Kwasi Appiah & co will love their Liverpool visit

Ghana's World Cup record-making coach, Kwasi Appiah, and his Black Stars' backroom staff will not only learn a thing or two for the 2014 World Cup campaign from their tour of England, but also definitely love their visit to St. George's Park and, particularly, Liverpool FC.

This year's World Cup in Brazil is just around the corner and it presents a stern challenge for Ghana and Appiah, with the Black Stars set to meet the toughness in the likes of Germany, Portugal and the USA in Group G, possibly the toughest in the whole competition. 

Thus, Appiah, who will be the first Ghanaian or African to coach the Stars at the World Cup finals as the substantive coach, after being the first to take them there, (taking his assistant Maxwell Konadu and other technical staff of Nassam Yakubu, Adam Baba and Michael Okyere with him to a learning and exposure tour of England ahead of the World Cup) is a commendable move.

 It is interesting that the GFA has an ongoing relationship with Manchester City FC, but the Stars technical team are visiting Liverpool to arm themselves with few ideas before the World Cup challenge. 

Nevertheless, going to grasp a few ideas at a club, which Ghanaian FA president Kwesi Nyantakyi rightly describes as "one of the best clubs in the world" and is currently in top form and flying high in the English Premier League, the toughest league competition in the world, is not a bad idea at all.

Especially, Liverpoo’s Ghanaianl fans would be excited about this visit to Liverpool and would hope that the next three months or so would see Liverpool finally winning a first Premier League title for their 19th league crown while Ghana would, at least, emulate the 2010 World Cup quarter-final achievement in Brazil.

But before the time for the Premier League conclusion and World Cup commencement come up, Appiah and his supporting cast will have to enjoy their England visit, particularly at Merseyside, the home of the five-time champions of Europe and currently second-placed in the Premier League. 

This visit will afford the Coach Appiah the opportunity to meet with Liverpool manager, Brendan Rodgers, and the Liverpool team of Captain Steven Gerrard, Luis Suarez, a supposedly Ghana 'enemy', Daniel Sturridge among others, who have unexpectedly but very remarkably brushed aside oppositions in emphatic fashions in this season's EPL campaign.

Like Appiah, Rodgers (41), is a quiet, soft-spoken and unassuming man who has learnt a lot to reach the top within a short time. The Northern Irishman is a keen football student who is really recreating the 'Liverpool Way’ philosophy of football -- passing and moving. 

Long before starting as a youth team coach at Chelsea, he had learned a lot at FC Barcelona where he visited on regular basis to study the 'tiki-taka' style of football. 

No wonder, he got Swansea City FC playing fantastic football en route to their remarkable top flight in English football. Indeed, Rogers has got Liverpool playing their ‘Liverpool Way’ again in a manner akin to Barca.

 Surely, therefore, Appiah will learn a few things from the Liverpool boss, both in his interactions with him and from watching him train the Liverpool team.

Watching and observing Liverpool’s training sessions mean Appiah and his staff will get the opportunity of being at Melwood, the Liverpool training ground located in the West Derby suburb of the city of Liverpool. 

It is a rare opportunity, in fact a privillege, for Appiah and company to be at Melwood to see Rodgers and the Reds team train. Not many get the chance to be at Melwood. In fact, no one, no matter who or what, apart from Liverpool players, officials, working staff, etc, is allowed into Melwood, especially on training days. But with this special arrangement, Appiah and company have the privillege.

The first and only time Liverpool opened Melwood to the public, even on a non-training day, was in May last year when Liverpool fans from around the world gathered in Liverpool to participate in the maiden Liverpool FC Official Supporters Clubs Football Tournament at Anfield. 

As one of the privilleged few 'outsiders' to have the opportunity of entering and seeing Melwood at close range on that occasion, I know exactly the good feeling and experience Appiah and co will get at Melwood.

Apart from what they will learn, they will love the experience. Melwood, indeed, is a special place where they will see first, world-class training facilities that befit one of the world's greatest clubs. 

Again, apart from the fantastic natural pitches, they will see the indoor artificial pitch used for training at bad weather times, particularly during the winter. They will see the big, spacious state-of-the-art gym. They will also see the special medical room where the players receive daily treatment for their injuries, and the big dining hall.

Before anything else, they will see the European Cup trophy, which Liverpool won for good and keeps in the ‘Miracle of Istanbul’ in 2005, placed in the corridor of Melwood. 

It has been transferred from the LFC Museum at Anfield to Melwood, on the suggestion of former Liverpool manager, Rafael Benitez, who led Liverpool to that famous come-back victory over AC Milan, to serve as every day inspiration to the players.

In the Melwood corridor, Coach Appiah and his team will also see and, possibly, read the inspirational quotes of Bill Shankley, the 'father of Liverpool', and Benitez. 

Aside Melwood, St. George's Park (SGP), which the FA has christened the "University of Football”, is a special place. Purposely built in the centre of England, in Burton-upon-Trent, which is a 40-minute drive from England's second city of Birmingham, has all the state-of-the-art facilities one can think of in world football.

The FA of England national football centre, which opened only recently in October 2012 named after England's patron saint of St. George, will also go a long way to give some exposure and inspiration to the Stars technical team.

In both the short and long terms this visit will greatly  benefit the Black Stars and Ghanaian football in general. Not least, Appiah's meeting there with the League Manager's Association.