….Even
before I could spell my name, it was common to hear my old folks pronounce
Ghana as ‘GANA’. It was no surprise when my Primary three teacher asked who
could spell Ghana that I stood up confidently and spelt ‘GANA’ instead. My
classmates laughed at me and I received the cane afterwards. In memory of that
event, I have chosen to spell Ghana as ‘GANA’ in my title. So please let me be!
LOL
Kawula to
you Dear readers! If you are a sports fan and you have been on the internet,
radio, television quite recently then it is no news to you that Germany
thrashed our Black Queens to a record 11 goals to nil. This unfortunate event
triggered a walk down memory lane to a story that I heard years ago. A
patriotic story of a football match between GANA and INDIA.
The soccer
world has never witnessed such a display of skills and tactics of the beautiful
game. This was match that could have outmatched and outclassed the flair of
both the Messis and the Ronaldos of our current generation. It is narrated that
after the formation of the Black Stars of Ghana by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the
National Soccer Team of India called Ghana for a friendly match at New Delhi. The
BlackStars flew to India to meet the biggest surprise of their lives. The
Indians brought all kinds of juju to the football field. According to
some sources, Mahatma Gandhi was the captain of the Indian team.
The referee whistled
and the match began. The ball was passed to Mahatma Gandhi and let out a strong
shot which turned the ball into the head of a lion. Our Goalkeeper, Ali Jara
dodged it was a goal. Whenever the striker of the BlackStars received the ball
in the 18-yard box, it either becomes a huge python or a heavy metal and scared
him away for their defenders to clear the ball. These roller ‘coasted’ for the
entire first half which ended as GHANA 0 INDIA 50!
The Second
half began with similar events. By the 70th minute it was India 99
Ghana 0. The Indians grew complacent and told the BlackStars that if they score
just one GOAL, they will be crowned winners of the match. It was then that the
coach of the BlackStars poured some libation, chanted some incantations and
OKOMFO ANOKYE appeared! Okomfo Anokye commanded a pair of football boots and
gloves to fall from the sky. He gave the boots to our Striker, the gloves to
Keeper Ali Jara and then vanished! This was the turning point of the match.
Goalkeeper Ali Jara left the gloves at the goal post and then sat on the net to eat Kenkey with Fish. The magical gloves caught all the shots of the Indian team while he sat enjoying his Kenkey unperturbed! At the 89th minute with the score line still 99-0 in favor of the Indians, the ball was crossed to our Striker. The ball turned to a very big lion as usual. With the magical boots on his feet, He mustered all courage and chested the ball and then jumped into the air to power the ball into the back of the net with an acrobat bicycle kick. The match ended INDIA 99 GANA 1 but in a favor of the BLACKSTARS.
The
President of India was impressed about their performance; as a result, he gave
the striker a beautiful Indian woman to marry and a private plane to take back
to Ghana. Unfortunately, HE died in a plane crash leaving Ghanaians who stood
at Kotoka International Airport to welcome him in sorrow. It was then that Dr.
Kwame Nkrumah proclaimed him a National Champion. A picture with his signature
bicycle kick was drawn on the can of the MILO DRINK so that Ghanaians will
always remember his patriotism. End of story!
I have
searched YOUTUBE, GOOGLE and GOAL.COM for a footage of this magical encounter;
haven’t found any evidence. In America, kids are told about Santa and his
flying reindeers at the North Pole or South pole. This tale, was like the story
of Santa to me. It was something to believe. Thus, I had to remember this tale
after I heard that the Black Queens were also thrashed 11 goals by the Germany
Women’s Team. The only difference was that it was not the tale I heard about
GANA and INDIA when I was young. It was
true!
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