Abedi Pele Abedi Ayew, who was born on November 5, 1964, is a former football player from Ghana who went by the nickname "Abedi Pele...
Abedi Pele
Abedi Ayew, who was born on November 5, 1964, is a former football player from Ghana who went by the nickname "Abedi Pele." He played as an attacking midfielder and was captain of the Ghana national team. He is thought to be one of the best African football players ever.
He played for several teams in Europe, but Lille and Marseille, where he won the UEFA Champions League in 1993, were the ones that made him famous. Three of his kids, Ibrahim, André, and Jordan, have also played for Ghana internationally. Ibrahim and André were picked for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and André and Jordan played at the 2014 World Cup.
Abedi Ayew was born into a family in the town of Kibi. He grew up in the town of Dome, which is north of the city of Accra. Abedi Pele was one of the first African soccer players to play in Europe. He was one of the first players from Africa to make a big difference in European club football.
He played for teams in Switzerland, Germany, Italy, and most famously France, where he helped Marseille win the UEFA Champions League in the early 1990s. Among his many international honours, he was often named a FIFA "All-Star" and led the African All-Stars to a win over the European All-Stars in the 1997 Meridian Cup. After the 1982 African Cup of Nations, he left Ghana to join Al Sadd in Qatar for a transfer fee of $1,000.
After a short time with FC Zürich, he went back to Ghana. Kotoko and Hearts of Oak didn't want to sign him, so he went to Benin to play for AS Dragons FC de l'Ouémé. Later, he went back to Ghana and played football for Real Tamale United for one season.
He started his European journey with Chamois Niort in France. After that, he played for Montpellier and Lille before moving to Marseille. In the end, he joined Lyon. He also played for Torino in Italy, and 1860 Munich was the last team he played for in Europe.
Abedi Pele then signed a two-year deal with Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates. He was named one of the best foreign players to play in the UAE league.
He was the team's leader, and in 1991 and 1992, he was one of the first African football players to get a high vote in the FIFA World Player of the Year poll. He might be Africa's most accomplished and honoured football player ever. He won the France Football African Player of the Year Award three times, was the first BBC African Sports Star of the Year in 1992, and won the same award twice from the Confederation of African Football.
He also won the golden ball for being the best player at the African Cup of Nations in 1992, and he was named "man of the match" when Marseille beat Milan in the 1993 UEFA Champions League final. Abedi Pele played 73 times for Ghana and is thought to be the best football player in Ghana's history and one of the best in Africa.
He had 33 goals for the Black Stars, which was the most until Asamoah Gyan passed him on June 7, 2013. He played for his national team in the 1980s and 1990s African Championships and was on Ghana's winning team in the 1982 African Cup of Nations. However, he never got to play in the FIFA World Cup because the Black Stars never qualified for it during his career.
But for almost a decade, he was likely the most important person in African sport. People often say that his play in the 1992 African Cup of Nations was one of the best by any football player in a single competition.
His home country of Ghana made it to the finals of the Cup that year, but lost to the Ivory Coast on penalties after Abedi was banned for getting a yellow card in the semi-final against Nigeria.
Before that, his three amazing goals against Zambia, Congo, and Nigeria were key to Ghana making it to the CAN final for the seventh time, and the first time in ten years. He became known as "The African Maradona" because of how well he played.
People often say that his goal against Congo in the quarterfinals was like Maradona's second goal against England in the 1986 World Cup. His back-header goal against Nigeria, which he scored from the edge of their penalty area, also made headlines around the world.
Abedi has been to the Nations Cup Finals more times than any other player, even the great Roger Milla of Cameroon. He first played in the 13th Nations Cup Finals in Libya in 1982. For the next 16 years, until the 21st Finals in Burkina Faso, he continued to play in the most prestigious football event on the continent, first as a member of Ghana's team and then as captain in 1991.
Abedi was praised for his actions at the competition in 1992. He was also praised for scoring three goals at the competition in 1996, when he took Ghana to the semi-finals even though many people thought he was nearing the end of his career.
At the club level, he was a key part of Marseille's success in the French league, which led to four league titles and two trips to the European Cup final. Abedi was an attacking player who became known for both his great dribbling skills and his ability to score amazing and often very important goals.
Many of these goals became "Goals of the Week" on ITN's "European Football" show every week. At Marseille, he was part of the team's "Magical Trio" with Jean-Pierre Papin and Chris Waddle. This group led what was probably Europe's best league team in the early 1990s, including a loss in the 1991 European Cup final.
When Marseille beat Milan in the 1993 Champions League final in Munich, Abedi was the only one of the three still on the team. Ayew is the only African player to have played in more charity games organised by FIFA than any other player.
Because of what he did in France, he is very famous in many African countries, especially the ones where people speak French. Fans of football still wear T-shirts with his name on them in places like Nigeria and South Africa. He has become one of the most well-known and important leaders on the continent.
Abedi Pele is on the FIFA Football Committee and the FIFA and CAF player status panels. That's why the South African Football Association made him a spokesperson for their bid to host the 2006 World Cup. Abedi is thought to be one of the best players in the world who never played in the FIFA World Cup. He may even be the best football player from Africa ever.
The Ghanaian government gave Abedi the greatest honour, the Order of the Volta (civil division), for all the good things he did for the country. He was the first athlete from Ghana to get this award.
On January 29, 1997, the first UEFA–CAF Meridian Cup All-Star Match between Europe and Africa took place at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal. It was broadcast in 100 countries around the world, including 30 in Africa, and 60 million people watched it.
Abedi Pele scored a great goal early in the first half, but Europe tied it up with a goal from Vincent Guérin just before halftime. The 1998 African Player of the Year, Mustapha Hadji, scored the winning goal in the 78th minute, giving Africa a 2–1 win.
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