Ghana's best football exports

Ghana is a nation rightly proud of its national team and its accomplishments. The Black Stars, named after the Black Star of Africa in the flag of Ghana, have won the Africa Cup of Nations four times and been runner-up five times.

The Black Stars have also won the FIFA Best Mover of the Year Award, reached the second round of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and become only the third African team to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.

The homegrown football talents of Ghana have also spread across the globe, with Ghanaian players competing at the top level of international football.

In this article, we will be looking at the best of those players and their achievements.

Stephen Appiah

Stephen Appiah was a huge part of the Ghana national team, captaining the squad and playing in their World Cup appearances. He was capped 67 times for Ghana, scored 14 goals for his country, and was named as Ghana's Footballer of the Year on two occasions.

Appiah also played for Juventus, Udinese, Parma, and Bologna in Italy, but is perhaps best known for playing for the Turkish club Fenerbahce and helping them to win the Turkish Super League.

Michael Essien

Regarded as one of the best midfield players in the Premier League in his heyday and a favorite of Jose Mourinho, Michael Essien become the world’s most expensive African footballer when he moved to Stamford Bridge from French side Lyon.

Essien was instrumental in Chelsea's Champions League's hopes, repeatedly scoring vital goals in the competition to seal a victory or put the Blues back into contention.

His actions as a midfield playmaker welded together the 2012 squad that finally won the Champions League and, when he left on loan for Real Madrid and eventually for Milan, he left a hole in midfield that Chelsea is still trying to fill.

That lack of a minefield playmaker is best shown by their low 41.00 odds, according to Marathon Bet, of waling away with this season's Champions League trophy.

Abedi Pele

Originally named Abedi Ayew, Ayew earned the name Abedi Pele because of his similarity to South American footballing legend Pele.

Ayew was a prolific player, being capped 67 times for Ghana, appearing in 50 Bundesliga matches, winning the Champions League with French side Marseille and being named African player of the year, not one, but three times.

Abedi Pele’s contribution to both African and international football saw him named as the third-greatest African player of the 20th century by the International Football Federation of History and Statistics, and he was the only Ghanaian included in the FIFA 100.

Samuel Kuffour

Better regarded overseas than in Ghana, Samuel Kuffour only made one appearance for the national team in 2006, although he was only 15 at the time.

In the Bundesliga, however, he was regarded as one of the best central defenders of this time, making 250 appearances for Bayern Munich during his 12-year stint with them and winning six league titles, four cups, and a Champions League as part of a haul of 17 significant trophies during his time there.

Tony Yeboah

During his time with Premiership side Leeds United, Tony Yeboah was considered one of the best goal scorers in English football, both because of his consistency and because of the sheer quality of the goals he scored.

A firm favorite with the Leeds fans, and voted Leeds's Player of the Year in 1996, Yeboah was also recognized for his goal-scoring talent. He won Ghana's Player of the Year and came in the top ten for African Footballer of the Year and FIFA World Player of the Year on a number of occasions.

In addition to his time at Leeds, Yeboah also played for Eintracht Frankfurt where he initially was subjected to racist taunts, before his goal-scoring record, which saw him become the top Bundesliga scorer twice, silenced his critics and led to him becoming the first African Bundesliga club captain in German history.