Ghana captain, Andre Ayew has, again, proven his mental toughness in a professional football career spanning 17 years with international records and an expansive club football appearances for 9 clubs across four countries (France, England, Turkey, and Qatar).
Ayew’s return to regular club football at French Ligue 1 side, Le Havre, has been nothing short of spectacular following a disappointing Africa Cup of Nations tournament where he captained Ghana to a second consecutive group stage exit.
Aside the highlights of what will be remembered as a record-breaking game appearances for a player at the AFCON (36) and extending his record number of caps as a Black Star player (120), Andre Ayew and the Ghana team endured a frustrating campaign that highlighted his personal struggles with club football for a year prior to the competition, that only amplified calls by fans for him to retire, not just from the Ghana team, but from football in general.
The Black Stars early exit from Cote D’Ivoire and calls for his international career to be curtailed, may have been just the anger and motivation the 34-year old most capped player in Ghana’s history needed to reignite his career.
He will go on to force his way into Le Havre’s regular team and coach Luka Elsner’s plans as they began the push for survival in Ligue 1 this season.
Andre Ayew has gone on to start 11 out of Le Havre’s last 14 games since rejoining the team after the AFCON. His regular playing time and 11 starts have yielded 6 goals and 2 assists across all competitions this season.
Le Havre have got more work to do to stay in Ligue 1 beyond this season but one of the biggest storylines for their campaign in the second half of the season, is Andre Ayew’s resurgence, scoring important goals that have secured crucial points in their last four games.
Back to back goals against giants PSG, his favourite opponent in Ligue 1, scoring his 5th goal against them, and Strasbourg have secured 4 points from a possible 6, providing a massive boost for their survival hopes.
If Andre Ayew keeps this form, Le Havre should be the biggest beneficiary of his inspiration towards the end of the season with Ligue 1 survival being the main target for the season.
The conversations in the media and by football fans have quickly shifted from his poor form at club and international level to expectations of Andre replicating his red hot streak of goal scoring for the Black Stars when international football resumes in June in a double header of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers away to Mali on June 5, and at home to Central African Republic on June 8.
From widespread doubts, frustrations and calls for Ghana’s most iconic football star for several years since making his international debut at 17 and going on to win Ghana and Africa’s only FIFA under 20 World Cup title till date (in October 2009), to retire, Andre Ayew has exhibited a strong mentality and commitment to inserting himself back into the conversation of the best Ghanaian players abroad this second half of the season.
He has done this with absolute focus and in silence, providing the best response to his critics with a spectacular turn-around in form, just in good time towards the business end of the European club football season.
This form should also provide certainties of his continuation with Le Havre, with whom he has few months more to play for, having signed a 1-year deal with the french club late last year which runs until June 30 this year.
It is still to be seen, if Andre Ayew can return to being a starter in Otto Addo’s Black Star as the ex-Dortmund deputy coach rebuilds the team to overcome a long spell of disappointing performances that date back to June 2019 when Ghana failed to go past the round of 16 of the AFCON following six consecutive semi final appearances during which it lost in two finals in 2010 and 2015 to Egypt and Ivory Coast respectively.
Andre Ayew appears to be a man on a mission, rumoured to harbouring the dream of leading Ghana’s charge to another FIFA World Cup competition, which begins with qualifiers this Junes.
His return to form at Le Havre could achieve two significant feats of keeping the side in Ligue 1 ahead of next season while inspiring the Black Stars to a big turnaround in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in June away to Mali and at home to Central African Republic.