[ 2015-02-05 ]

Unlikely rise of Ghana’s Kwesi Appiah: from League Two to a hero in Africa
Malabo’s Sofitel President Palace is one of the
more desirable residences in Equatorial Guinea
and, at an Africa Cup of Nations where hotel
quality has never been too far from the agenda, it
feels as if Ghana have hit the jackpot in terms of
preparation during the knockout stages. It costs a
visitor £4 to purchase a bottle of water; this is
not an inconvenience Kwesi Appiah will encounter
but he laughs when told of the difference between
these surroundings and those currently occupied by
his Crystal Palace clubmate, Yannick Bolasie,
whose DR Congo side resides in something
approximating to an Equatoguinean Butlins across
the sea in Bata.

“Really? You must be joking. He hasn’t
mentioned that to me, but perhaps he’s just
stayed in worse.” In fact he has, in the last
fortnight alone. Appiah himself is not one to take
comfort for granted: his selection for the Black
Stars’ squad caused no little surprise when
considered in the context of a peripatetic career
that has taken time to ignite. Although a Palace
player since 2012, he has played next to no part
in their recent rise and has contented himself
with loans at Aldershot, Yeovil, Notts County, AFC
Wimbledon and – most successfully – two
separate spells with Cambridge United. Five and a
half years ago, he was scoring goals for Kings
Lynn in the Northern Premier Division while on
loan from Peterborough; two years prior to that,
he was coming through the youth setup at
Ebbsfleet.

Seven goals for Cambridge this season were enough
to prompt his call-up and he has gone some way
towards silencing the doubters. Named in Avram
Grant’s starting XI for the quarter-final
against Guinea on Sunday, he played an important
part in Christian Atsu’s opening goal before
finishing calmly to double the lead after a
miskick by Baissama Sankoh had fallen for him. He
was named man of the match after the 3-0 win and,
in the circumstances, could have done little
more.

“People were amazed that I was selected in the
first place but the same people who said ‘he’s
not this, he’s not that’ are now the ones
patting me on the back and saying
congratulations,” Appiah tells the Guardian.

“I’m just enjoying every minute. This is
something I’ve always imagined and now I’m
living the dream. It has been an incredible
journey so far and the goal just continued that.
It was a bit of a gift to be honest with you, but
still you have to stay quite calm to put it away
– it was a bit of a poacher’s finish.”

There have been plenty of those during Appiah’s
career, but up until now none had come at a level
higher than League Two. He is 24 and his current
level of exposure – such a rarity for a player
who has dotted around the lower leagues – has
not come before time.

“The timing has been perfect for me,” he says.
“Coming after a good loan at Cambridge and with
the prospect of introducing myself back to Crystal
Palace when I return to England, it’s worked out
well.

“Some people like to sit around and just train
every week if they’re not playing, but that’s
never been my mindset. You can see from my career
and the number of clubs I’ve had that I’m not
happy to do that – I want to play football and
it’s what I get paid to do. I’ve been at
Palace for three years now and would love to break
into the team, so that will be my goal until
it’s no longer possible.”

A loan at a level somewhere between those occupied
by Palace and Cambridge looks more likely but
Appiah believes that the step up in class to
international football has allowed his qualities
to shine through.

“I wouldn’t say I play differently here, but
my strengths can be more facilitated by these
quality players,” he says. “Likewise, my
strengths can be better received by them, so it
makes it a lot more relaxing. I find it quite
special really because at most of my clubs I’ve
been the guy people look up to and want to produce
the goods, so I can see things from a different
angle now. Everyone is chipping in here and giving
everything; you can see exactly why they play in
the Champions League and across the best leagues
in the world.”

A conspiracy theory has been doing the rounds
since Appiah was first called up for Grant’s
preliminary squad. The story went that Saif Rubie,
Grant’s agent, also happened to represent Appiah
and that this had forced the situation; tales of
nepotism trumping meritocracy in football are as
old as the hills but the player says such a
conclusion is wide of the mark.

“I know of him [Rubie], yeah, but he’s not my
agent. He’s a well-known character in England,
in football, so I know him but it’s up to people
if they want to link that – I’m not fussed.
People make up stuff to try and bring you down, so
you’ve just got to remain strong and you’ll
get through it.”

Even if you sense an elision or evasion here,
Appiah’s Ghanaian credentials are in no doubt.
His father, James, instilled that part of his
identity in him from a young age and, should a
battle of allegiances ever have been on the table,
he is adamant that there would only have been one
choice.

“My dad’s been the biggest influence in my
career so it would have been silly not to take
that side of things. I had a lot of Ghanaian
culture in my life while I was growing up, and
he’s been very supportive of me throughout so
it’s my way of repaying him and my family.
I’ve always been a Black Stars fan – you might
even have seen pictures on Twitter of me at games
supporting them – so to be here now is
amazing.”

Appiah has surely done enough to be selected for
Thursday’s semi-final against the host nation,
whose progress to this stage has been mired in
controversy. The home crowd in Bata has created an
intimidating atmosphere and Ghana will not be
unhappy that the last-four tie will take place at
the smaller stadium in Malabo, where passions are
displayed less intensely.

“I don’t mind either way,” he says. “The
size of the crowd, the support, it just gives you
more energy. Whether it’s with you or not, you
can still hear the noise and it just makes me more
pumped. You want to play harder, run harder and
fight even harder. So that’s not too much of a
problem for me.

“We just need to keep improving as we have been.
We didn’t get the result we wanted in our first
game [they lost 2-1 to Senegal], but we kicked on
from then and we’ve had some good results and
performances. If we’re hitting some kind of peak
now and can maintain it, then it’ll put us in
good stead.”

It is the kind of circumspection – some might
say caginess – that you would expect from a more
experienced squad member. Appiah looks entirely
comfortable here but had he ever started to think,
during the lower-league grind, that the chance to
make the grade higher up had slipped away?

“Nah – never, never. You’ve got to believe
in your own ability and I’ve always done that.
Whether I’ve been down there in non-league or up
there as high as the Championship, I’ve never
given up hope on this. It’s exciting now that
it’s all coming to pass and I’m thriving on
it.”

Source - The Guardian

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