black Satellites beat Morocco 4-1 on Sunday
By Ameenu Shardow
Local players in particular are the most victims of this syndrome especially in the aged competitions.
I just can’t fathom why a crop of players will toil and sweat to qualify the nation for a major tournament only for them to be sidelined to make way for the more ‘experienced’ players with foreign (more likely European) clubs.
This then brings me to the question: who should qualify the nation for who to come and play in the competition proper?
This debate has become very necessary especially as it appears the Ghana U-20 team have almost sealed qualification for next year’s African Youth Championships – judging from the resounding 4-1 win over Morocco in the first leg match played in Tamale on Sunday.
The foreign (more likely European) clubs so eloquently quote the FIFA laws that does not obligate them to release players for aged competitions during qualifiers.
Primarily because they wouldn’t want to subject their starlets (who predominantly play in their youth teams) to sometimes the very harsh conditions teams are subjected to during qualifiers.
Even more importantly, they don’t want to release the players in order to prevent likely injuries due to sometimes the highly unfavorable conditions which pertains during qualifiers.
However these same clubs are found not to be as reluctant and unwilling when the national sides eventually seal qualification to major competitions especially World Cups.
Simply because aside the competitions being played in significantly enhanced conditions, there is a huge platform on which players can be well marketed and profiles incredibly boosted.
This brings me to my next question: So aren’t the predominantly local players who we often use in the qualification series good enough to take the team to the championships themselves once qualification is achieved?
Some school of taught think otherwise.
“The foreign-based players are also Ghanaians and are exposed to better training facilities which makes them better as compared to the local players,” this school of taught believe.
They however miss one major point; if it only takes these ‘superior’ foreign-based players to qualify the nation for a major tournament (aged competition) and their clubs are unwilling to ‘rightfully’ release them due to a FIFA law, how do we qualify in the first place if we keep using the ‘inferior’ locally-based players?
The answer is quite obvious; there will be no qualification let alone dream of inviting the foreign-based players to add that piece of ‘quality’ some people so much talk of.
Again they say: “Let them compete with the local players for the overall best to emerge to be taken to the tournament.”
A point which is easily checkmated by the counter-point; “How about they (foreign-based players) come and compete on the dusty and patchy surfaces during qualifiers.”
Oh! I forgot; the clubs won’t release them so it’s not their fault.
Then they’ll remain with their clubs simply because the ‘inferior’ locally-based players cannot qualify us since they lack that quality. Period!
Perhaps it’s about time we put our foot down on this purely moral and a dare I say principled issue.
If these foreign clubs realise they will not be handed the huge platform of a major tournament once their players did not take part in the struggle to get qualification, their stance and approach towards invitation for qualifiers, i believe, will totally change.
On the flip side, per our current actions towards this policy, I again believe it sends all the wrong signals to the local players as we tell them: “you are very good, but only during qualifiers. If you manage to get qualification, there is always a better player out there to take your place.”
Fortunately for us however, there are some foreign clubs that are very much prepared to release their players for qualifiers, so it’s a matter of preference.
We should be able to reward our players who fight so hard to get the nation to such championships because mind you, they also want to get marketed and their profiles also boosted.
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That is why we also need to apply the FIFA rule to our advantage.
Before the Afcon 2012,the GFA allowed THE AYEWS,KWADO ASAMOAH AND AGYEMAN BADU to stay with their teams for some important matches before they turn up.
They GFA fail to use the FIFA rule and came up with the explanation that,they have a good relationship with UDINESE AND MARSEILLE.
Not surprising of the abysmal performances.In the end Plavi was sacked.
On the issue of using local players for qualifers only to dump them for foreign based players in real tournaments,l think it should be a matter of justify your inclusion.
in my humble opinion, i think the way out are these
1. coaches must stop collecting bribes
2. when playing against african opposition, the squad must be made up of LARGELY LOCAL BASED PLAYERS. WHEN PLAYING AGAINST NON AFRICAN OPPOSITION, THE SQUAD SHOULD BE MADE UP OF MORE FOREIGN BASED PLAYERS. WHY U ASK?
U SEE, WE ALL KNOW FOREIGN BASED PLAYERS DONT PUT IN THEIR 100 PERCENT EFFORT AGAINST OTHER AFRICAN OPPOSITION. SECONDLY, LOOK WE WON 4 AFCON TROPHIES WITH LOCAL PLAYERS. SPAIN WON THE EURO 2WICE WITH LARGELY LOCAL BARCA N REAL MADRID PLAYERS. ZAMBIA N EGYPT WON THEIR AFCONS WITH LARGELY LOCAL BASED PLAYERS. WE CAN LEARN SMTHING FROM THESE TEAMS
5. THE AWAY GAME AGAINST MALAWI SHOULD HVE LESS FOREIGN BASED PLAYERS N MORE LOCAL PLAYERS. U WILL SEE THE IMPACT. AFRICAN STYLE SOCCER IS MORE RUGGED THAN EUROPEAN SOCCER.
AA SHOULD LEAVE ESSIEN N AGYEMAN BADU ALONE. WE DONT NEED THEM RIGHT NOW. LEAVE ESSIEN ALONE TO GET COMFORTABLE AT REAL MADRID. HEY ESSIEN, IF AA CALLS U, DONT COME. THE GUY JUST CAME BACK FROM INJURY. LEAVE HIM ALONE…WE HVE MORE THAN ENUFF PLAYERS WHO NEED SELECTION. ABEYIE, YARTEY, WAKASSO ARE ALL THERE N CAN FILL IN FOR ESSIEN.
This is a stupid article. dont players get bonuses for qualifiers? Ghana must assemble its best squad at any given time, playing the qualifiers shud to be a guaratee for playing in the tournament itself, form should be. If the coach feels the need to improve the squad with other available players, he should feel free to do so. afterall tournaments a more competitive than qualifiers and we want to win and not just to participate.
On the flip side, per our current actions towards this policy, I again believe it sends all the wrong signals to the local players as we tell them: “you are very good, but only during qualifiers. If you manage to get qualification, there is always a better player out there to take your place.” AND PRINCE BOATENG TOOK THE PLACE KINGSTON LARYEA.
This article is baseless… what he said is nothing new and of course some players will help the nation qualified but at some level,we need some experience players to beef up so what is the point here!! Viva the revolutioncion!!
PLAYERS IN BEST FORM SHOULD BE THE ULTIMATE DECIDER AT EVERY LEVEL SIMPLE. Everybody knows foreign based players do better on the international stage than local players,they are also more trustworthy not to collect bribe and snitch on the team like that local goal keeper who took per diem from the LIBERIANS to allow in two quick early goals
HE WILL BE EXPOSED VERY SOON! TWEAAAAAA!
A good coach will always assemble the best talent to make up his team. Once the team is firing on all cylinders a good coach will keep his team intact and not disrupt the movement, chemistry, consistency and bond forged from competing as a unit. In a team sport this is more important than just patching together a collection of talent.
I am sure Konadu knows soccer and will keep the squad that helped him qualify. Otherwise it will be like Konadu working to help qualify the Black Stars and then have a foreign coach take over for the World Cup. That will be “Monkey dey work Baboon dey chop!