2014 World Cup: Acquah thinks he has done enough to make Ghana’s squad

Published on: 10 May 2014
2014 World Cup: Acquah thinks he has done enough to make Ghana’s squad
Ghanaian midfielder Afriyie Acquah believes he has done enough to be called up for the Black Stars’ World Cup squad for Brazil.

Ghanaian midfielder Afriyie Acquah believes he has done enough to be called up for the Black Stars’ World Cup squad for Brazil.

In an exclusive interview with Kick Socca the 22-year-old said that he had always dreamed of playing at the World Cup.

“I am sure that every player dreams of playing at that level. I hope I can get a look in from the Ghana technical team. In my opinion, I have worked hard enough to merit one.

“Ghana has a lot of good players so I do not think it is automatic for me to expect a call up. If it happens, I will be so excited; it is does not happen, I will keep working harder and hope some day, I get what I desire.

"I understand life and football better now and I know anything can happen at any time”.

Although Acquah only turned 22 in January, he can already look back at having played four seasons in Europe.

He joined Italian club Palermo in the summer of 2010 and played his first match in the Serie A in February 2011 when he came on as a first-half substitute against Florence.

Acquah then featured in all but three of the remaining 13 league matches the club played.

In the next season he played 20 games for Palermo and also tasted his first taste of European club football as Palermo played in the the qualifying rounds for the Europa League.

His performances were so impressive that Parma signed him at the start of the 2012/3 season.

His stay in Parma was short-lived though as German Bundesliga club Hoffenheim put in an offer that the Serie A club could not turn down.

“Moving to Hoffenheim was a very exciting moment for me. I have always wanted to play at the highest level and that for me was a step on that journey,” he told Kick Socca.

But he found his playing time in Germany limited. “It was very frustrating for me, when I could not lock down playing time. I love to play. Football is my passion.

“I had to learn to be patient. It is difficult to say why it did not work out as planned but through it, I was blessed to learn that it was important to work even harder to turn my fortunes around.

"So I invested more time in hard work and commitment and waited for it to pay off. Also, I came to understand that my inability to speak German did not work in my favour at Hoffenheim”.

A loan move back to Parma at the start of the 2013/4 season saw a reversal of his fortunes and he started playing regularly, allowing him to start dreaming of the World Cup again.

Do you think Afriyie Acquah deserves a place in the Black Stars squad? Make your views known in the box below:

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