It’s a been an extremely difficult year that has seen a long term injury lay off, club tug of war and an unknown future for Ghana midfielder and Captain Stephen Appiah.
Declan Hill is an investigative journalist who has worked for the CBC, BBC, and on several “PBS Frontline” documentaries. He has just written a book called “The Fix: Soccer and Organized Crime” which tells the story of an investigative journalist who sets out to examine the world of match fixing in professional soccer.
Several news outlets have reviewed the book and reported the more explosive allegations, including the author’s assersion that the Brazil-Ghana World Cup 06 match was fixed (Ghana lost 3-0). An article in today’s Toronto newspaper features the author responding to the paper’s doubts about his claims. Whether all his assertions can be proved or not, this guy has the cajones to wade into some very dangerous waters, showing the dark side of the game (crime syndicates, “fixers”, agents, FIFA) and he’s upsetting plenty of people (the Ghanian FA is suing him). Compelling.
Image via DeclanHill
image via Wikipedia
The latest Fifa rankings have confirmed what we thought all along, donkeys run the show. After winning the African Nations Cup for the second time (back to back), Egypt is ranked 4th coming out of Africa while Ghana takes the top spot with Cameroon and the Ivory Coast following. The exact quote from a Fifa rep is “rankings are not a reflection of a teams present performance, but a reflect of the past for years.” Cough-bullshiz-cough.
image via PhotoBucket
Ten man Ghana is going to the Semi’s with a 2-1 win over rival Nigeria in the African Nations Cup. Led by Michael Essien and former MLS’er Junior Agogo, who scored the winner with 8 minutes left, Ghana’s comeback win in Accra was a tense one after Everton’s Yakubu put the Nigerians up 1-0 at the 34 minute mark.
image via Z About
Two Premiership players guided Ghana to a 2-0 result over Morocco in todays African Nations Cup match in Accra, Ghana. With Sulley Muntari (Portsmouth) lining up 25 yards out from Morocco’s goal, Essien (Chelsea) made his move far post where his was rewarded, poking the ball past Lamyaghri for a 1-0 lead in the 26th minute. Right before the halftime whistle, Essien returned the favor, finding possession and pushing to the top of the 18, getting his head up and finding a free Muntari to finish, 2-0 to the hosts. The win pushes the hosts into the final 8.
Wonder if Yallop still has his rights?
image via Nottingham Forest
While all the talk about MLS players in the African Cup of Nations has revolved around Bouna Time, a former Fire/Rapid/Earthquake player by the name of Junior Agogo has quietly flown under the radar. The Notts Forest striker has been at the top of the scoring charts for the last two years and has earned himself a trip with Ghana, whom he already has 10 Caps to his name with.
