BEAVERTON, Ore. – Portland Timbers goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey had one very interested onlooker at his game Sunday against New York City FC.
Ghana national team coach Avram Grant was on hand at Yankee Stadium for the Timbers’ 1-0 victory and met with Kwarasey, the Ghanaian international who acrimoniously left the Black Stars after their disappointing World Cup run last summer, after the match to reportedly discuss his return to the team. After Portland’s training session Wednesday, their first back at the team facility following their return from the East Coast, Kwarasey confirmed the meeting but offered little in the way of details.
“It went OK; it wasn’t anything special,” said Kwarasey, who is in his first year with the Timbers after transfering from Norwegian side Strømsgodset. “We just had a short chat, and that was it.”
Grant took over the Ghanaian outfit for former manager Maxwell Konadu in November of last year and has been on a Stateside scouting trip of late. The Timbers also recently acquired Ghanaian international midfielder Ishmael Yartey, who saw his first action for Portland on Sunday with a start and 74-minute shift.
The last Black Stars appearance for Kwarasey, who was born in Norway to a Ghanian father and Norwegian mother, came in their World Cup-opening 2-1 loss to the United States, after which he criticized the technical staff’s selection process and said he would no longer play for Ghana as long as goalkeepers coach Nassamu Yakubu remained with the team.
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A GFA spokesman told SpyGhana.com that Kwarasey and Grant had a frank discussion about the goalkeeper’s concerns and that he would always be welcomed back to the team but would have to fight for the No. 1 spot.
Kwarasey declined to discuss his future with the team on Wednesday.
“That’s between me and him,” he said. “We’ll see where it goes from our meeting.”
