<<Print>>

Manchester United legend Andy Cole claims Asamoah Gyan and Michael Essien remain the two most important players of the Black Stars. The two players have played significant roles in the performance of the West African powerhouse over the years. But striker Gyan retired from international football following the verbal abuse he suffered after his semi-final penalty miss at the 2012 African Cup of Nations against Zambia cost the Black Stars the final berth. The Al Ain attacker�s failure to score from the spot echoed the World Cup quarter-final in 2010, where he hit the cross-bar with a penalty in the final moments of extra-time. He claimed he had not fully recovered from those two crucial penalty misses and opted to hang his international boot �indefinitely�. Essien, who has been an integral member of the Black Stars over the years, was ruled out of the continental showpiece held in Gabon an Equatorial Guinea due to a recurrent knee injury. The Chelsea ace is now fit again but has been restricted to the substitute bench in recent matches by interim boss Robert Di Matteo with many begging questions been asked as to whether the �Train� has lost the steam. But Cole, who was part of the Manchester United historic Uefa Champions League treble winning squad in 1999, insists the duo present the country with the chance to win to win laurels. �I have watched the team for many years. I watched the Black Stars at the World Cup and the African Cup of Nations,� Cole said �The two players (Gyan and Essien) are quality players. Like I said they�re top players whose services are immeasurable at the moment. �Essien is world class for Chelsea and Gyan who is a player of Sunderland is now on loan at the UAE. I think those two players will hold their own for sometime in Europe and so I believe they�re the two players who come to mind,� Ghana face a number of crucial international matches in the near future � with 2014 World Cup qualifying beginning in June. Amongst the teams in Ghana�s group in the race to Brazil are the newly-crowned African champions, Zambia. They will also face a two-legged tie in September and October for a place in the finals of the 2013 Nations Cup in South Africa.