Former Ghana Black Stars skipper and head coach James Kwesi Appiah has revealed his all-time best 11 of the national team in his book “Leaders Don’t Have To Yell”.
Players who made it to the list of coach Kwesi Appiah’s are:
Gk- Richard Kingson: “He has a good vision of the field, read the game well and had good anticipation skills”.
Lateral defenders – Ernest Appau and Offei Ansah
Ernest – “During the 1980s when most of us were incorporating overlapping runs into our style of play, he was one of the best I ever saw”.
Offei Ansah – “He was the kind of player we referred to as a “hard guy” due to how difficult it was to compete against him. He was tactically disciplined and always had a winning mentality”
4. Samuel Osei Kuffour – “… he had a commanding presence at the back. His aggressiveness and his winning mentality made him a first choice defender most of the times”
5. John Mensah -“His height and physical build made him stand out. Because of the speed, he was able to cover many areas of the defence. He was very good in the air and used his strength to dominate opponents. “
6. Papa Arko – “He always played with an attacking mindset and was very good about switching the pace of the game as needed. One of his unique qualities is his ability to control and shoot the ball very well with both left and right feet.”
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7. Michael Essien – “I selected him for this position on this team because he can play it well and switch smoothly if I needed to move him into another position. He knows how to make himself available for the ball, and he is very good at controlling the pace of the game.”
8. Stephen Appiah – “He was technically skilful, had a good vision of the field and covered a lot of ground in the midfield. He led by example and controlled what was happening on the field with his ball-handling and his motivation of other players. “
9. Asamoah Gyan – “Gyan is a powerful weapon in a team’s attack. He has great speed and knows how to get around defenders. “
10. Abedi Pele – “A natural leader, his tendency to always want the ball and his ability to create scoring opportunities for himself or other players made him an energizing part of the attack.”
11. Samuel Opoku Nti – “His high work rate and his intelligence on the field made him extremely successful at both club and the national team.”
Players on his bench are:
Sulley Muntari, Tony Yeboah, Harrison Afful, Frimpong Manso, Sam Ampeh, Nketia Yawson, Kofi Badu, Kwadwo Asamoah, Andre Dede Ayew, Joseph Paintsil, John Boye and Edward Ansah.