On October 14, 2016, The Chronicle carried an editorial under the caption; “Media must stop sowing seeds of confusion between Dede & Asamoah Gyan.”
The paper reported that the Ghanaian media was trying to create a wedge between the current captain of the Black Stars, Asamoah Gyan and his Deputy, Andre Dede Ayew, just like it happened between Abedi Ayew Pele and Kwesi Appiah in 1992.
Tony Yeboah was later dragged into the wedge with persistent reports that he was fighting Abedi Pele over the captainship band.
The paper cautioned the Ghanaian media to stop stoking fire between the two top and hard working members of the Black Stars and allow Gyan to continue his captainship role until his time is over, for Dede Ayew to carry on, especially because the two players have insisted there is no cause for alarm.
Skipper Asamoah Gyan, in an interview with Joy FM frowned at media reports suggesting that Andre Ayew’s admiration for the captaincy has sparked a bitter rivalry between them.
He insisted that he has a warm and friendly relationship with the former Olympic Marseille star and went further to warn the local media that the false speculations could bring a feud between the two great friends, who are working together for the success of the national team.
“I don’t have a problem with Andre. He has been my friend way back. Since he joined the national team, I have been his inspiration,” Gyan told Joy FM, adding, “Sometimes people try to bring this rivalry between two stars in the team. We have seen this before in the olden days.”
On the other hand, the West Ham midfielder has refuted claims that he is desperate to take over from the man who has been his mentor and inspiration since he joined the senior national team. “I’m not in a hurry to become Black Stars captain. I’m the deputy and have always supported Asamoah Gyan.
“He is grooming me to take over the Black Stars captaincy in future, so until he retires, I’m still his deputy”, Dede told Starr FM.
Albeit, both the Black Stars captain and his deputy have denied there is a feud between them, as they have very good working relationship in the national team, The Chronicle now believes there is more to it than meets the eye.
As the saying goes, “There is no smoke without fire”, The Chronicle trusts that Dede Ayew has eyes for the captain armband, even though he is very much aware that Asamoah Gyan, who has seen it all and above him (Dede) is still in charge.
Sometimes, they say, there is some truth in every rumour, which indicates that much as people don’t want to believe there is a wedge between the Black Stars skipper and his deputy, we cannot wish that away.
It is against this backdrop that The Chronicle is calling on Abedi Ayew Pele, one of the finest footballers Ghana has produced and father of the West Ham midfielder to call his boy to order and if necessary use his own experience as a test case for Dede.
When in 1992 confusion brewed between him (Abedi ‘Maestro’ Pele) and the then captain of the side, James Kwesi Appiah and later extended to Tony Yeboah, it dimmed the shine out of the performance of the squad, as they could not even win any glory.
The days of the Maestro and Tony Yeboah was when Ghana could boast of world class and tried and tested players who could take on any team at any time.
Abedi Pele, who was plying his trade in the French league won the African Player of the Year thrice and Tony won the overall top scorer in the German Bundesliga for three consecutive times.
The other players at the time include; Edward Ansah, Salifu Ansah, Abubakari Damba, Emmanuel Ampeah, Nii Darko Ankrah, Emmanuel Armah, Isaac Asare, Anthony Baffoe, Frimpong Manso, Stanley Aborah, Ali Ibrahim and Prince Polley among others.
But, in all of that, because of the captaincy disputes between Pele and Yeboah, which created a wedge between the playing body, Ghana could not win any laurel, not even on the African continent.
The Chronicle expects the Maestro to use his personal experience to advice his son to slow down, because it is very clear that Gyan has only a few more years to play for the team, and after that he is next in line.
It would be better for Dede to make Ghana proud as a deputy skipper than to become the captain and end up without any cup or title to his name.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.