Player Profile: Sammy Adjei

Beginning henceforth, I will be making an effort to periodically post some player profiles. These will undoubtedly be idiosyncratic and potentially controversial. But they will pass the time on slow news days like today.

First- Keeper Sammy Adjei

The 25 yr old veteran and Stars first team keeper currently is at work in his first year at the Israeli Ashdod side. He was acquired in September from the local Hearts of Oak squad for a reported $150,000 US. He has previously worked locally and for a Tunisian side.

While undoubtedly the Stars best keeper, opinions differ as to whether Adjei has what it takes to sustain the Stars in the World Cup. At the local level, Sammy was maddeningly inconsistent, and was even on occasion accused (without foundation, it appears) of taking bribes following particularly gruesome performances. His work historically had been called effective but uninspiring, and particular difficulties have been noted tracking crosses and dealing with penalty play.

However, over the past year, the proverbial worm has begun to turn. Adjei’s play in World Cup qualifying was a significant factor in Ghana’s performance as stingiest team in qualifying, and he has followed that performance up with a level degree of capacity in Israel. Moreover, he was acknowledged, other than one lousy goal versus Zimbabwe, to be the all-star performer on the recent CAN squad, leading one pundit to call him “a pleasure to watch” and the BBC to refer to him and Captain Appiah as the only members of the squad who were “World Cup ready”.

On a personal note, Adjei enjoys spending time with his family and reportedly holds the Black Stars record for consuming Captain Crunch cereal.

Opinions continue to vary locally whether Adjei can be the rock the Stars will have to count on, given their shaky back line, in Germany. While their remain many doubters (especially among the jaded Nigerians), Adjei appears to be winning converts daily. As for me, I consulted the Magic 8-Ball to see whether Adjei had what it took: “Signs Point to Yes”.