News Desk Report
Embattled Black Stars coach, James Kwasi Appiah, and striker Asamoah Gyan are set to smoke the peace pipe after a four-day crossfire turned the two pals into sworn enemies.
According to an inside source, Gyan, who retired from the Black Stars and made a sudden u-turn within 72 hours, is remorseful now and ready to patch up with the soft-spoken national coach after that unfortunate altercation early this week.
According to the source, Gyan, aka Baby Jet, actually tried to reach Coach Appiah via telephone which was unsuccessful before coming out publicly last Wednesday to rescind his earlier decision to retire from the national team over the team’s captaincy.
The player later followed up the call with a text message, indicating his desire to meet Coach Appiah on arrival in the country on Monday, 24 hours after featuring in Kayserispor’s last league match against Büyüksehir Belediye Erzurumspor.
Kayserispor are placed 11th on the Turkish Super Lig table, while their opponents are 17th in the 18-club league and are threatened by relegation.
Gyan was impressed upon by President Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo via telephone to reconsider his decision, after receiving a briefing on the captaincy brouhaha from Coach Appiah at the Jubilee House last Tuesday.
The President’s invitation of the Stars coach to the seat of government followed the confusion which erupted after Gyan’s surprise decision to retire from the national team last Monday, after the Stars coach had informed him of his decision to make him the general captain and elevate Andre Ayew as the new captain of the team for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, (AFCON)
However, Gyan, who is the most successful player in the national team as Ghana’s most capped player with 106 appearances and the nation’s all time leading goal scorer with 52 goals, took exception to the coach’s decision which was communicated to him on Sunday, and opted to call time on his career with the senior national team.
The planned meeting between Coach Appiah and his former captain is expected to restore their hitherto cordial relationship and help calm tension in the team barely one month to the Egypt 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) announced a 29-man provisional squad last Wednesday to embark on a three-week training tour of Dubai ahead of the tournament.
