Jerome Boateng 2009

In many ways the first reaction to this title would be "that's a silly question. Of course Ghana needs Michael Essien". That for sure would be our reaction too. But our question really should read something like this "Without Michael Essien, will the wheels really fall off Ghana's World Cup campaign?"


Without a doubt any team in the world today would need Michael Essien... fully fit. However if there is ever a team team that can live without the powerhouse box-to-box midfielder, who is skilled in the defensive arts, but can rip through defences just as easily, and also launch devastating missiles from long distance, that team is Ghana. World-class midfielders seem to come a dime a dozen in Ghana, and indeed most parts of Africa. There are those who have attributed this phenomenom to the popular kick-about football on the streets and sandy pitches of Africa, played with miniature goalposts that hone the dribbling and passing skills required in midfield play.

Whatever the reason, Ghana has a generation of mint fresh midfielders ready to step in for Essien and grind out results. Perhaps all fall short of the lofty standards of the Chelsea ace, but as a unit woven together by the crafty Serbian Milovan Rajevac, they become a formidable bunch to crack as Burkina Faso, Angola, Nigeria and Egypt found out at the Nations Cup in January.

Jerome Boateng 2009
Jerome Boateng 2009
Jerome Boateng 2009
Jerome Boateng 2009
Jerome Boateng 2009
Jerome Boateng 2009
Jerome Boateng 2009