Goalkeeper Richard Kingson and forward player Dede Ayew are Ghana’s history makers in the ongoing World Cup in South Africa. Kingson, currently the most experienced Ghanaian international, first played alongside Dede Ayew’s father, Abedi Ayew Pele in the 1996 African Cup of Nations in South Africa. Actually, he was the third choice among Simon Addo and Nanabanyin Crentsil. Let’s give him that credit he was part of the squad.

Dede Ayew should find it interesting playing alongside his father’s play mate. This is what boxing legend Azumah Nelson would call “father and son”. And Dede who appears to be a carbon copy of Mexico’s Giovanni Dos Santos must be prepared to listen to wise counsel if his dribbling becomes excessive.

Handsome “baby face” Dos Santos was a real thorn in the flesh of South Africa with his deep penetrating and fearless outbursts in the opening match and I suspect  Dede Ayew would fall into that category when the Black Stars face Serbia in Rustenberg on Sunday. The boy is really courageous.

I am sure all members of Abedi Pele’s class of 1996 will back the young Dede to make it big at the World Cup, a competition where his illustrious father, with all his intricate skills never had the opportunity to participate.  Let me refresh your memory with members of that strong 1996 squad of Nanabanyin Crentsil, Richard Kingson, Richard Kingson, Frank Amankwah, Isaac Asare, Sam Johnson, Joe Addo, Osei Kuffuor, Afo Dodoo, Yaw Acheampong, Stephen Baidoo, Dan Addo, Mallam Yahya, Ibrahim Tanko, Odartey Lamptey, Ali Ibrahim, Abedi Pele, Yaw Preko, Felix Aboagye, Kwame Ayew, Tony Yeboah and C.K.Akunnor.

Most of these names might be fading out of Ghana’s football history but thanks to Abedi who has produced a chip off the old block, the squad will always come in for mention as a group that would have made Ghana’s presence felt at the world cup stage a long time ago.

Some of us are especially happy for Abedi that the intrinsic football talent in his son has gained national recognition thus dismissing the notion that the young boy was being favoured because of his father’s influence and international reputation.

Abedi Pele himself nearly suffered the same fate when he became a teenage sensation in the late seventies fully supported by the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) that prompted a patron of the association the late S.K.Mainoo to offer to sponsor his education up to the university level.

When Mr. Mainoo became FA chairman in 1981, he insisted on Abedi being given the chance in the Black Stars. Age group tournaments were then not in vogue and some of the coaches insisted Abedi was too young to feature for the Black Stars.  One major excuse for his exclusion was that “he spoiled formations and was a ball chaser (“ball kraman” in local parlance). The snag was that any time he came in as substitute he changed the pattern of play for the better- a situation that led to a famous retort by ace sports columnist Joe Aggrey challenging the coaches to show the type of tactics they were talking about.

To cut a long story short, S.K.Mainoo won the fight in the end and the coaches eventually had no regrets fielding Abedi who made the Black Stars squad for Libya 1982 at the age of 17 and subsequently played in four more Cup Nations Finals, twice as captain.

The maestro, as he is affectionately called by sports journalists, will be right in the thick of the crowd on Sunday to see the Black Stars attempt to make up for the rather poor show by West African neighbours, Nigeria against Argentina in a match that portrayed the intimidating presence of world number one footballer Lionel Messi.

It is hoped Kingson and his men at the rear would not be haunted by Serbia’s so- called tallest man in football, Nikola Zigic, who is reported to stand at 6ft 8 in (203m). Peter Crouch of England showed in the match against the well drilled US team how some tall men could be rendered ineffective.

It is my prayer that Kingson would not show any traces of poor anticipation like Mr. Green of England who will need a lot of courage to man the post in the Three Lions’ next assignment.

Those who are surprised at the World Cup results even at this infant stage have not seen anything yet. I have said several times that Africa is a land of surprises and South Africa 2010 will be full of upsets.

Cheers everybody and keep loving sports.