It is interesting and rare to get a player with three World Cup appearances and several Africa Cup of Nation tournaments under his belt, lacking maturity and not being focused.
But that seemed to be the situation Asamoah Gyan found himself or at least that is how coach James Kwasi Appiah saw him when he made him captain of the Black Stars according to ex- Ghana defender John Painstil.
In the African context the traits that typically make up maturity are only presumed to come with age and experience.
Most often than not, coaches appoint players who can lead and control teammates both on and off the pitch and it is often one of the older/or more experienced members of the squad, or a player that can heavily influence a game or has good leadership qualities.
In this case, former Black Stars gaffer James Kwasi Appiah in 2013 saw that Asamoah Gyan had the capabilities to be the team’s captain but he was always acting immature so in order to get the best out of him, he was made the captain of the team, reveals John Paintsil.
Speaking on Dwidwamu Sports on Kasapa FM, the former Fulham defender, revealed that when Kwasi Appiah decided to make Gyan the Captain of the Black Stars ahead of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa, Kwasi Appiah had a chat with him (Paintsil) to explain his reasons for making Gyan the skipper of the team since he was the most senior player at camp then.
“In 2013, when we were in camp in Kenya preparing for the Africa Cup of Nation tournament, Kwasi Appiah told me that he wants to make Gyan the captain and I asked him his reason for making him the Captain.
The coach then said he wanted to see more maturity from Gyan and he believes when given the armband, he will be more matured”, Painstil said.
Gyan became captained the Black Stars from 2013 to 2019 and was replaced by his vice-captain Andre Ayew.
Story by: Alexander Anyankwaa|Kasapa FM|
