Monday, January 14, 2008

AFCON: 2008 Physical brawl in Ghana's Camp

All is not well with the plans by Ghana to triumph at the Nations Cup, which they are hosting, following a fight which broke out among the players during training.

The Black Stars, who have been preparing in Abu Dhabi for the tournament kicking off this weekend, was rocked when two players came to blows during the team's evening training session last Thursday.


According to www.modernghana.com, the fight was started by teenage midfielder Andre 'Dede' Ayew, son of legend Abedi Pele, who did not take kindly to Laryea Kingston's tackle from behind just hours before the squad was named.

Dede launched a physical attack on his senior colleague which led to the brawl, disrupting training for about 15 minutes.

The duo had to be separated by captain John Mensah and several of their team-mates, though not before harsh words were exchanged.

Mensah assisted by other senior players in the squad like Eric Addo and Richard Kingston called the two players into a meeting later to resolve the issue.

This is the second time Dede has had a run-in with a senior player of the squad.

The player exchanged words with Portsmouth midfielder Sulley Muntari during the four-nation tournament in Accra in November.

The Marseille player was in a good position to score but Muntari's pass did not arrive which attracted an angry reaction from the youngster.

But the England-based midfielder gestured "shut up" to the youngster by putting his finger on his lips.

Even though Dede played down the rift with Muntari, former Black Stars player Godwin Ablordey says the youngster should respect senior players in the squad.

"As a young player in the squad he should learn to be patient with the senior players in the team otherwise he won't learn anything," Ablordey said.

"If he continues to react angrily all the time things will be difficult for him. In Ghana we respect our senior just as some of us did for his dad when we played together with him."

Meanwhile, the Black Stars lost 1-0 in a test game against Dubai-based club side, Al-Shabbab Saturday.

The game which saw Ghana coach Claude le Roy playing out two different sets of teams in each half was rather competitive as it afforded the coach an opportunity to see his team play together for the first timeAnd the physical play of the home side in the first half which ended goalless saw Black Stars midfielder, Sulley Muntari exiting the game after he was shown the red card.

Back from recess, Ghana introduced a new set of players and with just eight minutes of play remaining, Al-Shabbab bundled in the winner.

The Black Stars would play Guinea in the opening match of the Cup of Nations at the Ohene Djan Stdaium on Sunday.

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