Tony Yeboah

Anthony Yeboah (born 6 June 1966 in Kumasi, Ghana) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a striker from 1981 to 2002.

He is considered one of the most prominent and prolific goal scorers in Ghanaian and African football history and gained a reputation for scoring spectacular goals which often featured in Goal of the Month or Goal of the Season competitions, often celebrated by wagging his index finger towards the crowd.

Yeboah is most noted for his time at European clubs 1. FC Saarbrücken, Eintracht Frankfurt, Leeds United and Hamburger SV during the 1990s. He also played for Asante Kotoko, Cornerstones Kumasi, Okwawu United and Al-Ittihad Doha. He was capped 59 times by Ghana, scoring 29 goals. He now runs an international sports agency and a chain of hotels in Ghana.

Club career

Germany

After spending his youth in Kumasi, Yeboah joined German club 1. FC Saarbrücken in 1988. This move was of some historical significance, because Yeboah became one of the first black players to appear in the Bundesliga. This was a time where the Bundesliga was dominated by white players (in fact, many squads were all-German, except for one or two European foreigners).

Yeboah had a slow first year, but then scored 17 league goals in his second Saarbrücken year. He was then transferred to Eintracht Frankfurt where he was at first booed by a section of fans and—being the first black player the team had ever signed—subjected to monkey-noises and other racist insults. In the Hesse metropolis, Yeboah quickly established himself as a deadly striker, silencing all critics. Equally adept with feet and head, his joyfully executed direct style of play mesmerised the fans to the point that soon, the Zeugen Yeboahs (Yeboah's Witnesses) was formed and became an overnight cult success. Yeboah was the Superstar-next-door for the people of Frankfurt and Rhein-Main area. His popularity helped pave a great deal of the way towards true racial integration in the region, such was his profound influence on the fans and citizens, who had not all been sympathetic towards Africans until then. He was the top Bundesliga scorer twice with Frankfurt, in 1993 and 1994.^[1] By then, the Bundesliga and the German people were ready to welcome other African players like Jay-Jay Okocha, Samuel Kuffour and Souleyman Sané to play in the Bundesliga. He and colleagues Maurizio Gaudino and Okocha clashed with manager Jupp Heynckes in 1995, which led to their departure from the club.

Leeds United

Yeboah joined English club Leeds United from Eintracht Frankfurt for £3.4 million in January 1995. In his second season at Elland Road he was voted Player of the Year. Yeboah scored a total of 32 goals for Leeds United in 66 appearances, and is still revered as a cult hero for the Yorkshire club due to a series of memorable goals he scored. His volley against Liverpool and his strike versus Wimbledon in the 1995–96 season were among his notable goals, and he was a regular feature in Goal of the Month in the Premier League at a time when the Georgian midfielder Georgi Kinkladze of Manchester City and Matt Le Tissier of Southampton also gained a reputation for scoring world-class goals in the competition. He told Newstalk's Team 33 in 2014 that his favourite goal was the one he scored against Liverpool.^[2] The goal against Wimbledon was also awarded Goal of the Season in 1995–96. He also scored three hat-tricks for Leeds; the first against Ipswich Town in the Premier League at Elland Road on 5 April 1995, the second against Monaco in the 1995–96 UEFA Cup on 12 September 1995, and the third 11 days later in a Premier League match against Wimbledon at Selhurst Park. Yeboah often cited his good form and prowess while at Leeds was down to his love for Yorkshire pudding. A video was released named ‘Yeboah – Shoot to Kill’ while he was at Leeds.^[3]

Later career

Injuries (several picked up while on international duty) restricted his game when he played and kept him out of the Leeds side on several occasions. When George Graham took over as manager, there was a clash of personalities and Yeboah was sold to Hamburger SV in 1997.

Yeboah left German club Hamburger SV in 2001 after 28 goals,^[4] in order to join Al Ittihad, where he played under Austrian coach Josef Hickersberger.^[5] In Qatar, Yeboah helped his club win the 2001–02 Qatar Stars League and the 2001–02 Emir of Qatar Cup.

International career

He was a member of Ghana's national team for over ten years, and represented his country at three Africa Cup of Nations during the 1990s. Yeboah scored 29 goals in 59 appearances for Ghana, the third highest goalscoring total in the nation's history behind Abedi Pele and Asamoah Gyan.

Later years

In 2005, Yeboah appeared at the Lucas Radebe testimonial with Leeds United and African players past and present. In December 2006, he featured in a charity match christened as "Anthony Baffoe XI vs Anthony Yeboah XI". According to the organisers, this event will be held annually to raise funds to support orphanages in the country. The match ended 3–2 to Yeboah's team. Yeboah played a cameo role in the first ten minutes. The match also featured players such as Stephen Appiah, Marcel Desailly and Richard Kingson.

On 3 November 2008, he was appointed as the new chairman of the newly promoted Ghana Premier League club Berekum Chelsea.^[6]

Personal life

Yeboah runs an international sports agency called Anthony Yeboah Sportpromotion. He also owns a chain of hotels in Ghana (Accra, Kumasi) called Yegoala. He is married and has two children.^[7]

Yeboah is the cousin of former Mainz player Mike Osei (also his partner on Anthony Yeboah Sportpromotion).

Honours

Leeds United

• Football League Cup Runner-up: 1995–96

Al Ittihad

• Qatar Stars League: 2001–02
• Emir of Qatar Cup: 2001–02
• Qatar Crown Prince Cup Runner-up: 2001–02

Individual

• Ghana Premier League Top scorer: 1986, 1987
• Bundesliga Top scorer: 1992–93, 1993–94
• African Footballer of the Year; third: 1992, second: 1993
• FIFA World Player of the Year; ninth: 1993^[8]
• Leeds United – Player of the Year: 1996
• Ghana Footballer of the Year: 1997

Career statistics

^[3][9]

International goals

African Cup of nations only.

Yeboah – goals for Ghana
#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	17 January 1992	Stade Aline Sitoe Diatta, Ziguinchor, Senegal	Egypt	1–0	1–0	1992 African Cup of Nations
2.	23 January 1992	Stade Leopold Senghor, Dakar, Senegal	Congo	1–0	2–1	1992 African Cup of Nations
3.	30 August 1992	Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, Ghana	Burkina Faso	1–0	3–0	1994 African Cup of Nations Qualifier
4.				2–0
5.	25 July 1993	Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex, Monrovia, Liberia	Liberia	0–2	0–2	1994 African Cup of Nations Qualifier
6.	23 April 1995	Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, Ghana	Niger	1–0	1–0	1996 African Cup of Nations Qualifier
7.	14 January 1996	EPRU Stadium, Port Elizabeth, South Africa	Ivory Coast	1–0	2–0	1996 African Cup of Nations
8.	28 January 1996	EPRU Stadium, Port Elizabeth, South Africa	Zaire	1–0	1–0	1996 African Cup of Nations

Trivia

• Yeboah's lasting popularity in Frankfurt is demonstrated by the fact that supporters still wear shirts with the slogan Zeugen Yeboahs, meaning Yeboah's Witnesses in English, a reference to Jehovah's Witnesses.
• Commenting that Yeboah's birthday can not be determined exactly, Ghana's then-manager Otto Pfister said: There's only one way to find out: saw his leg off and count the rings.^[10]
• When Yeboah was at Leeds United, some fans added "OAH" to the Yorkshire Electricity Board signs found around the city, "YEB" being the acronym for the Yorkshire Electricity Board.
• To date, amateur footballers across the country still call it a 'Yeboah' or 'Tony' and celebrate waving their index finger when they hit the underside of the crossbar, in reference to his strikes against Liverpool and Wimbledon which hit the underside of the crossbar prior to crossing the line.
• In the early 1990s the local Frankfurt comedy duo Badesalz released a sketch based on Yeboah's transfer from Saarbrücken to Frankfurt and racist chants occasionally heard around that time. In the sketch, two supporters mock the visitors' player Anthony Sabini with monkey sounds until a third supporter tells them that Sabini would be transferred to their club for the next season. From that moment they hail and even cheer him when he scores against their team.
• Until Gareth Bale equalled his feat in 2013, Yeboah was the only player ever to win successive BBC Match of the Day Goal of the Month competitions, doing so in September and October 1995.^[11]
• In June 2014, a 5 story building in Frankfurt was covered by an image of Yeboah, with text in German, translating to “We're ashamed for all those who shout against us”. This was organized by the Frankfurt Fan Project, and funded by a grant. Yeboah was present for the artwork's official inauguration. http://www.bundesliga.com/en/liga/news/2014/0000297757.php

References

External links

• Premier League profile

Ghana squads
Ghana squad – 1992 African Cup of Nations Runners-up 1 E. Ansah 2 E. Ampeah 3 Ankrah 4 J.K. Appiah 5 E. Armah 6 S. Aborah 7 Gargo 8 Opoku Nti 9 Abrey 10 Lamptey 11 Gyamfi 12 Naawu 13 I. Asare 14 Baffoe 15 Ibrahim Pelé 16 S. Ansah 17 Abedi Pelé 18 Polley 19 Manso 20 Preko 21 T. Yeboah 22 Abubakari Coach: Pfister Ghana squad – 1994 African Cup of Nations GK Addo GK Ansah GK Mensah DF Ampeah DF Amankwah DF Aramh DF Baffoe DF Dodoo DF Duah DF Frimpong Manso DF Opoku DF Whyte MF Akonnor MF Lamptey MF Johnson MF Laud MF Abedi Pele MF Yaw FW Arthur FW Ayew FW Polley FW Yeboah Coach: Aggrey-Finn Ghana squad – 1996 African Cup of Nations Fourth Place GK S. Addo GK Kingson GK Nanbanyin DF J. Addo DF Amankwah DF Asare DF Baidoo DF Dodoo DF Johnson DF Kuffour MF D. Addo MF Akonnor MF Kumah MF Lamptey MF Abedi Pele MF Yahaya MF Yaw FW Aboagye FW Ayew FW Preko FW Tanko FW Yeboah Coach: Kurtz