Ghana has over the years produced great football talents who have spearheaded the campaign of the West African powerhouse at the youth level: U-17 and U-20.
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Top 6 young Ghanaian footballers who failed to live up to the billing
Pulse Sports has compiled a list of top five Ghanaian footballers at youth level including Nii Odartey Lamptey who failed to live up to the expectation at the highest level.
Top 6 young Ghanaian footballers who failed to live up to the billing
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These players gave Ghanaians and the rest of the world the hope of producing world class footballers after they showcased fine football at the FIFA U-17 World Cup and the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
All other things being equal they should have won any of these individual honours: African Footballer of the Year, FIFA Footballer of the Year and the Ballon d'Or. But they were never even shortlisted to be on the podium.
Their firepower diminished despite getting the opportunities to show the world what they were made of at the senior level.
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Below are the top five Ghanaians players who failed to live up to the billing:
Nii Odartey Lamptey
Top 6 young Ghanaian footballers who failed to live up to the billing
Pulse Ghana
He was the engine of the Black Starlets team that won the 1991 FIFA U-17 FIFA World Cup. Odartey’s dribbles, eye for goals and incisive passes caught the attention of the footballing world in Italy 1991.
He inspired Ghana to win the tournament by scoring four goals and subsequently emerged as the Player of the tournament.
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Edson Arantes Do Nascimento, popularly called Pele in the football cycle tipped him to go places and even emulate his enviable feat at the senior level, but he flattered to deceive.
Odartey who was playing for Anderleccht at the time had his progression stalled and the biggest club he could play for was Aston Villa
Daniel Addo
Top 6 Ghanaian young players who failed to live up to the billing
Pulse Ghana
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The man affectionately called 'Darling boy' by Ghanaian soccer lovers was a playmaker and a goal-getter for the Black Starlets team of 1993.
Daniel Addo was able to take players on and also move into empty spaces in his quest to get balls at the back of the net, coupled with his accurate shooting to torment goalkeepers.
Daniel Addo who was a member of the 1991 FIFA U-17 World Cup was voted the Player of the Tournament, despite Ghana's failure to defend the title in 1993.
Awudu Issaka
Top 6 Ghanaian young players who failed to live up to the billing
Pulse Ghana
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He was called the ‘Disco Dancer’ due his ability to dance with the ball to confuse the opposing sides. Awudu Issaka is one of the greatest dribblers to have emerged in Ghanaian football.
It was very difficult to dispossess him without committing a foul and he also made play very easy for his teammates, especially the attackers, because he usually draws players to himself to give a lot of space for his team to operate.
Awudu Issaka was instrumental as the Black Starlets won the 1995 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Equador.
Ishmael Addo
Top 6 Ghanaian young players who failed to live up to the billing
Pulse Ghana
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The former Hearts of Oak striker announced himself at the world scene when he scored 7 goals to win the golden boot award in the FIFA U-17 World Cup staged in New Zealand as Ghana finished third.
Addo after the tournament continued his goal scoring form on the domestic scene for Hearts of Oak, winning the GPL top scorer award for three consecutive seasons- 1999, 2000 and 2001.
He however remained a local champion and failed to establish himself as a world star.
Ransford Osei
Top 6 Ghanaian young players who failed to live up to the billing
Pulse Ghana
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The former Kessben and Kotoko striker was a torn in the flesh of defenders. Osei was slippery and outwitted his markers with ease when in control of the ball during the 2007 FIFA World Cup in Korea. He managed six goals, but fell one short of Macauley Chrisantus’ seven goals that won him the tournament’s top scorer.
Dominic Adiyeah
Top 6 Ghanaian young players who failed to live up to the billing
Pulse Ghana
Dominic Adiyeah was the star man of the Black Satellites team that made history as the first African team to win the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2009.
He was awarded the Golden Shoe for the topscorer with 8 goals in 7 games and was also named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
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Adiyeah earned a dream move to AC Milan, but he couldn't break into the first team of the Rosseneri.
He was sent loan to four different clubs, before he was finally sold
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