Gariba Raubil Writes on Manaf Nurudeen : The attempt by some people to use the 2023 African Nations Championship failure of the Black Galaxies in Algeria to justify the absence of at least one home-based player in Chris Hughton’s Black Stars squad for the upcoming 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification games against Angola fail for reasons established in this piece.
Look , this is not a negative propaganda against the work of the new Ghana boss. It is about giving voice to deserving home-based players such as Aduana Stars goalkeeper Joseph Addo.
Manaf Nurudeen has been a bench warmer at KAS Eupen for the whole of the 2022/23 season. Why is he always invited to the Black Stars?
What is even the point in consistently selecting an inactive goalkeeper to deputize for Joseph Wollacot , Lawrence Ati-Zigi at the Black Stars?
I know that Sergio Romero was deputy goalkeeper to David de Gea at Manchester United but he was the number one at the national team ; Argentina. The case of Manaf is different here. He doesn’t play at club level and he is always rewarded with Ghana selections where he is all the time far on the pecking order. What is the point?
As a matter of fact , Eupen have contested 31 matches across all competitions this season ; Manaf has appeared in just 5 of those games as German keeper Lennart Moser continues to be first choice for the Belgian side.
The 24-year old has conceded 12 goals in the five appearances while keeping no clean sheets.
In my opinion that spot for the Angola games should have gone to more deserving goalkeepers and the Aduana custodian is one of them.
Addo has kept 10 clean sheets and conceded 12 goals for league leaders Aduana Stars in 16 appearances this season.
The experienced goalkeeper who is captain of his team is statistically the best in the Ghanaian top-flight right now and it amazes me why he was not considered by Hughton and his technical staff.
Yes , the Galaxies failed in Algeria.
Big clubs Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko have failed in Africa for the past years and making a case for home-based players in terms of the Black Stars call-ups becomes a hard job nowadays.
But it is also unfair for a bench warming player be taken to the last two major tournaments , 2022 AFCON and 2022 FIFA World Cup , at the expense of more deserving ones.
Anyway this is our Black Stars and I strongly hope for Chris Hughton and the team to succeed.
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