Ghana midfielder Andre Dede Ayew has revealed that the South Africa 2010 World Cup offered him an opportunity to prove a point.
According to him, having fallen out of favour with Marseille, amidst criticisms from fans back home in Ghana, he decided to go the extra mile to justify the confidence reposed in him by former Black Stars Serbian trainer Milovan Rajevac.
Speaking on GTV’s Sportlite programme a few days ago, he said, “The coach had so much confidence in me, and I could not let him and Ghanaians down in South Africa,” he said.
In response to what accounted for the Black Stars’ sterling performance in the 2010 showpiece he disclosed: “Team spirit, the blend of the young and experienced players, the coach’s tactics as well as our hunger for success did the trick.”
The 2009 U-20 World Cup winner noted that the South Africa 2010 tourney was special because it changed the lives of most of the players in various aspects, appreciating their transfer market value, alongside other benefits.
Dede mentioned that winning their first game against Serbia was crucial in South Africa, taking into consideration the coach’s background as a Serbian, coupled with wild rumors back home in Ghana that he could play it ‘soft’ to give his home country an undue advantage.
To the son of legendary Abedi Pele, playing under different Black Stars coaches- Claude Le Roy, Milovan Rajevac, Goran Stevanovic- who come out with different approaches and solutions, offered him the chance to tap the best from each of them.
On his worst moment so far, as a footballer, he mentioned the Black Stars’ loss to Egypt in the Angola 2010 Nations Cup, saying, “We lost a few minutes to the end of the game, it was our best game, but we lost due to ill-luck.”
He described the Black Meteors’ failure to qualify for the London 2012 Olympics as unfortunate, stating that “after winning the U-20 World Cup, all we had in mind was the London 2012 Olympics.”
He said the loss to Egypt in Angola was, to him, worse than the Black Stars infamous loss to Uruguay at the quarter final stage of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
“If we had beaten Uruguay, we would have faced Holland, and so on. It was an uphill task, so we didn’t have our hopes up too high. But in Angola, we had almost won the trophy because we were playing better.”
Dede described the current Black Stars squad as a winsome side as a result of the strong bond that exists between the playing body and the technical team.
To the former U-20 captain, winning either the 2012 or 2013 Nations Cup is a must for the Black Stars.
Dede expressed the hope that he would experience an injury-free season when the French League bounces back in the next few weeks.
Despite his brilliance in the past season which won him many admirers and nominations, the young player, has purposed to go past where he reached last season in his quest to carve a niche for himself.
Source: Kofi Owusu Aduonum
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