It’s fair to say Baba Rahman had on the whole a dreadful World Cup in Qatar. While he was involved with the pass that got a goal against Portugal, his ill-timed interventions also exposed the Stars backline.
For one who commanded €15.00m as market value in Oct 14, 2015, its sign of the times that he now has a paltry market value of €1.80m. For one who signed for Chelsea, it’s also the signs of the time that he plays on loan at Reading, in the English second tier.
Injuries
Even a blind bat can surmise that Baba Rahman, the former Dreams FC and Asante Kotoko player has experienced diminished powers. The 28-year-old might accuse the two ACLs (anterior cruciate ligament) and a meniscus operation he had to undergo after an injury on duty for Ghana but a good number of players have visited the surgeon’s bench and returned in touch with their abilities.
It might explain why the Ghana Football Association (GFA) is keen on including him in the Black Stars list perhaps as a compensatory move when there are other players clearly in-form and ahead in the game to be called up.
bringing back the Baba Rahman video to the timeline cos why not pic.twitter.com/QJF5Fhfbrn
— ᵗᵘᵇˢ🌴 (@icant_man) December 5, 2022
In the crunch Uruguay game which needed the Black Stars to draw and proceed to the Round of 16, Baba Rahman again failed to be efficient allowing the Sky Blue attackers to run riot from his position.
Those constantly pushing Baba Rahman into games are the ones who ain’t helping him. ‘You can give what you don’t have’….. he doesn’t have it…. Look at the options he had and what he did…. pic.twitter.com/tYFe08Y28A
— Bright Kankam Boadu (@TheOnlyBKB) December 5, 2022
Evans Annang gave him a poor mark of 3/10. “It was such a horrific performance from the Reading defender. Baba Rahman was very poor throughout the game and it was no coincidence that the two goals Ghana conceded.”
Mishael Quaynor was more empathic about the shambolic performance of Rahman whose contract with Reading expires on May 31, 2023.
🇬🇭Attempting a total of 37 crosses, Abdul Baba Rahman accounted for the most (10) in the team
— Bortey 🇬🇭 (@joelbortey) December 4, 2022
All his crosses came from the left flank and only 1 out of the 10 was from the six-yard box.
Interestingly, he completed just 3/10 (30%) of his attempted crosses pic.twitter.com/3o2YUMCUpP
Baba Rahman in Ghana vs. Portugal Game
In the Portugal game he observes: While the Black Stars were still in it at 1-1, bloopers from Jordan Ayew and Baba Rahman meant the Black Stars were going to have to chase the game in extra time. In the build-up to Portugal’s second, Rahman loses his awareness, going absent-minded at a very crucial moment.
For Portugal’s third, it also narrows down to a lack of awareness, as well as zero ‘scanning’. These mistakes recur in the Uruguay game where his diminished skill was painful to watch.
Baba Rahman’s footballing journey is very much steeped in what could have been and regrettably not what was. The GFA and the next coach of the Black Stars must see it as it is. Ghana has paid enough in compensatory value for the injury incurred while on national duty.
by michael eli dokosi/www.blakkpepper.net
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