Ghana striker, Asamoah Gyan has revealed that not winning an international trophy, particularly the Africa Cup of Nations title with the Black Stars haunts him a lot.
Despite being the all-time leading goalscorer of the male senior national team , Gyan believes that the biggest legacy is to leave behind is clinching the Afcon diadem – which has eluded the Black Stars for 38 years.
Ghana have come close to lifting the Afcon twice during Gyan’s era with the Black Stars – in 2010 and 2015. The four-time Africa champions picked silver medal in both editions against Egypt and Ivory Coast respectively.
“What bothers me a lot is that I haven’t won a trophy with the Black Stars since 2003.
“I’ve gotten the bronze and silver at the Afcon but I want the gold. That is what I haven’t gotten so far and that is what I want,” the 34-year-old who captained Ghana between 2012 and 2019 told TV3’s Juliet Bawuah.
Gyan scored on his debut for the Black Stars against Somalia on November 19, 2003 and has gone on to become Ghana’s all-time scorer currently with a tally of 51 goals in 109 outings.
Asked if the regrets means retirement was in sight, Gyan responded in the negative.
“No [then chuckles]. It looks like people want to retire me but I’m not done yet. I had a couple of injuries [recently] but I’m now okay. I’ve added on weight I need to lose. And I need to train and get back to my normal shape and then we see what happens. But I haven’t retired yet,” he said.
How many more years do you intend to play?
“It depends on how my body responds to training. The dedication is still there…
“I don’t know [how long] but I can just wake up tomorrow and say it’s time.
“But for now, I still feel good in my body despite having a couple of injuries… I still feel and think I have a lot to prove on the field. I still see a lot of things I can do in the game.
“Nobody can retire me. A lot of people have tried but I tell myself I have to call it a day, nobody has to retire me because I’ve seen it all. I feel I’m gifted. When I’m on the field, I do things people find difficult easily. It’s not like I’m being arrogant. I’ve been doing them since childhood and it’s not luck..”
