GPL all-time XI:No Dong Bortey, Ishmael Addo in Oti Akenteng's team

Oti Akenteng, a former Technical Director of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) after carefully assessing the GPL in the past 27 years has named his all-time XI, which doesn't include the Hearts of Oak duo of Ishmael Addo and Charles Taylor.

He has coached clubs such as Hearts of Oak, Asante Kotoko, AshGold, King Faisal, etc.

Until recently, he was the Technical Director of the Ghana Football Association, a position he held for over a decade.

Coach Oti Akenteng who has seen great players from one generation to the other since the inception of the Ghana Premier League in the 1993/1994 has selected his all-star XI out of the lot.

Mr. Akenteng who is an astute coach, having paid his dues to the development of domestic football in Ghana selected Sammy Adjei in post and this is the third consecutive term he has featured in the Pulse GH Ghana Premier League all-time XI. Only Coach David Duncan left him out of his team. But coach J.E Sarpong, Coach Ibrahim Tanko and Coach Oti Akenteng all prefer the former Hearts shot-stopper in between the sticks.

Oti Akenteng, however, snubbed Ishmael Addo, the only player to win the goal king three times and Dong Bortey, the 2002 Ghana Premier league joint top scorer- coincidentally both players made their mark while playing for Hearts of Oak. Mr Akenteng is third and 2nd coach to leave out Ishmael Addo and Dong Bortey, respectively from his team Ghana Premier League all-time XI

Some of the other notable names in the list are Emmanuel Osei Kuffour and Charles Taylor who were outstanding for both Hearts and Kotoko- they have appeared in the list of all the four coaches who have featured in the exercise so far.

In defence, Frank Amankwah and Edward Agyemang Duah have been named in Ghana Premier League all-time team for the 3rd and 2nd time respectively, while Godfred Yeboah is making his first appearance. Sam Johnson is also featuring for the second time

In midfield, Adjetey Lee has been named in the midfield for the third time, while his former midfield partner at AshGold Eben Hagan has been included in the Ghana Premier League all-star team for the first time. Also, Joseph Fameyeh has been selected for the first time.

Below is the finest Ghana Premier League XI released by Coach Oti Akenteng

Sammy Adjei

He is one of the safest pair of hands the country has ever produced. He is a goalkeeper of great elasticity.

Sammy Adjei was very instrument as Hearts of Oak won the CAF Champions League in 2000. One of his best games in between the sticks was at Al Ahly in a one-all draw at Cairo. It was a game, Sammy Adjei single-handedly saved Hearts of Oak from a defeat. He made several point-blank saves to salvage a crucial one point for the Phobians.

He was at his best throughout the Champions League campaign and they defeated Esperance in both the home and the away fixtures to become Africa champions for the first time. Hearts of Oak of Oak who had won the League and the FA Cup clinched a historic treble.

He helped the Phobians to win three consecutive league titles and two FA Cups in addition to the CAF Champions League and the CAF Super Cup.

Sammy Adjei also became an integral part of the national team during the period.

In a four-back defence, Oti Akenteng lined-up Frank Amankwah, Godfred Yeboah, Edward Agyemang Duah and Sam Johnson ‘Foyoo’

He deployed Frank Amakwah and Godfred Yeboah to the right and left-full back, respectively.

Frank Amankwah

Bayereba, as he was affectionately called by the Ghanaian football loving fans, was not only Ghana's best right full-back, but he was the finest in his position on the African continent. Frank Amakwah joined Asante Kotoko from Kumapem and helped the Porcupine Warriors win the 1993 Ghana Premier League before the change over from amateur league to professional football in 1993/1994 season.

His overlapping, crosses and incisive passes when surging forward was amazing and because of his speed, he could easily trackback to support in defensive duties. Those who couldn't watch Frank Amankwah can liken his work rate to that of Roberto Carlos at his prime. He is widely regarded as the best right full back Ghana has ever seen.

During his days in the Premier League, he cemented his place in the starting berth in the national team and featured for the Black Stars in 1994 and 1996 AFCONs. In 1994 despite Ghana's early exit from the continent's showpiece, his individual effort earned him a place in the all-star team of the tournament alongside Abedi Pele as the two Ghanaians who made the list.

Godfred Yeboah

Popularly called TV3 because compared to TV3 for his clean tackles. Godfred Yeboah was an effective left full-back and noted for his runs and ability to quickly trackback to support the defence.

Yeboah was part of the Asante Kotoko team that won the Ghana Premier League in 2003 and 2005.

His also became a member of the Back Stars during his prime and played a part in some of the qualifying games of the Black Stars for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Edward Agyemang Duah

Rambo, as he was nicknamed, was a solid centre back and a very difficult one to beat.

Agyemang Duah won the Ghana Premier League title with AshGold and Hearts of Oak and before that he was part of the Kotoko team that won the 1993 league.

Agyemang Duah also played in three CAF Champions League final. He was at the losing end at Kotoko in 1993 and AshGold in 1997, but he finally clinched the trophy with Hearts of Oak in 2000.

Agyemang Duah was a regular member of the Black Stars at his prime in the Ghana Premier League and represented Ghana in the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations.

Mr. Akenteng selected the Ashanti Gold duo of Adjetey Lee and Eben Hagan in the central midfield

Sam Johnson

Sam Johnson was a utility player and could play in any of the four defensive roles and he was sometimes utilised as a midfielder and a striker. Ati Akenteng however, chose to play him as a centre back. Johnson was one of the best defenders in the Ghana Premier League during his playing days with Hearts of Oak and became a consistent feature in the national team.

Adjetey Lee

Adjetey Lee was an attacking midfielder, who linked up very well with the strikers. The former Ho Voradep midfielder was part of the Goldfield (now AshGold) team that won the Ghana Premier League for three consecutive seasons.

He also played for the Black Stars in the 1990s.

Eben Hagan

He played as an attacking midfielder for Goldfields now AshGold. He was a controller in midfield and he used his skills to weave through defence and create opportunities for the centre forwards with his through passes.

Hagan was part of the Goldfields team that dominated the Ghana Premier League, winning it for three consecutive seasons. One of his most outstanding displays came against Anchors of Liberia as the Miners demolished their opponent 8-1 in the CAF Champions League- he scored and assisted in that game.

He was a regular feature in the Black Stars the mid-1990s.

Eben Hagan was a member of the Ghana national football team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and played 4 games and scored 1 goal.

Then he settled on Joseph Fameye and Charles Taylor in the left and the right midfield, respectively.

Joseph Fameyeh

He operated as a right-winger or as a centreback. His asset was his speed and efficiency in front of goal.

Accra Hearts of Oak signed him from Afienya United and the forward hit the ground running. Fameyeh emerged as the Ghana Premier League top scorer in the 1997/1998 season.

He also paid his dues to the various national teams, especially the U-17 and U-20 teams of Ghana, as he represented Ghana in both the 1993 FIFA-U 17 World- He was one of the standout players for the Black Starlets as Ghana finished runners-up losing the final against Brazil.

Charles Taylor

Charles Taylor was a delight to watch with his effective dribbles and runs. Many rates him as one of the best dribblers Ghana has produced in the past 20 years. He added goal scoring to his play emerging as joint GPL top scorer in 2002 with 18 goals.

After joining Hearts of Oak from Great Olympics, he won three Ghana Premier League titles, before moving to Kotoko in 2003. The mercurial midfielder helped the Kumasi giants to win their first Ghana Premier League in his debut season, following a controversial transfer which prolonged for some time before it went through for GHC 120,000 (Still a Ghanaian record for a transfer between two clubs on the domestic scene). He was part of the Hearts of Oak team that swept everything in 2000, winning the CAF Champions League, Ghana Premier League and the FA Cup, which was a historic treble.

In the attack, Emmanuel Osei was played just behind centre forward Isaac Boakye

Emmanuel Osei Kuffour

Emmanuel Osei Kuffour is arguably the greatest player in the Ghana Premier League history. He started playing in the GPL in the 1993/1994 with Dwarfs as a defender before he was converted into an attacking midfielder. He featured in the GPL until the 2007/2008 season when he won the league with Asante Kotoko, making him the longest-serving player in the professional league.

He won five league titles with Hearts of Oak and a league title with Asante Kotoko, making him one of the most decorated players in the GPL.

Kuffour’s leadership qualities were awesome and had the opportunity to captain the Black Stars during the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). He was a schemer cum scorer as well. Hearts of Oak owe their 2000 CAF Champions League title to him - he scored 10 goals to win the top scorer of the competition.

Isaac Boakye

Boakye made his mark a Ghapoha represented them in the WAFU Championship in the 1990s.

He continued to improve at Ashanti Gold and in the early 2000s, he was virtually the best striker on the local scene.

Isaac Boakye had eyes for goals and he was a tormentor in chief- he gave most defenders tough time due to his strength and his ability to punish the opponent when with the least loss of concentration at the back.

Asante Kotoko pushed for his signature and succeeded in signing him in 2002 and once again he glittered.,

Isaac Boakye at the national team gave Ghanaians something to cheer about. He is remembered for scoring two late goals for Ghana against Burkina Faso in the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations- the goals overturned a one-goal deficit for Ghana and the three points eventually qualified Ghana from the group stage of the continent’s showpiece.

Procedure

The Ghana Premier League all-time XI is a campaign by Pulse Ghana to settle on the finest players who have paid their dues to domestic football in the country since the inception of professional football on 19th December 1993.

Ghana Sports Historian and Statistician Thomas Freeman Yeboah in his research came up with about 50 players who have been outstanding in the Ghanaian topflight league from 1993 up to date.

The list was presented to Coaches, retired and current football administrators and journalists and other well-meaning sports enthusiasts to help the exercise.

They were, however, at liberty to include any player whom they consider worthy of a place in the team, though not captured in the pool of prospective players for the Ghana Premier League all-time XI.

Criteria

(1) Players who have excelled during the period from 19 December 1993 to date were considered.

(2) Contribution to teamwork

(3) Individual brilliance

(4)Consistency

(5) Silverware won by the players

(6) Impact and influence

(7) National team assignment for the player during this period.

It should be noted that the views of about ten renowned coaches, journalists, football administrators have been taken into consideration in our quest to establish the Ghana Premier League finest XI of all-time.

The next Ghana Premier League all-time XI will come from the longest-serving Graphic Sports Editor Felix Abayateye (he is now on retirement).