Santos Ends The Drought, Ghana Drama, and a Terrible Injury

Finally, finally, finally! It’s been a long time since I’ve seen any type of celebration from our Brazilian born striker who brought us so much happiness in 04′ when we lifted the African Cup. Hopefully this is a good omen for Ghana. We really need him to perform, especially since Chermiti is suspended for the first two crucial games.

For those who know the Tunisian team of recent years, you can’t mention Silva Dos Santos without talking about Zied Jaziri. They share an almost telepathic connection on the pitch and have a close bond off of it too. He called up the sports show Belmakshouf on Hannibal TV (the channel which is widely known in Tunis as the one which allows you to speak your mind the most, as opposed to the state run TV7) and he pretty much went on a tirade about his non selection for Ghana. He said it’s all personal and that he wasn’t selected because he’s the only player that stood up to Lemerre and told him about the mistakes that were made in the last World Cup. Frankly I agree with the dude on a lot of those points and I commend him for his honesty. In my last post I said I didn’t see him in the squad but on second thought I think that he at least deserved a test run in the training camp. For all he’s done over the years (think about the goals and the countless penalties he created with his speed and guile) he at least deserves that. Then if you decide not to take him ok no problem.

We have other players but look at the list, our attack is pretty thin if you ask me. His comments start at the 15 minute mark on this show and continue into this one. He’s scored eight goals in six games and even though its in Kuwait that doesn’t take away from the fact he’s proving he still has the ability of putting the ball where it belongs, in the back of the net. Let us not forget that the gulf countries are improving a lot in the football they’re producing and the teams they’re assembling. Interestingly, Zied seems to imply that he deserves a call up more than his close friend Santos and based on recent performances I’d go along with that too. Say what you want about his questionable club career and the reputation for diving but in terms of heart and passion I don’t think anyone feels as strongly about the colors on the jersey than he does. I wasn’t surprised by Lemerre’s decision at all because of the recent lack of call ups but after hearing what Zied has to say, I really do feel for him. After the African Cup we’ll know if Lemerre can justify this decision. If you believe what’s being said on this show though, he won’t be around very long after it. Please note the videos are only available in Arabic so for those who can’t understand that’s the gist of it…

On another note, I mentioned the Amir Haj Messaoud injury in passing and said it was serious but I don’t think I realized just how bad it was. I watched this video and it made me really sad. He faces 6 months on the sidelines at the very least but what’s worse is that his career is in danger and he might never step on a field again. That would be a tragedy for the man who sealed the Confederation Cup trophy for Sfax a little less than a month ago. He was definitely coming to Ghana but now he faces an uphill battle to regain his ability to compete at the highest level. My thoughts are with you Amir. I wish you a full recovery and all the best for the future.