Former Ghana international Charles Taylor has urged Daniel Afriyie Barnieh to seek the assistance of a psychologist, as he believes the striker is not performing at his best, as evident in his Sunday’s performance against Congo in the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.
Barnieh, a former Hearts of Oak forward, had a poor first half and had to be substituted. His replacement, Emmanuel Yeboah, made headlines by scoring two goals and providing an assist, leading the Black Meteors to a 3-2 victory in their tournament opener.
Barnieh’s performance follows a series of uninspiring displays this year for Black Galaxies and Black Meteors, particularly during the final qualifying round against Algeria, where he was extremely wasteful.
Taylor attributes Barnieh’s dip in form to his struggles at the club level. Since joining FC Zurich in Switzerland, Barnieh has only played six games, with two for the senior team and four for the U-21 team. He has been struggling to find his feet there, and this has contributed to him losing the form that earned him a place in Ghana’s squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
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“He has lost focus on the field. If he doesn’t receive proper psychological support, his performance could deteriorate even further. You can simply compare his previous performances to his current state; he might even fare worse than Adiyiah,” Taylor said on Angel TV.
Taylor draws a parallel between Barnieh’s situation and that of Dominic Adiyiah, whose career took an unexpected nosedive after his notable performance in the 2009 U-20 World Cup and subsequent move to AC Milan. Barnieh captained Ghana to success in the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Mauritania two years ago.
“Adiyiah’s situation was relatively better. Let’s consider how many matches Afriyie Barnieh has played since joining FC Zurich. We need to question what happened to him upon his arrival in Zurich. He needs guidance to focus on moving forward and stop dwelling on past glories. He is just starting out, which is why he needs to give more,” he added.