Turkey-based midfielder Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu has fired a disguised angry salvo at Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah for ‘retiring’ him from the Black Stars.
The Bursaspor player seems to have heavily criticised Appiah’s decision to exclude him from the national team, telling the Black Stars coach: ‘you can’t retire the King’.
In his defiant posting on social media, Badu seems to conclude that Appiah’s decision to drop him since taking over implies that he has been forced into international retirement.
Timed to exact the maximum inference, Badu posting was made on Monday hours before the Black Stars started their training in Kumasi for Friday’s match against Congo.
Badu, who had been an ever-present figure in the Black Stars for seven years, was axed from Appiah’s team in his second stint in charge of the Ghana national team.
The midfielder, who is normally refered to as ‘Nana’ which means King was not part of the squad when they defeated Ethiopia 5-0 in the 2019 AFCON qualifier in Kumasi in June.
The match in Kumasi was the first for Appiah since taking over from Israeli coach Avram Grant for his second stint in charge of the senior national team.
Badu was also not included the the squad for the friendly matches against USA and Mexico with the excuse that the chance was being given to other players to impress.
Now with the crucial 2018 World Cup qualifying back-to-back matches against Congo looming where the big boys are needed to fight the Red Devils, Badu seems to conclude that his exclusion is tantamount to being forced into a retirement from the Black Stars.
“You can’t retire a King,” Badu, who is enjoying an upsurge in form at Turkish side Bursaspor after recently joining from Italian side Udinese, wrote on Instagram on Monday.
Badu is among three key players excluded from the Black Stars since Appiah took over from Avram Grant for his second stint in charge of the national team.
Mubarak Wakaso and goalkeeper Razak Brimah are the two other players who have been left out of the squad since Appiah’s return as the Black Stars coach.
Though no clear reason has been given for their exclusion, several Ghana FA officials said the decision was to give other players the chance to impress and the trio would return.
With Ghana facing tough matches against Congo over the next one week to decide the country’s fate for the World Cup, it was thought the trio could be made to return.
But they were excluded from the 24-man squad named by coach Appiah who is keeping faith with the youngsters who have been invited since he took over.
The Black Stars need a strong pair of results in the matches against the Red Devils, as they find themselves five points adrift of Group E leaders Egypt, who will battle Uganda in their two matches in Kampala and Alexandria.
Ghana have qualified for the last three World Cups in a row (2006, 2010 & 2014), with Appiah overseeing their successful campaign to book a spot at the last global tournament in Brazil.
Topping Group E with six points, the Pharaohs are looking for a victory in the Ugandan capital to boost their qualification chances.
Egypt will host Uganda on 5 September at Alexandria’s Borg El-Arab Stadium.
Egypt last made it to the World Cup in 1990, and hope to end their 28-year wait with an appearance in Russia next year.
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Courtesy of GHANAsoccernet.com – Ghana’s leading football news website. Click for more news. |
