Ghana’s Ayew lives in father’s shadow

Ghana captain Andre Ayew is heading to an extraordinary 10th major tournament and has won a record tally of caps for his country, yet he still lives in the shadow of his father.

A career that started as a teenage prodigy, taking in stints at Olympique de Marseille, Swansea City, West Ham United and Fenerbahce, and first playing international football 15 years ago, has set new standards for Ghana football.

But Ayew, and younger brother Jordan who plays at Crystal Palace, continue to be compared with the achievements of father Abedi Pele, a three-time African Footballer of the Year and European Cup winner.

PHOTO: REUTERS

It is something the brothers have been unable to shake off.

"What was difficult was people always talking about my dad and what he had done, always wanting to see him in me," forward Ayew said in an interview more than a decade ago.

"When I decided to try to make a life in football, I knew what would be waiting."

But now, with a substantial career of his own under his belt, he looks to have embraced his father's fame.

"I take a lot, if not every, inspiration from him," said Ayew in a recent appearance on Ghanaian television when the subject of his father came up yet again.

Abedi Pele -- widely considered one of the continent's finest footballers -- was in the Marseille side that won the European Cup in 1993 but never went to a World Cup. Son Andre is heading into his third in Qatar, on top of seven Cup of Nations finals appearances.

Ayew, who will turn 33 the day before the World Cup final and now plays his club football for Qatari champions Al Sadd, first played for Ghana in August 2007, in a friendly against Senegal in London where he came on for the final minute of the game.

PHOTO: REUTERS

Some seven months later, he was starting for the Black Stars in a Cup of Nations semi-final and has been a steady feature since.

His tally of 107 caps is a record for the country.

He had toyed briefly with playing for France, where he was born while his father was playing at Lille, and ran out for their under-18 team, but that was a short-lived idea.

Instead Ayew, known as 'Dede', has been at the heart of the Ghana team for well over a decade, contributing with his left foot, strong centre of gravity and ability to shrug off defenders, and looking to forge his own path, while also paying homage to his heritage.

GHANA IN BID TO REPRISE GLORY OF 2010 WORLD CUP

Ghana have gone through three coaches in 12 months and are making a concerted effort to add new talent to the team in an effort to reprise old glory and be competitive at the World Cup.

Otto Addo, with no previous senior coaching experience and combining his role as talent manager at German club Borussia Dortmund, will be leading the Black Stars campaign in Qatar where they take on Portugal, South Korea and Uruguay.

He is Ghana's third coach in the last year after Charles Akonnor was fired despite taking the team through the group phase of the African World Cup qualifiers into the playoffs in March, and Milovan Rajevac, shown the door after a disastrous Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon at the start of the year.

Rajevac was brought back after his exploits in 2010 when Ghana came within the width of the crossbar of becoming the first African country to reach the World Cup semi-finals.

PHOTO: REUTERS

But there were few similarities between the class of 2010 and the current generation and the Serbian was in charge for a matter of weeks as Ghana were humiliated at the Cup of Nations when the tiny Comoros Islands put them out in the first round.

That led to the surprise appointment of the inexperienced Addo, the 47-year-old former Ghana international who was born in Germany and played for the Black Stars in their first World Cup appearance in 2006.

He had former Newcastle United and Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton as his advisor as Ghana rode their luck to edge Nigeria in the March World Cup playoffs.

Ghana were held to a 0-0 home draw in the first leg of the tie but then snatched a berth in Qatar on the away goals rule following a 1-1 draw after a goalkeeping howler from the Nigerians.

Since then there has been a concerted effort to strengthen the squad by persuading players with Ghanaian heritage to join the squad, like former Spain international Inaki Williams and Tariq Lamptey, the England under-21 fullback from Brighton.

There are still hopes of adding the likes of Bayer Leverkusen forward Callum Hudson-Odoi, on loan from Chelsea, before their Group H opener with Portugal in Doha on Nov. 24.

FOLLOWING IS A STATBOX ON GHANA AT THE WORLD CUP:

FIFA Ranking: 61

Odds: 150-1

PREVIOUS TOURNAMENTS:

Ghana had won the Africa Cup of Nations title four times before finally qualifying for the World Cup at the 10th time of asking. Their debut in Germany in 2006 was followed by successive appearances in 2010 and 2014. Victories over the Czech Republic and U.S. saw Ghana through to the second round in 2006 but they then lost 3-0 to Brazil in Dortmund. In 2010, they became only the third African side to reach the quarter-finals as they carried the continent's hopes in South Africa. They finished above Australia and Serbia in their group, then beat the Americans again before a controversial penalty shootout defeat to Uruguay in Johannesburg. Ghana's last appearance in Brazil was beset by squabbles over money and they went home early.

HOW THEY QUALIFIED:

A goalkeeping howler handed Ghana an away goal in their playoff tie against Nigeria, proving decisive in securing a ticket to the World Cup. Ghana were held goalless at home in the first leg but then Thomas Partey caught Nigeria unawares 10 minutes into the second leg and, despite giving up an equaliser, they held out for qualification on the away goals rule. Ghana advanced to the playoff round by finishing top of their group, narrowly edging out South Africa, who sought FIFA intervention after claiming that a decisive penalty that secured Ghana victory in the match between the two had been corruptly awarded. The complaints were dismissed.

FORM GUIDE:

Ghana got a stark reminder of the gulf between their side and the top World Cup contenders when Brazil easily beat them in a friendly in Le Havre in September. It was one of five defeats in 12 games suffered by the Black Stars this year, which has not inspired confidence among their fans. They started 2022 with a shock defeat at the Cup of Nations finals to the tiny Comoros Islands, who eliminated them at the first hurdle, leading to the sacking of coach Milovan Rajevac. They also lost 4-1 to Japan in the Kirin Cup in mid-year.