2020 COPA AMERICA FINAL: Now or Never for Messi and Argentina

Lionel Messi has led Argentina to the 2020 Copa America final after the Argentines beat Columbia on penalties in the semi final. The match finished 1-1 after 90 minutes and in the shoot-out, the Argentines progressed with a 3-2 win.

The Albiceleste will now face South American rivals Brazil in the Copa America final on Sunday 11 July. The much anticipated clash will see Messi and Neymar go head-to-head at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

This will be Messi’s third consecutive Copa America final appearance with the previous two ending in defeats against Chile and Brazil.

Argentina accumulated 10 points to top group A consisting of Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay and Bolivia. After sharing points in the opening game, they went on to win all remaining three group matches.

The South American giants had a relatively easy 3-0 victory over Ecuador in the quarter final and capped it with an impressive semi final win over Columbia.

In all 6 games played, it is quite notable to see how influential the captain Lionel Messi has been for his side after contributing to 9 of the 11 goals Argentina have scored so far in the tournament. The little magician has scored 4 goals and assisted 5 others. 

He is currently the top scorer and the only player to have scored a hattrick so far. He is also the player with the most man of the match awards (4).

Since making his debut for his national team in August 2005, Messi has been heavily criticised for his failure to help Argentina to win any major trophy and this Copa America final presents a perfect opportunity to break the jinx.

Interestingly, Argentina as a football nation has not won any major international trophy at the senior level for 28 years and so a huge pressure mounts on the current set of players to make the nation proud this time around.

Argentina will come up against the dreaded Brazil who have themselves been very exciting in the tournament, having won 5 out of the 6 games played so far. Their talisman Neymar seem to be in great form having scored 2 and assisted 3 others.

It’s going to be a thrilling encounter as the rivalry to determine who is the best football nation in South America comes play. More Interestingly will be the reunion of former Barcelona teammates Messi and Neymar who will this time around play against each other.

A school of thought believe this will probably be the very last time Messi will get a chance to lift a trophy for his nation as he is ageing and nearing retirement in few years time.

At age 34, it will be disappointing for the man who has won it all at club level to go another year without winning a trophy for Argentina.

Not only are Argentine fans wishing for silverware, a lot of neutrals are hoping for Argentina triumph because of one man Lionel Messi, who has won many hearts with his splendid display of magic on a football field.

It is now or never for Messi and Argentina to break the jinx of trophy drought and make history for themselves in the Copa America final this weekend.

By: Edward Kyei Frimpong 

Hooliganism and Ghana football: An unending 'love' story

Football as most people say is the passion of the nation but when it attracts hooliganism at match venues, the passion becomes the killer of the beautiful game.

Ghanaian football over the years has been tarnished greatly by the almost regular activities of violence at the various stadia without having proper solutions to such shameful behaviour.

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) who are tasked with the responsibility of ensuring the organisation of football at all levels have really not been so productive and proactive in curbing the menace of hooliganism at match centres.

In as much as the GFA mostly ban venues that experience violence over a period of time as punishment, people can attest to the fact that, that directive has done little or no good to stopping violence. It is clearly not enough to just ban object (stadium) without the subject (culprits).

Since the start of the 2020/2021 football season in Ghana, we’ve been met with various degrees of violence at match venues with the latest happening at Dawu and Sunyani Coronation park. As the knowledge of the beautiful game keeps growing, one would have thought the throwing of missiles at match officials and beating them up had nothing to do with football. However, this is sadly the case at some stadia which somewhat provides a conducive atmosphere for such barbaric activities.

Measures to ensure hooliganism is halted at match venues:

The GFA must first of all understand that the ban of stadium has never scared away hooligans from perpetrating their evil acts. It is about time culprits are arrested and prosecuted for actions. The reason we keep seeing such incidents is that culprits know they will always go scot-free while the club only suffer sanctions. However, when arrests and prosecutions are made, it serves as a deterrent to others to refrain from violence.

Another important initiative to deploy is ensuring that the clubs and officials who are caught in the act are given stringer punishment like points deductions and ban on particular club officials at fault.

In addition, the FA must task the clubs to orient their fans on the necessity of avoiding stadium violence and also knowing the repercussions their clubs may suffer as a result of their actions.

The FA must finally corporate well with security urgencies to ensure there is adequate security at match centres for the protection of every club and match officials against potential crowd violence.

By: Edward Kyei Frimpong 

JADON SANCHO JOINS MANCHESTER UNITED ON A 5-YEAR DEAL

Manchester United have reached an agreement with Borussia Dortmund for the transfer of English wonder kid Jadon Sancho.

The exciting young winger will join the Red Devils on a five year deal with an option of extension for another year.

The signing of Sancho is subject to contractual terms and a medical, which will be completed after his involvement in the UEFA European Championship. 

It is however rumoured that rivals Manchester City will receive around €13m as part of the deal.

Sancho joined Dortmund from Man City in August 2017 and has since been very instrumental for the progress and successes of the club in the German league.

His arrival is a major boost for the attacking options of Manchester United as they look to clinch the English league title for the first time since 2013.

By: Edward Kyei Frimpong