On Saturday and Sunday, I was still in Kumasi covering the Asantehene's 10th anniversary Gold Cup. To my surprise I saw a very non-golf related face.
His name is Tony Yeboah.
It served as a nice cue for what I have in store today. I'm recapping the life of a Ghanaian football legend.
Fact: When Tony went to Germany in 1988, he became only the second black person to play professional football there.
Ghanaian Premier League top scorer two seasons in a row? Check. German Bundesliga top scorer two years in a row? Check. The only player to ever win the BBC’s Goal of the Month award twice in two consecutive months? Check.
I won't bore you with biographies. You can read it here. But I'll do referrals from time to time.
One of my most enduring memories of this man's football days is of that goal he scored at the then Accra Sports Stadium: someone crossed the ball from the right corner area and he hit a side-volley. For years, it was used in the opening montage of Sports Highlights on Ghana's national station.
I cannot find that video on the net, sadly. But no problem, for there are other great ones. Like this one.
And then people like the sour memories of him with the Abedi Pele rift thing. Yuck.
I'm celebrating him, so on we go. Now here's a compilation someone kindly made and it is....fantastic!
But as human as he is, Anthony had flaws. Here is one of many!
So what's he doing now? He had interview some time back with my old buddy Owen Slot over at the Times. Nice read.
And as I said at the start of the post, he's into golf,too.
Can't have enough of the man? Here's a bonus.
He's won several stuff, including this from Kicker.
So if you are a real fan, join him on facebook.
Fact: Yeboah is still a legend at Frankfurt, with fans regularly wearing t-shirts with “Zeugen Yeboahs” - meaning, “Yeboah’s Witnesses.”
Tony Yeboah = Legend.
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