Andre Dede Ayew, Ghana’s teenage football sensation can be described as a real chip off the block in every sense of the phrase. Son of the legendary Abedi Ayew Pele, easily the brightest Ghanaian soccer gem in the 80s, Dede has given every indication that he would like to step into the illustrious shoes of his legendary father who played for the Black Stars at the age of 17 in Ghana’s fourth Cup of Nations triumph in Libya in 1982.

Abedi subsequently played in four more Cup of Nations finals, twice as captain. He was also a top star in the French league and once played for the ceremonial World X1.Young Dede Ayew was 19 in 2009 when he captained the Black Satellites of Ghana to win the World Under -20 for the first time in Egypt. He displayed inspirational leadership qualities typical of his dad’s playing days spiced with the knack for chasing every ball even in the midst of brutal tackles.

Dede was a toddler in 1992 when his dad Abedi Pele with his back to the Nigerian goal created a fabulous header from an acute angle that sent the Black Stars to the final of 1992 Cup of Nations in Senegal. It is historic that a similar splendid header by Dede Ayew in 2010 has sent a rather nervous Black Stars into the next round of the ongoing Cup of Nations in Angola.

This was a most important goal because Ghana needed nothing short of victory to survive in the competition having lost 3-1 to Cote d’Ivoire in the first match. Burkina Faso had drawn goalless with Cote d’Ivoire and a draw with Ghana was enough to sail them into the quarter finals but Dede Ayew’s spectacular header settled any nagging question.

It  would be unfair to compare Abedi Pele’s Black Stars of the 90s to the current squad which is a potpourri of the young, the not so young and a few veterans you could see that with a few more matches they will be a trenchant side. It is up to Coach Milovan Rajevac to have the courage to make changes at the right time. 

The quarter final berth against host nation Angola on Sunday will be a real test of character for the Black Stars preparations for the upcoming World Cup in South Africa .If experienced players like Asamoah Gyan and Dramani will be prepared to show a little bit more commitment, the Black Stars could be the best outsiders for Angola 2010.

It has been quite an exciting tournament so far with a lot of goals but the fact that the Angola – Algeria match did not provide any goals should be no reason to tag it a fixed match. There is no evidence to support Mali’s suspicion that it was a match of convenience. Let’s learn to be sporting and accept defeat in good faith.

The cruel armed attack on the Togolese team has already taken some shine out of the tournament and Mali should spare Africa any behaviour that would the continent lose credibility as far as organization of sporting events is concerned.

The rules are clear on when the head-to head rule is applied and Mali should accept defeat and start preparations for the next show in 2012.

Cheers everybody and keep loving sports.