Yakubu’s heart beats for Ghana and Yao Rodrigue’s for Togo. When the two tiny nations qualified for the World Cup, the two Africans, in India to play for Mahindra and Bagan, were fighting to hold back tears, writes Ankita Pandey
Yakubu’s heart beats for Ghana and Yao Rodrigue’s for Togo. When the two tiny nations qualified for the World Cup, the two Africans, in India to play for Mahindra and Bagan, were fighting to hold back tears, writes Ankita Pandey
When neighbours Togo and Ghana booked their place in 2006 World Cup in Germany, two men in India could not hold back tears. Togo's Gley Yao Rodrigue and Ghana Yusif Yakubu, play their football for Indian clubs Mohun Bagan and Mahindra United, but their hearts still long for home shores.
Their countries, Togo and Ghana, along with Angola and Ivory Coast, will make their first appearance ever in the World Cup next year. Togo beat Congo in their final group match of the qualifiers to confirm their qualification. No fluke that, the country had to its credit a win and a draw against last world Cup's quarter-finalist, Senegal.
Gley Yao Rodrigue, a 21-year-old Togolese and Bagan's destructor-in-chief, has been part of his country's national side. Currently in Goa to play in the Federation Cup, his claim to fame has been his goals against Senegal and Mali in the last edition of the World Cup qualifiers. The man from the French speaking country of the West coast of Africa, speaks very little English, but you mention World Cup and his eyes light up.
"Yeah, World Cup. Happy for country," says Rodrigue. He has been called by his team's national coach, Nigerian, Stephen Keshi in January for trials. "World Cup, January," is the best he can do, as his teammates gather around him to make this hapless scribe understand. "We heard that he has been called for some trials to his country. I don't know when he will go," says Subhashish Roy Choudhury, a Bagan player.
Gley Yao isn't the only one rejoicing in this African revolution. Mahindra United's Yusif Yakubu, whose country Ghana also made it to Germany, is a very happy man. "Everybody in Africa loves football. It is a great moment for my country to make it to the World Cup," said Yakubu. "I would have loved to play in Germany, but I gave up my international career in 1997. Had Allah wished, I would have played. But He desires me to play in India, so here I am."
Yakubu was part of the Ghana team that won a bronze medal in the Olympics. He was only 15 then. He led the Ghana U-23 team that triumphed in the African Nations Cup. In India, he played for Churchill Brothers for the last four years before signing for Mahindra United this season.
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