Asamoah Gyan Provides Inside Story on How He Became Black Stars Captain

Asamoah Gyan Provides Inside Story on How He Became Black Stars Captain

Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:01 PM
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  • Asamoah Gyan has opened up on how he was made leader of the Black Stars despite not captaining any side before in his career
  • The 36-year-old striker was named skipper of Ghana by coach Kwesi Appiah and his reign as Black Stars captain lasted for six years spanning from 2013 to 2019
  • Since losing his captaincy role, Asamoah Gyan has been elevated to the 'General Captain' role for the Black Stars

One-time captain of the Black Stars, Asamoah Gyan has given an account of the issues which transpired before he assumed the captaincy role in the senior men's national team.

Asamoah Gyan, Ghana's leading all-time top scorer with 51 goals was named captain of the Black Stars in 2013 by then-coach Kwesi Appiah.

His reign as skipper of Ghana was short-circuited by the same coach who named him as captain prior to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

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Asamoah Gyan was captain of the Black Stars for a period of six years. Photos by Jim Rogash and Issouf Sanogo
Source: Getty Images

The unpopular decision by coach Kwesi Appiah forced Gyan into announcing his premature retirement from international football until the intervention of Ghana's president His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo.

Although Asamoah is yet to hang his boots, the 36-year-old last played for his country of birth in 2019 and has since been elevated to the 'General Captain' role.

When quizzed if he had always dreamed of serving in the capacity as Black Stars captain, Gyan replied: “honestly, no. Throughout my career, I didn’t like this captaincy. When I was young everywhere I go they say they want to give me captain, I say I don’t want." He told Asaase Radio as quoted by Talk Sports Ghana.
He continued: “It was something I didn’t cherish. It got to a time they had to speak to me, even when the captaincy was given to me I had to consult with the senior players."

He revealed he had to consult the senior players in the team before taking up the role.

“There were a lot of senior players who came before me at that time. John Paintsil was there, Sulley Muntari was there, I had to ask them."
“So they were like they accept it and everything. I said, okay, this will be my first time being a captain because my whole career I’ve never been a captain before so I have to accept it in good faith.” Asamoah concluded.

Asamoah Gyan salutes his brother for the instrumental role he played in his career

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that legendary Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan has opened up on how his elder brother Baffour Gyan played an instrumental role in his illustrious career.

Both Asamoah and Baffour Gyan began their careers from Ghana Premier League side Liberty Professionals, with the former going on to achieve greater success.

But the 36-year-old Asamoah Gyan believes his elder brother paved the way for him to achieve the success he continues to bask in.

Authors
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe photo
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe is a Ligue 1, Bundesliga, and La Liga editor with five-year experience. He previously worked with Sports Corna and 360SportsGH.
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