Abedi Ayew (/əˈbeɪdi əˈjuː/ ə-BAY-dee ə-YOO; dem born am 5 November 1964), dem know am professionally as Abedi Pele, he bi Ghanaian former professional footballer who come play as attacking midfielder den who serve as captain for de Ghana national team. Dem dey regard am as one of de greatest African footballers of all time.[1][2] He play for several European clubs den found ein fame insyd de French Ligue 1 plus Lille den Marseille, de latter bi where he go win de UEFA Champions League insyd 1993, among other titles.[3] He san bi de first to win CAF award insyd 1992.
Abedi Ayew dem born am into a family insyd de town of Kibi den he grow up insyd de town of Dome for de northern outskirts of de city Accra.[4]
He attend Ghana Senior High School insyd Tamale. Dem give am de nickname "Pelé" sake of ein ability insyd football, wey evoke comparisons to de late Brazilian athlete Pelé.[5][6]
He bi one of de first African players wey go make impact for European club football. Abedi Pelé's nomadic career start plus Real Tamale United insyd Ghana for 1978.[5] He komot Ghana after de 1982 African Cup of Nations go join Al Sadd insyd Qatar for a $1,000 transfer fee.[7] After a short spell plus FC Zürich, he return to Ghana buh, after both Kotoko den Hearts of Oak fail to sign him, he go join AS Dragons FC de l'Ouémé in Benin. He later return come Ghana den play give Real Tamale United for one season. He begin ein career insyd Europe plus French side Chamois Niort, wey subsequently he join Marseille before transferring to Lille on loan.
At club level, he bi key figure insyd Marseille ein dominance for de French league, resulting insyd four league championships den two European Cup finals appearances. At Marseille, he bi member of de team ein "Magical Trio" along plus Jean-Pierre Papin den Chris Waddle, spearheading perhaps Europe ein strongest league side of de early 1990s, wey dey include a European Cup final defeat insyd 1991. Abedi bi de only remaining member of de trio still plus de side when Marseille defeated Milan insyd de 1993 Champions League final insyd Munich.
He later join Lyon after ein loan spell at Lille. He san play for Torino of Italy den round out ein European career plus 1860 Munich.[8]
Abedi Pele go sign another two-year contract plus Al Ain insyd de United Arab Emirates den dem nominate am as one of de best foreign players to play insyd de UAE league.
Abedi Pele play for Ghana 73 times.[9] He bi fixture insyd de African Championships for 1980s den '90s plus ein national team, den a member of Ghana ein victorious team insyd de 1982 African Cup of Nations, buh he never gey an opportunity go play insyd de FIFA World Cup, as de Black Stars fail say dem go qualify for de competition during ein career. However, people dey argue say he bi de most dominant figure on de African football scene for nearly a decade. Ein performance insyd de 1992 African Cup of Nations, for which dem vote give am as de player for de tournament, plus particularly notable, as he score insyd three successive rounds to help Ghana reach de final, buh he go collect yellow card insyd de semi-final against Nigeria that mean say dem suspend am for de final; Ghana loose on penalties to de Ivory Coast. De performance earn am de nickname "De frican Maradona".
Abedi bi one of de first African football players wey earn a top placing insyd FIFA World Player of de Year voting, doing so insyd 1991 den 1992. He win de France Football African Player of de Year Award three consecutive years, he bi inaugural winner of de BBC African Sports Star of de Year insyd 1992, den de corresponding Confederation of African Football award twice.
Abedi hold de record for most appearances for de African Cup of Nations. He make ein first appearance for de insyd Libya insyd 1982 den continue to compete for de tournament for de next 16 years, ein last appearance coming insyd 1998 edition insyd Burkina Faso. Aside from ein exploits for de 1992 competition, Abedi san earn much acclaim for ein three goals for de 1996 competition, where he lead Ghana to de semi-finals of de competition despite critics expecting him to be insyd de twilight of ein career.
Ayew participate in more FIFA organized charity matches pass any other African player. Abedi Pele bi a member of FIFA ein Football Committee, den he san dey player status committees top for both FIFA den CAF. That dey explain why de South African FA make am Spokesperson for demma 2006 World Cup bid.
As dem dey appreciate Abedi ein devout services for ein country, de Ghanaian government award am as de country ein highest honour, de Order of the Volta (civil division). He come make de first Ghanaian sportsman wey dem honoure am.
Amongst ein international accolades, he often dey include FIFA "All-Star" selections den captain de African All-Stars insyd demma victory over demma European counterparts insyd de 1997 Meridian Cup.
On 29 January 1997, de first UEFA–CAF Meridian Cup All-Star Match between Europe den Africa dem play am insyd Benfica ein Estádio da Luz insyd Lisbon den dem televise am insyd 100 countries worldwide, wey edey include 30 insyd Africa, for an audience of 60 million viewers. Abedi Pele score a goal early insyd de first half den, after Vincent Guérin gey ein equalizer for Europe just before half-time, it bi de 1998 African Player of de Year, Mustapha Hadji, who strike Africa ein 78th-minute winner insyd de 2–1 win.[10]
Insyd 2001, de UEFA–CAF Meridian Cup All-Star Match format wey dem change am slightly for de second All-Star Match wey ego bring together players aged between 35 den 45 wey now revel am insyd demma 'veteran' status den play de game purely for pleasure. De squad spark off memories of great footballing moments at club den international level.[10]
Insyd June 2001 dem nominate by de present government of Ghana to serve as de next Chairman for de FA, an opportunity he later give up for a more experience former coach of Ghana for which in ein own words he talk say this bi an opportunity for am to learn from ein superiors.
As we dey talk now, he dey own first division club, wey dem call am Nania, with de future hopes say he go nurture de young talent to augment de fledgling league for de country. He san dey do plenty charity work across de African continent.
Dem dey Abedi Pele embroil for serious allegation Second Division Promotion Play-off bribery scandal[11] for which de Ghana Football Association find him den others guilty. De guilty verdict come attracting fines den suspensions for Abedi den others, buh these dem quash am by de Appeals Committee for Football Association after determining that there wey irregularities insyd de initial judgement for de Ghana Football Association.[12] De allegations dey stem from an astonishing 31–0 victory recorded by ein club,[13] Nania FC over Okwawu United side. A similarly farcical 28–0 result[14] dem record am insyd another second division match played between Great Mariners den Tudu Mighty Jets for de same weekend. De clubs dey involve in that Second Division Promotion Play-off Zone III match wey dem san investigate den subject to de prospect of stiff penalties den demotions. Despite ein vehement denials,[15] Dem chastise Abedi by some members for de Ghanaian media, who were demanding that strong punitive actions be taken against him, by Ghana ein football governing body as well as de legal system.[16] Ein wife Maha Ayew wey dem ban am from football against this Manipulations Scandal on 3 November 2008.[17]
As he bi playmaker, dem know Pele for ein speed, close control, den dribbling skills, as well as ein passing den goalscoring ability. He usually dey play as an attacking midfielder or as a forward. Dem san give am nicknames de "Maestro" den "De African Maradona."[18][19][20]
Abedi bi de brother of Kwame den Sola Ayew (ex-Hearts of Oak den Black Meteors). He san bi de father of André, Jordan, Rahim, Imani, den he marry Maha. Ein sons, Ibrahim, André den Jordan, come become internationals give Ghana. André den Rahim – rep Ghana insyd de 2010 FIFA World Cup insyd South Africa wey Jordan den André rep Ghana insyd de 2014 FIFA World Cup insyd Brazil den de 2022 FIFA World Cup insyd Qatar.[21]
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