Andre Ayew And Asamoah Gyan Think Ghana Can Overcome Loss Of Michael Essien

The duo discuss playing in the World Cup without Essien.




PARIS—On an overcast Satuday morning, the Ghanian national team discussed entering the World Cup in South Africa without its biggest star - Michael Essien. As concerned as the team is for the 26 year old Chelsea midfielder's career, the team believes it can weather the storm due to a combination of veteran talent and young hungry players.

"It is a big blow for us. We all know that Michael is a good player, is a strong player," said Black Stars defender John Mensah at PUMA's African Unity Experience event. "He did a lot to help the team qualify [for the World Cup] for a second time. We all hope for him to come back, we all have to pray for him to come back. He is important for his team and Ghana as well. So we all have to pray. He is still young and has a lot of games left to play."

Midfielder Andre Ayew is close with Essien and the 20 year old remembers hearing the dismaying news from his friend over the phone.

"I think he came in the morning and had a physical, we don't really know what happened there," said Ayew. "I am close to him, so he called me and told me what happened that day. It was sad for him and for the team because it very important that Ghana has a player like him.

"We will miss Essien, the exposure he's had [to big games] and the charisma he has. It is going to be difficult for the coach to prepare for the World Cup without Essien."

When healthy, Essien is an elite soccer player. His elusive pace, industrious work rate and intelligent placing on the pitch make him one of the few dominant two-way players in the sport. It is questionable whether or not the midfielder's tireless effort has impacted his career as he has spent significant parts of both this season and last with debilitating injuries. With the World Cup less than nine days away, the team has put its focus solely on exceeding the precedent set by the team's first World Cup appearance in 2006 when it advanced past the group stages.

"We have to concentrate on the competition because we can’t get stuck on Michael and how much we will miss him," said Ayew.

Without Essien, the team will have to considerably change its approach but it can still be dangerous if head coach Milovan Rajevac can find a way to utilize both the team's solid veterans and its up and coming talent. Forward Asamoah Gyan has proven to be a prolific scorer on the international level.

On the younger side, Ayew is the son of Ghanaian legend Abedi Pele and the Olympique Marseille player, who spent last season on loan at Ligue 2 side AC Arles, led his U20 side to a surprising victory over Brazil in the Under 20 World Cup final. While most coaches tend to rely heavily on their veterans, it would be prudent for Rajevac to try to instill confidence in his younger players and maximize their potential.

"We have a good mixture of talent on this team between the senior players and young ones," said Ayew, who has attracted interest from English Premier League sides including Everton FC, Fulham FC and Birmingham. "The young ones, what we have is a good fighting spirit and energy to compliment the experience and technique of our older players. We are trying to put together a good composure and strategy together. The transition has actually gone very well."

With 17 goals in 32 international appearances, Gyan has one of the best strike rates of the forwards going into the World Cup finals. The team will have to depend on Gyan heavily if it is going to meet its expectations. Gyan, however, believes that the team has always found ways to unite behind each other and proved that during the African Cup of Nations where the made the finals without several injured players.

"We have a round team. I'll take you back to Angola [during the African Cup of Nations], we lost some players but the team was able to make the final. As a [healthy] group we are ok but we lost [Essien] so we just have to concentrate on the future."

Gyan believes that his team will surprise many as it will have a great advantage playing behind the support of an entire continent. The 24-year old forward, who currently plays for Ligue 1 side Rennes, cautions other teams in the World Cup that the loss of one player will not break his team.

"The Ghana team, we are united. We don't put anyone ahead of anyone, we are a team. When we are on the field, we play our [style of] football. For us that is the most important thing. We make sure that we don’t put pressure on [any individual]."