Abedi Pele

Early life

Abedi Ayew was born into a family in the town of Kibi and grew up in the town of Dome at the northern outskirts of the city Accra.

He attended Ghana Senior High School in Tamale. He was given the nickname "Pelé" due to his ability in football, which evoked comparisons to the late Brazilian athlete Pelé.

Club career

Abedi Pele was one of the first African players to make an impact on European club football. His nomadic career began with Real Tamale United in Ghana in 1978. He left Ghana after the 1982 African Cup of Nations to join Al Sadd in Qatar for a $1,000 transfer fee. After a short spell with FC Zürich, he returned to Ghana but, after both Kotoko and Hearts of Oak failed to sign him, joined AS Dragons FC de l'Ouémé in Benin. He would later return to Ghana and play for Real Tamale United for one season. He began his career in Europe with French side Chamois Niort, subsequently joining Marseille before transferring to Lille on loan.

At club level, he was a key figure in Marseille's dominance of the French league, resulting in four league championships and two European Cup finals appearances. At Marseille, he was a member of the team's "Magical Trio" along with Jean-Pierre Papin and Chris Waddle, spearheading perhaps Europe's strongest league side of the early 1990s, including a European Cup final defeat in 1991. Abedi Pele was the only remaining member of the trio still with the side when Marseille defeated Milan in the 1993 Champions League final in Munich.

He later joined Lyon after his loan spell at Lille. He also played for Torino of Italy and rounded out his European career with 1860 Munich.

Abedi Pele signed a two-year contract with Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates and was nominated one of the best foreign players to play in the UAE league.

International career

Abedi Pele played for Ghana 73 times. He was a fixture in the African Championships of the 1980s and '90s with his national team, and a member of Ghana's victorious team in the 1982 African Cup of Nations, but he never had an opportunity to play in the FIFA World Cup, as the Black Stars failed to qualify for the competition during his career. However, he was arguably the most dominant figure on the African football scene for nearly a decade. His performance in the 1992 African Cup of Nations, for which he was voted the player of the tournament, was particularly notable, as he scored in three successive rounds to help Ghana reach the final, but picked up a yellow card in the semi-final against Nigeria that meant he was suspended for the final; Ghana went on to lose on penalties to the Ivory Coast. The performance earned him the added nickname of "The African Maradona".

Abedi Pele was one of the first African football players to earn a top placing in FIFA World Player of the Year voting, doing so in 1991 and 1992. He won the France Football African Player of the Year Award three consecutive years, was the inaugural winner of the BBC African Sports Star of the Year in 1992, and the corresponding Confederation of African Football award twice.

Abedi Pele holds the record for most appearances at the African Cup of Nations. He made his first appearance at the in Libya in 1982 and continued to compete at the tournament for the next 16 years, his last appearance coming in the 1998 edition in Burkina Faso. Aside from his exploits at the 1992 competition, he also earned much acclaim for his three goals at the 1996 competition, where he led Ghana to the semi-finals of the competition despite critics expecting him to be in the twilight of his career.

After retirement

Abedi Pele has participated in more FIFA organized charity matches than any other African player. He is a member of FIFA's Football Committee, and of the player status committees of both FIFA and CAF. The South African FA made him a spokesperson for their 2006 World Cup bid.

In appreciation of Abedi Pele's service to the country, the Ghanaian government gave him the country's highest honour, the Order of the Volta (civil division). He was the first Ghanaian sportsman to be so honoured.

On 29 January 1997, the first UEFA–CAF Meridian Cup All-Star Match between Europe and Africa was played in Benfica's Estádio da Luz in Lisbon and was televised in 100 countries worldwide, including 30 in Africa, for an audience of 60 million viewers. Abedi Pele scored a goal early in the first half and, after Vincent Guérin had equalised for Europe just before half-time, it was the 1998 African Player of the Year, Mustapha Hadji, who struck Africa's 78th-minute winner in the 2–1 win.

In 2001, the UEFA–CAF Meridian Cup All-Star Match format was changed slightly for the second All-Star Match to bring together players aged between 35 and 45 who now revel in their 'veteran' status and play the game purely for pleasure. The squad sparked off memories of great footballing moments at club and international level.

Football ambassador

In June 2001 he was nominated by the present government of Ghana to serve as the next chairman of the FA, an opportunity he later gave up for a more experienced former coach of Ghana for which in his own words said that this was to be an opportunity to learn from his superiors.

At present he owns a first division club, called Nania, with the future hopes of nurturing the young talent to augment the fledgling league of the country. He has also been involved with charity work across the African continent.

Controversy

Abedi Pele was embroiled in a serious alleged Second Division Promotion Play-off bribery scandal for which the Ghana Football Association found him and others guilty. The guilty verdict attracted fines and suspensions of Abedi Pele and others, but these were quashed by the Appeals Committee of the Football Association after determining that there were irregularities in the initial judgement of the Ghana Football Association. The allegations stem from an astonishing 31–0 victory recorded by his club, Nania FC over a much respected Okwawu United side. A similarly farcical 28–0 result was recorded in another second division match played between Great Mariners and Tudu Mighty Jets on the same weekend. The clubs involved in that Second Division Promotion Play-off Zone III match were also investigated and subject to the prospect of stiff penalties and demotions. Despite his vehement denials, Abedi Pele had been chastised by some members of the Ghanaian media, who were demanding that strong punitive actions be taken against him, by Ghana's football governing body as well as the legal system. His wife Maha Ayew was banned from football against this manipulations scandal on 3 November 2008.

Style of play

As a playmaker, Abedi Pele was known for his speed, close control, and dribbling skills, as well as his passing and goalscoring ability. He usually played as an attacking midfielder or as a forward. He was also given the nicknames the "Maestro" and "The African Maradona."

Personal life

Abedi Pele is the brother of Kwame and Sola Ayew (ex-Hearts of Oak and Black Meteors). He is also the father of André, Jordan, Rahim, Imani, and is married to Maha. His sons, Ibrahim, André and Jordan, have also become internationals for Ghana. André and Rahim – represented Ghana in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa while Jordan and André represented Ghana in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Career statistics

Club

:

International

:Scores and results list Ghana's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pele goal.{{cite web|title=Abedi "Pelé" Ayew - Goals in International Matches

Honours

Player

Marseille

• French Division 1: 1990–91, 1991–92
• UEFA Champions League: 1992–93; runner-up: 1990–91

Al Ain

• Pro-League: 1999–2000
• UAE President's Cup: 1999

Ghana

• African Cup of Nations: 1982; runners-up: 1992
• West African Nations Cup: 1982, 1983, 1984

Individual

• BBC African Footballer of the Year: 1991
• African Footballer of the Year: 1991, 1992, 1993
• Africa Cup of Nations Golden Ball: 1992
• Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 1992, 1994, 1996
• Ghana Footballer of the Year: 1993
• MasterCard African Team of the 20th Century: 1998
• IFFHS African Player of the Century (1901–2000): 3rd Best
• IFFHS All-time Africa Men's Dream Team: 2021
• FIFA World Player of the Year: 9th 1992, Nomination 1991
• FIFA All-Star Forward: 1996 (Reserve), 1997 (Reserve), 1999
• FIFA 100
• Golden Foot Legends Award: 2011
• Ghana Football Awards Living Legend Award: 2022
• Ghana SWAG Best Colts (Young) Player: 1978
• On 26 March 2004, he was appointed a "(WAFUNIF) Special Envoy 4 Peace and Development"
• CAF Top 30 African Footballers in the last 50 years: 5th place

Orders

• [[File:Order of the Volta (Ghana) - ribbon bar.png|left|50px]] OOTV Civil Division: Order of the Volta: (1996)

Manager

Nania

• Ghanaian FA Cup: 2011
• Ghana Super Cup: 2011

References

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