The Black Stars ill-fated world cup campaign stemmed from several factors, a tough group, poor tactics, poor defending, and profligacy upfront. These are the footballing reasons, but beyond that the Stars were kicked out due to the circus that the team’s camp was turned into.
Events that have transpired around the Stars since they touched down in Brazil has been so unbelievable that you would be forgiven if you thought you were following one of those poorly written Mexican soap operas. There was violence, money issues, verbal disparagement, and my personal favourite; tears.
Amidst all these, is it any wonder that the team have been kicked out of the first round for the first time in their history? Above everything else, teamwork is the secret ingredient of football sides. Teamwork is what leads to improbable victories like Zambia at CAN 2012, Chelsea and Liverpool in the 2012 and 2005 UEFA Champions League, and the Black Satellites in Egypt 2009.
After the shambles that was CAN 2012, when the spirit in camp resembled what you would find in an internment camp filled with Americans and Russians, one would have thought lessons had been learned. But no, events in Brazil have shown that once again short-sightedness is the bane of African administrators.