[ 2015-01-17 ]

Kwesi Appiah excited to get Afcon chance
Ghana striker Kwesi Appiah, has revealed his
excitement about his invitation to join the Black
Stars for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations which
will be held in Equatorial Guinea.

The Crystal Palace forward was handed a surprise
call up into Coach Avram Grant’s 31-man
provisional squad and was subsequently named in
the final 23-man team.

Appiah, who has been on loan in England’s fourth
tier with Cambridge United this season told
FIFA.com how he reacted when he received his Ghana
call up on Christmas eve.

“It was someone from the Ghana FA,” Appiah
recalled to FIFA.com. “I was on the way to
training and I got a call from someone saying,
‘We’d like to invite you to come and play for
the national team’. I got goosebumps thinking,
‘Is this really happening?’ I was delighted,
extremely proud as well. It blew me away.

“People think I’m too hard to buy presents
for, they just leave me to it. I wasn’t
expecting anything. Everybody was asking me,
‘What do you want for Christmas?’ This was the
present I needed the whole time.”

Born to a Ghanaian father and an English mother in
Camberwell, just south of the River Thames in
London and around 30 minutes from Palace’s
Selhurst Park, he grew up an Arsenal fan. He got
his footballing break in English non-league, after
a helping hand from an educator.

“One of the teachers recommended me to a club
called Gravesend and Northfleet, now Ebbsfleet
United,” Appiah said. “I went and did two
years in the youth team and got into the first
team.”

From there, he moved to Peterborough United in
England’s third tier. After several loan spells,
he departed for a successful season at Margate,
where his impressive scoring record caught the eye
of current club Palace, whom he joined in 2012,
with the team one step below the English Premier
League.

“How would I describe myself? I like to threaten
in behind,” Appiah revealed. “I like to come
and get the ball short and dribble, feed people in
and be creative. Growing up my idols were the
likes of Thierry Henry, Ian Wright and Dennis
Bergkamp, so throughout my career I’ve taken
little parts of their games and tried to add them
to mine. Most importantly, I like to score goals,
that’s what all strikers like to do.”

The 24-year-old has found himself out on loan at
several different sides since his arrival at
Selhurst Park, most recently at Cambridge, where
he caught the eye of Avram Grant and his scouting
network.

“One minute I’m driving up the motorway every
day in my carpool with four other guys, trekking
to training and back,” an audibly excited Appiah
said. “Next thing I know I’m on planes,
travelling to training camps, getting bombarded by
Ghana fans everywhere we go. It’s something that
I’m soaking up and dealing with as we go by.
I’m not letting it affect me at all, I’m just
trying to play my game when the time comes.”

It is a refreshing attitude for an international
footballer and Appiah, while grateful for his
experience at Cambridge, admits Ghana’s stars
are a galaxy away from the English fourth tier.

“These players are extremely talented,” Appiah
said. “They are quality players. To train with
them and see what they do day in, day out it only
breeds confidence in me, makes me want to be a
better player and learn from what they do. I’m
extremely grateful for the opportunity and I’ll
take everything I can from it. Everyone has tried
to make me feel welcome. As time goes by, everyone
gets a bit more comfortable around each other.”

There is a fresh feel to Ghana’s squad for the
tournament in Equatorial Guinea, with
‘initiations’ for new squad members.

“There are new faces, but there are a lot who
are familiar with each other,” Appiah said.
“The atmosphere is brilliant, the chemistry
within the team is fantastic. It helps us as a
team to be as on the pitch.”

"[Grant] has got very clear ideas of how he wants
the team to play, and the style with which he
wants us to perform. All the players have taken to
what he’s been saying, and trying their best to
carry it out on the field. That’s the important
thing, people buying into how he’s trying to
make us play.”

Drawn in Group C, alongside continental
heavyweights Algeria, South Africa and Senegal,
Ghana’s No2 is cautiously optimistic of the
Black Stars’ chances of emerging from their
pool.

“From the outside looking in, you’d think that
is the ‘group of death’,” Appiah remarked.
“But we’re quietly confident of our chances of
succeeding in this tournament and progressing to
the latter stages. Obviously they’re extremely
talented teams, we’ve just got to give it all
we’ve got.”

Appiah’s new international coach Grant turns 60
just two days before the final in Bata, and a
tournament-winning goal from the Crystal Palace
forward would surely be the perfect gift.

Source - Ghana FA

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