The full-back reflects on his appearances for the Black Stars against Bafana Bafana and the Falcons in the 2021 Afcon qualifiers.
Ghana defender Abdul Rahman Baba conceded he is not currently playing at his best level, having been heavily criticised for below-par performances in the Black Stars' recent 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against South Africa and Sao Tome and Principe.
The defender played for the duration as the Black Stars held Bafana Bafana to a 1-1 draw in Johannesburg on Thursday and saw another 90 minutes of action as the West Africans beat the Falcons 3-1 on Sunday.
He found the back of the net against Sao Tome but that has not saved him from criticism.
"Knowing myself and knowing what I’ve been through, I think I still have a lot to catch up with," Baba, who is currently playing on loan for Greek side PAOK from Chelsea, told Footballmadeinghana.
“But all the same I think it was an okay performance. I know this is football and many people don’t know what I’ve been through in the past few years. But I’m still trying to catch up with what I’ve lost and to get back to how I used to be."
Ghana's results from the back-to-back matches helped secure their 23rd appearance at Afcon, where they will be chasing after their first title since 1982.
"With Ghana qualifying for the Afcon [many times], it looks like a mere formality because since I’ve been with the Black Stars, I don’t think we’ve struggled to qualify for the Nations Cup,” Baba continued.
“We’ve been saying to ourselves [in the past] that this is the time we have to win it but I think we need to properly plan everything. Get ourselves serious and I think the necessary things are done, Ghana have the quality and hopefully we can win it this time around. That is my dream,
"[There are] so many young players motivated. Coupled with experienced, old players makes a perfect blend.
"When there is this mixture, it always works well for Ghana. I am hoping that whoever gets the chance to make it will bring the Afcon to us and we can celebrate for one month. If we win it, we should celebrate it for one month."
Baba is seeking to get his career back on track, having been heavily weighed down by injury since 2017.
He joined PAOK in January and has so far made five appearances, made three starts and scored one goal for the club.
Source: Goal
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