Last Saturday, we all huddled into the living room, very much expectant of the new European football season.
Not even the just ended Olympics could fill the void. As for pre-season matches, the less said about them, the better.
After a long wait, the new season was here and on that bright afternoon, we couldn't have been anywhere else but in front of the large screen, watching live the English Premier League (EPL).
As we sifted through what was a marathon of games, a friend made a poignant observation; ''how come there is such a low level of Ghanaian participation in the EPL?''.
As if taking in new information and subjecting it to scrutiny, nobody spoke for the next 60 seconds until a 'wise' one controversially asserted ''what do you expect when you don't have world class players.''
Now, it wasn't exactly true that only world class players played in the EPL, but his comment provoked a debate whether Ghana could genuinely boast of an active world class footballer.
That simple, yet controversial, comment triggered a banter that could well have woken napping neighbours.
Banter it was, yes, but it was also healthy, with far reaching insights and that is the reason I am sharing with you.
The Problem with Definition:
One of the most contentious parts of the debate was the apt classification of who a world class player was?
From South America through Africa to Down Under, the term 'world class' has been loosely used to refer to players who have won many continental and world titles; players who could make the 'world XI' any day, and players who consistently achieved at the highest level. But there in lay the problem.
There are players who are very decorated when it comes to medals but cannot be considered world class.
There are also players who have career longevity but cannot be considered world class.
There are also players who might make a 'world eleven' team but that might be due to a dearth of talents in that position.
So, who then is a world class player? Well, we settled on a compromised definition.
We agreed that, the term ''world class player'' should denote a player who possesses an extraordinary ability; one of the very best in the position he plays (at least top 3); one who can start for any club or national team across the world; one who has the mindset to consistently perform and influence results at the highest levels (club or international football) over a prolonged period of time.
That was the compromised definition we came up with.
A historical perspective:
Having laid a firm foundation with the definition, we sought to personify the criteria by recalling some retired and active footballers to support our definition.
Players in distinguished company like Pele, Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, Brazil's Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Samuel Etoo, Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi are players who easily fit the criteria set out above.
These are players who have that extra ability, strong mind set, are able to change the course of games at the Champions League, Nations Cup and World Cup levels consistently over a period of time.
They have what I will call 'football legitimacy' and they are universally recognised as such.
Coming further home to Ghana, we threw up a number of names who could be described as being world class.
The older folks may have to pardon us on this but for those we have seen play, we agreed that Abedi Pele, Anthony Yeboah and Michael Essien undoubtedly could be described as world class.
Abedi delivered for Club and Country, Yeboah did more for club, but his influence was that great (one of the goals he scored for English side, Leeds united, is ranked as one of the best goals in EPL history).
Essien’s name also brought up a new dimension as some questioned his inclusion.
After a long drawn augment, we agreed that the term 'world class' is also relative to time. Because one can't deny the fact that Essien isn't world class anymore, but he surely was between 2004 – 2009 when he bossed the Lyon, Chelsea and Black Stars midfields.
Same can be said of a player like Ronaldinho who may not be world class today but surely was at the time he played for Barcelona FC.
So who fits the bill?
Finally we got down to assess some of Ghana’s high profiled stars to find out whose neck was strong enough to carry the tag of a world class player.
After much deliberations and eliminations, five strong names came up: John Mensah, Captain and influential central defender of the Black Stars.
John when fit is a manager's delight any day, but his inconsistency and unreliability due to injuries caused us to pass him on.
Up next was the immensely talented Asamoah Gyan, now playing for Al Ain in UAE.
Gyan's ability has never been in doubt; however his mental fortitude, focus and ability to deliver when the stakes are high left huge question marks.
He followed Mensah off the list. Then we examined the eccentric Kevin Prince Boateng of AC Milan.
He plays at the high level, yes, he can have his magical moments, yes, but his injuries and inconsistent form as well as his self imposed retirement from international football took away some points.
The list was thus narrowed down to two players with genuine abilities to be world class: Juventus new boy Kwadwo Asamoah and 2009 U-20 World Cup winning captain, Andre 'Dede' Ayew of Marseille.
These two players checked the boxes on the agreed criteria but Kwadwo Asamoah came short on having a strong mindset and asserting himself and being able to change the course of games.
He did pretty well with his last team, Udinese, but has to improve greatly to become the force that he could be at Juventus and with the Black Stars.
Dede Ayew has no such problems asserting himself, but he needs to cut out some excesses and be more mature in his play in order to become world class.
So you see, we agreed that, at best, Ghana has players with the ability to become world class but they aren't quite there yet.
Well, that was our opinion, I know you have one too, do not hesitate to share. Do so indeed, it is you opinion and it matters, and good thing is that, it doesn't have to be world class.