SATELLITES MISSION TO FULFIL (OCT 16, 2009)

IN a fitting climax to the FIFA Under 20 football championship in Cairo, the Satellites of Ghana will tonight engage Brazil in a football thriller that must be the dream of the football world.
The pedigree of the two teams, as well as their performance in the tournament so far, leaves no one in doubt that what will be on show tonight in the Egyptian capital will be nothing less than a football classic: One fit for the gods.
But here in Ghana and, indeed, in Brazil, the anxiety, excitement and expectation go beyond the beauty of football. To the players, their coaches, officials, as well as the millions of their supporters back home, what is at stake is more than an exhibition of individual brilliance.
It is about the diadem at stake and the title as monarchs of world Under 20 football.
This is so because in both countries football means more than just entertainment — it is business, a way of life and a safety valve through which the feelings of all social classes find expression.
In Brazil, as well as Ghana, football fever knows no class boundaries and it afflicts all, including Presidents, kings, queens, as well as their servants, with equal measure.
And, especially at the youth level of the game, the tension has always reached fever pitch any time the path of Ghana has crossed that of Brazil. The last time the two teams met in the final of the Under 20 World Cup in Australia in 1993, it was Brazil who triumphed.
Therefore, as the two teams revisit that drama in Cairo tonight, the Satellites have a disposition to approach their mission with a sense of vengeance. And, thus far, they have demonstrated the character worthy of champions.
In midfield and attack, the Satellites are the most accomplished in the tournament, with Dominic Adiyiah as the prospective goal king.
Fortunately, Coach Sellas Tetteh has publicly stated that he has found a few lapses in his defensive arrangement and it is our wish that he had dealt with it early enough to ensure a compact team and total victory over the Brazilians.
The likes of Mohammed Gargo, Odartey-Lamptey and Isaac Asare did it at Italia ‘91. It is now the turn of Adiyiah, Dede Ayew and co to do it.
And Ghanaians know they can! We want nothing short of a convincing victory today.