BLACK STARS AND THE PROMISE LAND 2

photo credit:GFA

The Black Stars of Ghana became the fourth African nation to qualify for next year’s World Cup in Brazil, despite suffering a 2-1 loss away to Egypt, in the second leg of their play-off. The Black Stars travelled to Cairo, boasting a 6-1 advantage from the first leg in October and were never in danger of suffering any upset.
Amr Zaki gave the Pharaoh of Egypt the lead in the first half, but it was just a false flicker of hope. The second half almost panned out that way, before Gedo struck in the closing stages. There was also enough time for Kevin-Prince Boateng, to pull one back for the visitors, who qualified 7-3 on aggregate. Ghana joins neighbours Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire and Cameroun, as the continent’s flag bearers.
At long last the mission to the dream land has finally come to pass and there has been celebration everywhere in Ghana. And even President John Mahama has congratulated the senior national team, the Black Stars, for qualifying to play in next year’s World Cup in Brazil as Ghana’s third consecutive participation in the tournament, and Mahama urged the team to work hard to bring the cup home. He also compelled the team to minimized jubilations and starts preparations because it is easier to qualify than to win.
He added that our participation in the Brazil 2014 tournament should not end with us saying “we could have done better.”And "This time we don't have to say we almost got there, but this time we have and bring the cup home. The whole nation will be watching. This is the time the team needs to work harder to be able to bring the cup home", said President Mahama.
As 24 millions of Ghanaian soccer fanatics who watched the critical FIFA World Cup qualifier march of the Black Stars of Ghana and the Pharaohs of Egypt were stunned to have seen a number of group supporters in President John Dramani Mahama’s customized T-shirt.
Which has resulted in political difference and question on everybody lips as whether it about “PATRIOTISM OR MAHAMISM”? : As a result the national democratic congress (NDC) communications team member, Dela Edem has described as inopportune, the noise being made about Ghanaian supporters clad in President John Mahama’s T-shirts during the second leg World Cup Qualifier in Cairo, Egypt .According to Dela, the T-shirt was to inspire the Black Stars to give off their best and to ensure Ghana qualifies to the world cup in Brazil.
  Speaking on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo Thursday, Dela Edem said those raise concerns are just being duplicitous.Dela explain that the custom-made T-shirts were not authorized by government but rather a young man circulated it in Egypt as part of his input to the national course.“Out of the 300 supporters only 42 got the T-shirts with the caption JM supports the Black Stars, at the back is Ghana not NDC,” he stressed.
“There is absolutely nothing wrong with it. Even the players who were happy to see the supporters wearing the JM T-shirts gave them Puma branded caps to complement it”.Dela Edem said people should not act as if wearing a John Mahama T-shirt is a crime in Ghana.

Well all we ever want was to go to the promise land and if it has happened as we desire why rising concern over customized T-shirt. This does not mean that I’m in support with what went on at Cairo. But in first place was it a crime/wrong something to put on the face of country president Mahama on football grounds? Secondly was it the only appropriate way to inspire our players? Well I leave the questions for you to answer and judge for yourself........... still counting what happens next with the promise land?....... 

Blackstars and the promise land

photo credit: GFA

               THE PROMISE LAND PART 1

Ghana vs Egypt 2013 features two heading to Baba Yara Stadium today. Egypt, however, is undefeated in their last five soccer matches. Egypt is coming off of five consecutive soccer wins. Ghana, in turn, has two wins, one draw and two losses in their last five matches. But Ghana has not lost a qualifier in months.
Officials remind news that this is the first two qualifiers between these nations this winter. They will next battle on November 13, 2013. After that, Ghana faces Congo, Libya and Ethiopia in friendly matches in January.
Egypt, in turn, has not lost a qualifier this year. The beat Zimbabwe twice in June. Since then, they defeated Guinea. Most recently they won two friendly matches, both against Uganda. Ghana, however, has not lost their last two qualifiers either. They beat Lesotho in June and most recently defeated Ghana in September.

After the match, Ghanians runs to jubilation and giving meanings to Egypt.

Ghana 6          Egypt 1

                      E-E iii

                      G-Ghana

                      Y-Y?

                      P-Please

                      T-take-time

And biblical quotation was all over the various social media as Ghana relief of pharaoh letting the people of Israel go to the promise land.

Ghana 6    - 1Egypt

Exodus 6:1       “then Lord said to Moses, now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh (Egypt); because of my might hand he will let them (Ghana) go” to the promise land (Brazil)

After reading all those comments, I asked myself how are we sure that Ghana defeating Egypt is some way or other  the biblical statement are quoting is true while we have not play the return match?  Have we ever thought of the other of it?  In facts are sure that Brazil is the final promise land we are so confident of?  Well let see what happens next………………………………………………as the story of going to the promise land continue to be in dilemma.

photo credit:skysports

Borussia Dortmund will be without coach Jurgen Klopp for their UEFA Champions League clash with Arsenal later this month.

Klopp will be missing from the touchline when last year's finalists take on the Gunners at the Emirates on October 22 after being handed an extended suspension by UEFA.
The German coach was sent to the stands for verbally abusing the fourth official in the 2-1 defeat by Napoli last month.
Klopp blew his top when Napoli scored after the fourth official refused to allow defender Neven Subotic back onto the pitch quickly following treatment for an injury.
The 46-year-old served a one-match ban during the 3-0 victory over Marseille on Tuesday but UEFA's disciplinary committee have now doubled the suspension as part of a drive to encourage greater respect for match officials.
"This decision can be appealed. Borussia Dortmund are currently considering whether to go down that route," said the club, who have three days to lodge any protest.
Klopp, whose team have three points in Group F, the same as Napoli, with Arsenal top on six, has repeatedly apologised for his behaviour.
"I made myself look like a monkey out there and that's not on," Klopp told German TV. "I overstepped the mark and it was really pathetic of me."

sex and football

Sex and Football - Does sex affect player performance?  

For many years there has been this whole myth about players should not have sex 1-2 days before a match as this will affect testosterone levels within in the body resulting in affected performance.. but is this really true?

This is just a suspicion which many sports still abide to as they 'believe' that no sex before a match helps performance when in fact no scientific evidence has been produced to back up this point. As World Soccer magazine states, "It's not the sex the night before, it's the staying up all night looking for it" which is also seen as another suspicion..  why would the Ghanaian team be banned from having sex, how is the team management going to enforce the ban, and does not having sex improve an athlete’s performance on the field? It seems the Ghanaian football team management has some ideas about the correlation of sex and football performance that makes them think that having sex will decrease performance on the field. “Ghanaweb reports that a sex ban has been imposed on the Ghana squad during the World Cup. It’s hard to know how this might affect things, nor how it might be enforced, but we must trust in the powers that be and assume they know their players,”. The same article says that this strategy allegedly worked for Switzerland in 1994 as well because they got very far in the tournament before being knocked out by a lucky Spanish side. What is interesting to note here is that no one on the Ghanaian management team attributed the winning streak of the Swiss side in the ‘94 World Cup to nothing more than good play and luck. Even though the Swiss team and their management denied the no sex rumours, the story became legendary and may have inspired the current thinking from the African nation.
In truth it wasn't until the arrival of the psychologist Freud and his psychological and psychiatric disciplines in the late 19th century that the view of sex as a harmful activity was first thrown into the spotlight. Scientists are now studying sexual activity related to sports and with a lot of tests being carried out on a range of athletes from footballers to olympic runners there is yet to be any concrete evidence which supports the theory of sex before a match affects performance. A sports medicine scientist from McGill university in Canada, has carried out various tests and states that "The idea of sex can make an athlete tired and weak the next day has been disproved"

The chemistry has also been studied and it is found that far from the act of depriving the body from vital fluids it can actually increase the volume of testosterone within the blood.   Pravda sports reporting by Abigail Opoku

foreign

photo and story credit:skysports.com

Jose Mourinho has hit back at accusations from Andres Iniesta that he damaged Spanish football by claiming that he was made to suffer for being the coach who "ended Barcelona's dominance" during his time at Real Madrid. The Portuguese's controversial three-year reign at the Bernabeu came to a close at the end of the season and the Spain star suggested that the 50-year-old left behind an unsavoury legacy in Spain. But Mourinho reflected on his time at Madrid with fondness, having successfully halted Barca's grip on La Liga in record-breaking fashion just a year ago.

French winger Florent Malouda has said he is proud of his achievements during his time at Chelsea, and he is leaving the club with his head held high. The France international is among eight players who have been released by the Blues after their contracts were not renewed.
Rafael Nadal smiled back from the front pages of Spanish newspapers today, after he lifted his record eighth French Open title with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 win over compatriot David Ferrer. The 27-year-old Spaniard's triumph made him the first man to ever win the same Grand Slam title on eight different occasions.

local report

Former Black Stars deputy skipper Hamza Mohammed has stated that he has not quit football, and will be coming back this September to continue his career. The midfield enforcer has been out of action since 2009 when he played for Kumasi King Faisal. According to him, he is making a comeback in three months time so his fans and Ghanaians should watch out. Mohammed, 32, has played for Real Tamale United, Kumasi Asante Kotoko, King Faisal and also had stints outside with Romanian Ceahlaul Piatra Neamt and New Zealand based Knights FC. He captained the Black Satellites in the 1999 U20 world youth championship in Nigeria where Ghana reached the quarter-finals and has so far played 28 times for the Black Stars scoring once.