Asamoah GYAN, captain of Ghana
AFCON/ DRC - IN FRONT OF THE ENEMY
Ghana: GYAN will not shoot the penalty
January 19, 2013
Claude Le Roy will not contradict Kwesi APPIAH, the coach of Ghana, when he speaks of Asamoah GYAN as a very intelligent player. Against the Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday in Port Elizabeth, GYAN will lead the Black Stars for the fourth straight time in the finals of the African Cup of Nations.
However, his first season as captain will start against the man (LE ROY) who gave him his first selection in the 2008 tournament, when the French was coaching the team of Ghana. It was a tough tournament for GYAN who then faced harsh criticism finally, thanks to its strong personality, became the leader of Ghana.
The Coach Kwesi APPIAH believes in him, hard as iron on, www.ghanafa.org during training camp of Ghanaians in Abu Dhabi, he said: "Asamoah is very intelligent. It should be one of the top scorers in the history of our selection and take advantage of every opportunity. So far he scored only five goals till in the qualifying stage. He can do much better, because if you give it a good shot, he knows how to put it in the net ... He also knows when to accelerate or when to slow down and impose the game... "
He went to earn some banknotes in United Arab Emirates (150 000 dollars a week, they say), Asamoah GYAN ensures that they should not count on him to shoot the penalties. Not because he remembers the famous penalty messed up against Uruguay in the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup - a failed attempt which had prevented the Black Stars to become the first African team to reach the semi-finals in a World Cup- but simply because of advice from his mother.
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"I decided not to take the penalty for the national team, the former player of Rennes confessed to BBC. A few months ago, I said that I will not take the responsibility to take a penalty. Before my mother died (in November, ed.), she told me not to shoot them henceforth.”
Flash Portrait
Asamoah GYAN, born on 22 November 1985 in Accra. Striker. 1.80m. Quick, incisive, clever. Current club: Al Ain (UAE). Previous clubs: Liberty, Udinese, Modena, Rennes, Sunderland.