Sarfo Gyamfi warns Barnieh against inferiority complex in Black Stars camp

Asante Kotoko legend Sarfo Gyamfi has urged Hearts of Oak attacking midfielder Daniel Afriyie Barnieh to guard against inferiority complex and compete with foreign based players at Black Stars training sessions to make a positive impression.

The 20-year-old striker is making a return to the Black Stars squad, nine months after he was handed a debut call-up by ex-Ghana Coach CK Akonnor in August 2021 for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers against Ethiopia and South Africa.

The former Ghana U-20 Captain and Bechem United winger Augustine Okrah are the only two Ghana Premier League players in Coach Otto Addo’s Black Stars squad for the AFCON 2023 qualifiers against Madagascar on June 1 and Central African Republic on June 5, and the 4-nation Kirin Cup in Japan.

However, most invited locally based players are not given playing opportunities in the Black Stars, partly due to the stiff competition for places in the departmental positions. Sarfo Gyamfi, a 1992 AFCON silver medallist with the Black Stars, insists Barnieh must fight for his position at training.

“I will appeal to the Coach (Otto Addo) to use Barnieh. He is a good striker like Prince Polley, who is good at heckling defenders. This kind of players make it easy for midfielders to go forward,” Sarfo Gyamfi told Kumasi based Kessben FM.

“Our local players give too much respect to foreign based players in Black Stars. I will advise Barnieh not to feel shy but he should train and play with seriousness to open more doors for other local players,” he added.

Barnieh, who has scored 8 goals in 25 Ghana Premier League games this season, is among 7 strikers in the Black Stars squad namely; Jordan Ayew, Braydon Manu, Kwesi Otchere Wreidt, Felix Afena-Gyan, Antoine Semenyo and Benjamin Tetteh.