Awudu Issaka joins Tema Youth

Former black starlet and meteors playmaker Awudu Issaka joins the promoted Premier League club Tema Youth FC just before this weekends league kick off.

Issaka has been training with Liberty Professionals in order to stay in shape but couldn't land a deal with the Dansoman based club. He has also been unlucky with trials in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, where he even got arrested because of an expired visa.

An unknown player at Prampram Mighty Royals, it was not until 11 years ago that the player caught national attention.

His promising career took off with the Black Starlets, as Issaka was the heartbeat of Coach Sam Arday?s ?multi-system? team that won the FIFA/JVC Under-17 title in Ecuador.

He was a member of the Black Satellites side that finished fourth at the 1997 FIFA/Coca-Cola World Youth Championship in Malaysia.

Unfortunately, his sojourn in Europe to fulfil a dream of a professional career was met with a number of difficulties ? partly cultural and partly personal ? and the supremely gifted midfielder failed to manoeuvre around these barriers with the ease with which he dribbled past opposing players.

A decade ago Belgian side RSC Anderlecht offered Issaka an opportunity to start a promising career in Europe but the youngster failed to hold down a regular position and he was soon showed the exit, landing at Auxerre in France where his career began to blossom until a dream move to 1860 Munich where the made a number of Bundesliga appearances.

He faded out from the top flight and ended in the reserve side of the German outfit.