“I have said it several times and I’ll say it again today too, I will not rescind my decision not to take penalty kicks for the national team again.
I will only play when it’s a penalty shoot-out and I have no option but even with that, I will not be part of the first five.â€
Those were the words of Black Stars Captain Asamoah Gyan on Accra based Happy FM after the 2010 world cup.
Asamoah Gyan is Ghana's all time leading scorer with 51 goals, a feat well deserved but the man seem to always be in bed with controversies. Just few weeks back, it was the issue with him customizing Ghana's captain's arm band, that case is still fresh on the minds of many.
Asamoah Gyan with his customized captain armband
On Saturday he made one of the most surprising moves since joining the National team in 2003.
Gyan's first major penalty miss came at the 2006 world cup against Czech republic, but he was left off the hook because  the country was already cruising to victory.
On 24 January 2008, during the Africa Cup of Nations, Gyan and his brother Baffour decided to walk out on the Black Stars following criticism after a game in which Ghana won 1–0. That perhaps highlighted a weakness of Gyan as someone unable to withstand criticism.
As Stephen Appiah neared his retirement, the penalty baton was handed over to the Baby jet and he did remarkably well by scoring two penalties against Serbia and Australia in the 2010 world cup.
That happiness soon turned to sorrow as he missed arguably the most crucial penalty in the history of the Black Stars, in a match against Uruguay.Â
Gyan perhaps was so eager to score and burst into his trade mark dance.Calmness and composure against Uruguay would have seen Ghana progress as the first African country to reach a world cup semi-final. Well maybe he was just thinking of doing his favourite dance rather than focusing on his core duty on the field, scoring goals
 
Asamoah after that penalty miss turned from hero to villian, however his mental toughness enabled him to hold onto his responsibility of taking penalties. Indeed he scored his penalty during a shootout in the same match with Uruguay.
In the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, Gyan missed a penalty in the semi-final clash with Zambia which could have ended Ghana's dream of breaking a 35 year Old trophy drought. He received a barrage of criticism, including sections of footabll fans marching to his parents’ home to express their displeasure, leading to his decision not to step up for penalties again for the national team, which according to him, was an advice from his late mother.
"Although, my mother who advised me not to take penalties for Ghana is no more, taking a penalty will be the last thing I have to do to pay my respect to her, So for now, I won't volunteer to take penalties for Ghana" Gyan said in 2012.
Andre Ayew, Jordan Ayew and Mubarak Wakaso assumed responsibilities of taking penalties for the Nation and did extremely well in converting each one they took.
Gyans decision perhaps hit the nation the hardest In the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations final against Ivory Coast. He stuck to his guns not to take the spot kick until it's impossible to avoid. Ghana was forced to begin with some inexpert penalty takers, needless to say we once again lost out on the trophy.
He was heavily criticised by some former players of the Senior National team for not acting as a matured leader. At the same time some football enthusiast  praised him for standing firm by his decision.
Its been 5 years since his resolve not to take a penalty for the nation, and soccer fans have grown accustomed to it....well so they thought... Â On Sunday Gyan against all expectations stepped up to take what could be described as one of the most woeful penalty kicks ever, in a match between the Black Stars and the United States of America, and yes, he missed.
His posture and the lackadaisical run up to the ball only reminded Ghana of John Mensah's poor penalty kick against Uruguay in the World Cup in 2010.Â
Questions are being asked as to what actually influenced his decision to take the spot kick knowing very well he would cause controversies even if he had scored.
Some possible explanations come to mind though. He could be desperate to impress potential suitors after he openly declared that he wants to move to major league soccer if an offer comes.Gyan's contract with Shanghai SIPG has ended and very few teams in Europe will accept to pay him USD$220,000 a week, knowing his numbers in Europe are not really encouraging, his highest being 15 goals in a season at Serie B side Modena.
Today marks exactly 7 years since Gyan missed that most memorable penalty against Uruguay and maybe he just decided to remind us of our heartbreak.
No matter how you look at this incident, whether it was discussed with the technical team before the game or not, Ghanaians will demand an explanation from the Captain.