In his 2008 book "Outliers," Malcolm Gladwell wrote that "ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness."  

His examples included:

- Bill Gates, who was able to start coding as a teen since he attended a progressive Seattle high school  

- the Beatles, who played eight-hour gigs in German clubs long before they invaded America

Those opportunities to practice early and often — along with precocious talent — allowed them to respectively invent software and modern rock and roll.

Or so the argument goes. 

Based on studies in elite performance, Gladwell contended that it's "an extraordinarily consistent answer in an incredible number of fields ... you need to have practiced, to have apprenticed, for 10,000 hours before you get good." 

We can't say for sure if the man we spoke to has chalked the magic number.

This week, AshGold were crowned champions. The last time this happened to the team was 19 years ago. And season after season, they've chipped at the dream.

Maybe, after more than 10,000 hours of trying, AshGold's time to be perfect, to win a title, was 2015. 

But if one man, more than any other at the club, embodies their struggle, it has to be the CEO Kudjoe Fianoo. Ten years ago, after failing at politics, he was approached to lead AshGold. Fianoo took the bait. 

And the rest, as they say, is history - a history that Joy Sports' editor Nathaniel Attoh helped him tell on Saturday's edition of the Joy Sports Link. 

Here are excerpts. 

Nathaniel: You were once a journalist? 

Fianoo: Yes. A trained journalist. I used to write hard-hitting pieces for the Sporting Times and Graphic Sports under a pen name. I stopped because, like Anas [Aremeyaw Anas] now, people were going to great lengths to unmask my identity so I felt I had to stop. Later on, I was betrayed. But I didn’t have any problems like libel because all the things that I wrote about were proven to be spot on. 

Nathaniel: How did you feel that day when you lost that title in the 2009/2010 season [when AshGold lost the title on the last day to Aduana Stars] 

Fianoo: We had actually lost that title earlier when we failed to beat Great Olympics. We drew and we needed to win that game at all cost. When we all thought we would have won that game to take us into the final league game with a five points lead, we failed. Olympics had a very good day. So Aduana came in and won the league on the final day on the head-to-head rule. When the referee called for the end of the game, I was glued to my seat and then my son called me and said: “Daddy, it is over. Let us go home.”

Nathaniel: Why did you resign the season before that one?

Fianoo: There was a lack of support from AGA (AngloGold Ashanti) and instability. New investors [were] coming in and a whole lot. AGA wanted to offload the club to [former Kotoko CEO] Herbert Mensah and I felt I needed to take a bow. But my resignation was rejected and then I went back. And then I was told the resignation had now been accepted! 

[So I left and then] I was called to come back, shortly after entering politics and failing, to save the club from relegation.

Politics toughened me. I was in a difficult constituency in Keta on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party. I went back to AshGold to prove my critics wrong.

Nathaniel: What was your relationship like with [former AshGold boss] David Duncan (below pictured)?

Fianoo: The club had made a policy earlier on not to go in for foreign coaches and the club felt David Duncan was the best man for the job as he was fit for AshGold academy system. This was after he had been coach for the nation’s under 17 side. One agreement I had with Duncan was that I will not interfere with technical matters and so would he not interfere with administration of the club. I drew the lines and I only found out the players who were making the starting lineup at 2pm when the players trotted to the field, just like every other fan. If I see a player I like, I ask Duncan’s permission first to send him to the training grounds and if he [Duncan] liked the player, then we would sign him. We separated our roles.

Fianoo: I asked some friends of mine to recommend some coaches for us to take over from Yaw Acheampong.

And I was told by a friend that [Hayford] was interested in coaching the club, so I had a chat with him. One of them told me Bashir was interested in coaching AshGold.

I asked him to set up a meeting both of us in Accra. The flight from Kumasi was rescheduled but I asked Bashir to wait for me just to see if he was really committed to do the job. I looked at his track record and I knew he would be good for the job.

I got to Accra two or three hours later and there he was waiting for. And then we had a very nice chat together.

When you go the training field, it is like a father and son relationship with the players. Sometimes, management even complain that he is too soft with them but he cracks the whip when he needs to. He is a very good coach and I think that AshGold should do well to keep him. 

Nathaniel: It's not been an easy season for all of you?

Fianoo: Oh, yes. The surprise is that we've won the trophy in the season we haven't done almost no recruitment at all. When Bashir Hayford started working I called him to my office one day and told him not to approach any player at all because of our financial situation. I didn't want the case where a player will call a radio station and say we promised him such and such and we didn't do it. I don't like that.

So, we worked with the talent we had and here we are.

Nathaniel: Have you had a time that you wanted a player and you want him to be part of the team?

Fianoo: I can recall of a time when I had spotted a player and thought would be good for the club. At that time we needed to revamp the team. There were two of them and they were about to be sent to Hearts of Oak with another player.

I requested for the best one. So I took him and the other went to Hearts. Since I had not discussed the matter with [then] coach Duncan, I couldn’t take the player to the training grounds. The player was at the front desk of AshGold for three days before Duncan finally asked why the player was there. I told Duncan, I had not asked for his [Duncan] permission first that is why the player was there. Duncan gave me the permission, sent the player to training and in the evening he came back to say “chief, your player is a champion player.” Then I said if you need him, then I will register him. That is the sort of relationship I have with my coaches including Bashir Hayford.

Nathaniel: Have you ever lost out on a good player? 

Fianoo: Yes, because of social media and the speed at which things move it is now not easy to keep a good player on the negotiation table for too long. When you start the process, next thing you know it is on Facebook or some other place. 

One example was Malik Akowuah. (below, pictured) A very, very good player. And then we started talking to him. Somehow, it got to social media and next thing we know Medeama had snapped him up. 

Nathaniel: Speaking of players, how did you manage to keep hold of your best talent or to land a player who everyone else wants?

Fianoo: Well, it's several things really. But the main thing it boils down to is cash. How much can you offer the player? Is there a case of sign-on fee? And you have to be pro-active too, to know which buttons to push. Sometimes, the key is the agent because he has influence on the player. Sometimes, his family is a key determinant so you have to use that direction. Whatever it is, every player is different and you have to study what motivates them and try to offer them. But mostly, we at AshGold convince players by telling them of how sound our structures are, and how reliable our systems are to give them peace of mind and so on.  

Nathaniel: Let’s talk about officiating. Have you had times that you strongly disagreed with referees?

Fianoo: Not all results can go in my favour. But at one point, I reported a referee that I felt was unfair to the referees' review panel and then he was suspended. If our football will develop, we need to work with all in tandem, both on the technical side and the administrators too. We need to allow the technicians to do their job and we, the administrators, to do ours. 

I must tell you that I don’t have any business talking to referees and I always tell my players to concentrate on the field.

Nathaniel: ...and you have never used your position to influence games?

Fianoo: Let me tell you. There have been several times when an AshGold player has come to me and said "boss, this ref didn't help us today at all." My answer to them is the same, always. Your job [as a player] is to play well and make sure you put the ball in the net. Put the ball in the net three times and let the ref disallow all of them, then we can say he didn't help us. 

Fianoo: Now, wherever I pass in Obuasi, they call me the “Champion Chairman”. That is the fans for you. If you do what they want, you are the best. If you don’t, then you are the worst. So you have to learn to live with them. I want to advise fans to support us when we are down and not when it is only rosy. In the stands, Hearts and Kotoko fans sing when the team is down to boost their morale. But in our case, they become quiet when things are not going well. They only sing when we are doing well. We need that support too when we are down.

Nathaniel: What kept you going all this while?

Fianoo: I had a very accommodating family - a great partner and my children as well. It has been tough combining work and family. I have four children, three girls and a boy. One is a medical doctor, another is in law school. I hope my boy enters the military, although he has an interest in football. I don't think he has what it takes to survive in the football environment. I don’t want him to venture into it at all.

Nathaniel: Why do you think the spectator numbers have fallen?

Fianoo: There are other things done elsewhere that we don’t even do here [in Ghana]. I went to the UK and I was at Old Trafford and I could not believe what I was seeing. Out there, physically challenged people like blind people go to the stadium. They are encouraged to come. The basic facilities at the stadiums here are not [available]. Many do not have even have urinals. I can’t stand in the open. We need to get the basics. And we need the players to also increase their skills. You see how the Accra derby [between Olympics and Hearts this season] was packaged to attract lots of fans? We need to continue that for the rest of the games.

Nathaniel: What do you think is the problem with Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko?

Fianoo: I think that they are in a haste to achieve results but in football you have your ups and your downs. Let your stakeholders understand that you are down and that you would be rebuilding. Hearts did it and it worked for them. They not build the 1964 battalion, that dreaded team, overnight. When the team gelled, you would be praying that they keep your scoreline low. But now we are in a haste. We need to have that patience, [both Hearts and Kotoko] have to work at it and not really on past glory.

Nathaniel: What can we do to improve our league?

Fianoo: We need to encourage more corporate sponsors to come in and help the clubs. You see, the football landscape this year has been dominated by those owned by mining companies. FA Cup has been won by Medeama, sponsored by Tarkwa Goldfields and then the league by AshantiGold. If we could encourage more of these corporate entities in our catchment areas to get involved, Ghana football will be the beneficiary.

Nathaniel: Would you like to come back to possibly as a board chairman?

Fianoo: Why not? The last meeting [myself and AshGold] had, I was asked to hang around for about six more months but I will look into that, looking at what I am leaving behind and what I can do in the near future.

Nathaniel: Why are you leaving AshantiGold now?

Fianoo: Ten solid years. What I needed to do, I feel I have done it. I want to leave on a high and I have delivered the league title. If I had not won the title, I would not have left. I would have stayed until I had won the title. You also have to note that the situation with AGA is not very easy. We are not really agreeing on the direction of the team and so on and so forth.

Nathaniel: Will you still be in football even after you resign?

Fianoo: Oh, yes. I will continue to be in football. I am a certified match commissioner and I serve on some committees at the Football Association. So I will still be around but not the vigorous running of a club.

Nathaniel: Final thoughts, Mr. Fianoo...

Fianoo: First, I thank everyone for all these years od work. The media, my colleagues, management and everybody. We still have a lot more to do in Ghana Football. For all these 10 years. I don’t know what to say. I am most grateful to all.

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More league reviews

* OTI ADJEI: An alternative 2014/15 FCPPL season review
* Joy Sports FCPPL Season Review: Stats and numbers round-up 
* 7 things we learned from #SurvivalSunday
* Joy Sports Season Review: Top 10 flops
* Survival Sunday: Olympics, Lions relegated as Kotoko ensure safety

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The Joy Sports Link airs every Saturday on 99.7FM from 1210pm, hosted by Nathaniel Attoh, @niiattoh5 on Twitter. Interview transcribed by Kwasi Gyamfi (@KG_Asiedu) and Gary Al-Smith (@garyalsmith). Get more updates on Facebook/Twitter with the #JoySports hashtag