When Ghana earned qualification for her first senior FIFA World Cup in 2005, the country erupted into ecstasy, young and old jubilating in every street.
Ratomir Djukovic, the Serbian tactician in charge of the Black Stars back then, forever etched his name in Ghana’s football annals, becoming the first ever coach to qualify the country for the biggest football competition in the world.
Ahead of the tournament in Germany, Djukovic named a strong 23-man squad, including three locally-based stars from the Ghana Premier League.
These locally-based players were Dan Quaye of Hearts of Oak, Habib Mohammed of Kumasi King Faisal, and Shilla Illiasu of Kumasi Asante Kotoko.
What most people did not know was that Dan Quaye, who was arguably the best defender in the Ghana Premier League in the era of the early 2000s, nearly missed out on the squad due to an error he made against Asante Kotoko.
Alhaji Farouk Al Wahab revealed that when the management of Hearts of Oak got wind about Djukovic’s intention, they quickly made advances towards the Serbian to change his mind.
“It took Randy Abbey and Hearts of Oak management to threaten to make life difficult for Djukovic if Dan Quaye was not added to the 2006 World Cup squad,” he said in an interview on Max FM.
Dan Quaye did not make a single appearance for the Black Stars at the World Cup in Germany, though he made Ratomir Djukovic’s list.
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