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Stephen Appiah describes the late Yakubu Abubakar as toughest player you would ever face

The current technical coordinator of the Ghana Black Stars reflects on the memories of Yakubu Abubakar and what his passing means to him.

Stephen Appiah was speaking to Radio XYZ in relation to the passing of the former Ajax and Black Stars midfielder.

He first spoke on his fond memories of the former midfielder when they both played on the local scene

“As we all know our brother Yakubu Abubakar, when I was Accra Hearts of Oak he was in GHAPOHA and I was always say I have never faced a tough player like Yakubu Abubakar.”

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“I quite remember the last time we played against each other practically took me out of the game.”

Stephen Appiah led the team which qualified Ghana to its first world cup in Germany. Yakubu Abubakar was a part of the team that played in the qualifying series prior to the 2006 World Cup. He also featured in the African Cup of Nations that very year in Egypt.

Appiah could not hide his emotions as he spoke on his reaction to hearing the news

“It is very sad for somebody who has been a friend and teammate as a young guy like that to leave us.”

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“Sad is even an understatement and I cannot put my emotions into words to describe how myself and his other former teammates are feeling at the moment.”

Appiah also spoke about the adorable character traits of the late Yakubu Abubakar

“The wonderful thing about Yakubu is that on the pitch he is a hard guy and does not joke about the job but he is a friendly guy”

I think we have lost a brother and it is shock to us and it is a lesson to us how we are to take care of our life”.

Yakubu Abubakar died on Tueday afternoon at the age of 36 after battling illness at the Tema Government Hospital.

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He won 16 caps for the Ghana Black Stars between 2002 and 2006.

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