TEAM OF THE WEEK - Ghanaian Players Abroad: Appiah, Asante & Attamah make grades

By El Akyereko Frimpong

Follow the writer on Twitter: @AkyerekOfficial

No Ghanaian player found the back of the net in a recognizable top-flight European league but there were a couple of inspiring performances, debut appearances and a couple of injuries to report.

Right-back Dennis Appiah set a new Ligue 1 record in France after scoring above 6/10 ratings in all 6 league games in the French top-flight so far in the season.

Former Hearts of Oak midfielder Anthony Annan made his debut for Stabaek IF in the Norwegian Eliteserien. The 29-year-old dislodged young Ghanaian compatriot Kamal Issah to start in midfield. This means Annan has debuted twice for the club after marking it earlier in 2008.

And, finally Sulley Muntari came under some heat on Saturday after Al-Ittihad fans poured their anger and frustrations on the former AC Milan star after he picked an early booking, left the field on the 18th minute mark and they lost against Al Faisaly. Their first defeat of the season and slipping further away from the top.

But who were the standout performers abroad over the weekend? Here's GHANAsoccernet.com's pick of the week.

Goalkeeper - Adam Kwarasey (Portland Timbers)

Though Portland Timbers succumbed to a 2-0 home defeat, their 10th of the campaign, Kwarasey was the man who ensured their lackluster display did not cost them a lopsided scoreline before home fans. When Red Bulls kept the pressure on out of the break, firing off two shots – the first by Perrinelle and then Bradley Wright-Phillips – that required the work of Kwarasey. Kwarasey's performance was a highlight of his show that won him the save of the week a couple of weeks back.

Defender - Dennis Appiah (SM Caen)

4 victories in 6 propelling Caen to fourth berth on the Ligue 1 section is some good performance from a moderate side from the Northwestern town. Yet it might have been a slightly different statistic had it not been for a awesome performances of French-born Ghanaian young defender. Appiah, capped at various youth levels for France, scored 7.12/10 from Caen's commanding 2-1 triumph over Montpellier Saturday. Trained at AS Monaco, the 23-year-old has enjoyed an impressive spell at the club in two seasons and could be heading for a French senior call if no interest is shown by Ghana.

Defender - Jeffrey Schlupp (Leicester City)

Went into the weekend game at the Britannia Stadium as the Premier League's second fastest player and once again excelled as the Foxes stretched their enviable unbeaten run to 16 games - dating back from March of last season. The German-born defender scored 6/10 in the Premier League comeback kings continued their string of comeback showboating.  A few brave and probing runs from the Ghanaian throughout the afternoon caused Mark Hughes' men a few problems. Tracked his runners very well and was solid defensively. However, did back-off from his man a couple of times, so could work on that.

Defender - Joseph Attamah (Adana Demirspor)

The former Ghana U20 and Tema Youth central defender couldn't have started the season better. Though Adana slipped to a 2-1 loss against Gaziantep BB, their first home defeat of the season, Attamah was superior in his area and seemed to block everything in his path, winning most of the challenges he went in for. Both of Gaziantep's goal purely player and goalkeeper errors.

 

Defender - Daniel Amartey (FC Copenhagen)

Olympique Marseille should keep be cursing for failing to sign Amartey on transfer deadline day. Copenhagen made it three wins from three with a narrow 1-0 win over minnows Hobro. It was not just a scoreline going the way of the title-holders but they had Amartey to thank for his shielding performances impressive displays. His versatility allowed him shift to a central defensive midfield role anytime Copenhagen attacked in the game, a quality recognized and admired by Leicester City's renowned Italian tactician Claudio Ranieri. He scored 7/10 from the game.

Midfielder - Afriyie Acquah (Torino)

Brimming with great energy and confidence in midfield. Acquah faced the club he played for last season and was just in his elements to destroy them. He was effective in the heart of midfield as he won the ball and helped linked the defence with the attack. Rated 7/10 from the game. Fabio Quagliarella scored both goals at the Stadio Olimpico di Torino as Torino maintain their unbeaten run to move within two points of leaders Inter Milan who have maintained a 100% record to the start of the season.

Midfielder - Alhassan Wakaso (Rio Ave)

Show me a visionary and workaholic young midfielder and I'll show you Alhassan. The 23-year-old former Cheetah FC player is the younger brother of Las Palmas winger Wakaso Mubarak. To win an away win in the Portuguese top-flight and do it so convincingly, you need a tactical midfield discipline and the Ghanaian youngster yet to be capped by the West African giants - Ghana. Debuted in the Portuguese top-flight at the tender age of 18 and has marched on impressively spending four additional seasons.

Midfielder - Joseph Alfred Duncan (US Sassuolo)

I love this boy's strong precocity and wonderful vigor in bossing the game from the middle. Though the former Inter Milan player appeared quiet in the duration he lasted in the game, he tried some decent efforts on target and came close ten minutes before he was replaced. The 22-year-old made a number of fine tackles in the middle. Replaced by Davide Biondini. Great talent!

Midfielder - Ebenezer Ofori (AIK Solna)

To remain relevant in the game, you should be able to adapt and switch between roles and the former New Edubiase United players achieved that with ease on Saturday as he helped AIK Solna overcome BK Hacken 2-1 in the Swedish Allsvenskan. Ofori became the second Ghanaian player to play in different different roles in a top four Swedish league after Patrick Amoah for Huddinge IF. He has played as full-back, central midfielder and wing-half. Impressive!

Forward - Ernest Asante (Stabaek IF)

When Bob Bradley realised he has the second fastest player on the planet within his folds, he wasted no time in unleashing that arsenal against opponents. Winning against Tromso seemed obligatory for the De blaa after winning just twice in 8 games against them and slipping at league leaders Rosenborg last weekend. They had failed to beat Tromso in all their encounters until March 2015 and Asante availed himself to the task, cutting the visitors defence into the pieces with his fine artistry, breath-taking deliveries and lightening-pace runs on the flanks which ensured the visitors were put to the guillotine at the dying embers of the game.

Forward - Majeed Waris (Lorient)

Lorient seems to have broken the shackles of relegation and now challenging the big-guns in the French top-flight. Sunday's 3-2 win at AS Monaco was no fluke. Though the former Right to Dream Academy graduate failed to get on target, his performance was a carbon-copy of his showing against Angers last weekend. He was influential in all goals scored by Lorient as they played to their form going into the game. Lorient's average player rating was 7 against Monaco's 6.8 while had more shots than giants.