Ofori-Quaye makes his mark and eyes English

By Emeka Enechi

KADUNA, Nigeria, April 23 (Reuters) - Ghanaian striker Peter Ofori-Quaye was not able to take his country into the World Youth Cup semifinals but he may have done enough to earn a dream move to England.

His swerving shots, darting runs, superb passes and four goals -- including a last-gasp equaliser against Spain in the quarter-finals -- have marked the 19-year-old as one of the stars of the tournament.

Despite his personal success, however, he was disappointed by Ghana's eventual quarter-final exit -- 8-7 on penalties to Spain.

``Luck was against us ... we were good enough to win the trophy,'' he said.

The defeat meant he cannot now achieve his dream of winning the tournament's Golden Boot Award.

But he said he has put it behind him and looks forward to making his debut for Ghana's national team, the Black Stars.

``Playing for the senior side of Ghana is in my mind. Every serious player wants to play for his country,'' he said.

Currently at Greek club Olympiakos Piraeus, Ofori-Quaye has alrady shown his skills to the likes of Juventus, Ajax Amsterdam and Porto in the Champions' League.

But he says he would love a move to the English premier league.

``The rate of club soccer development is high in England, that's why I want to continue my club career there,'' he said.

But he is not content to join any English club and is aiming high.

``I'd like to play for either Manchester United or Arsenal,'' he says with a confidence and maturity that belies his years.

And they are not the words of some star-struck teenager. Ofori-Qquaye has been tipped for stardom for at least the last four years -- and his performances on the world stage in Nigeria have confirmed to a wider audience what has been obvious to close observers of the game for some time now.

Two years ago, aged just 17, Ofori-Quaye joined Olympiakos for the staggering of sum of $4.0 million from first division Kalamata.

It was the second largest amount ever spent on a teenager's transfer after the $7.0 million Barcelona paid for then 18-year-old Ronaldo's signature when they prised him away from PSV Eindhoven in 1996.

Olympiakos signed him on a five-year contract and although they clearly took a gamble on a player so young his development since he joined them in 1997 suggests they made a very shrewd purchase.

Ofori-Quaye, who turned 19 in March, has been in Greece, originally with Kalamata since he was 15, and while the cost of his tranfer in 1997 was astonishing, it was not the only unusual aspect of the move.

Kalamata reportedly refused even bigger offers from Ajax, Bayern Munich and Anderlecht for his signature and dealt with Olympiakos in much the same way that a parent allows a son to leave home in the country to live with a more wordly-wise relative in the big city.

Kalamata president Stavros Papadoupoulos always believed Ofori-Quaye was destined for greatness beyond Greece.

Although that is still in the future, it looks only a matter of time before Papadoupolos's judgement is justified.

The player himself is extremely fast and was timed at 11.0 seconds for the 100 metres when he was 17, a world class time for his age.

Long-since predictably nicknamed ``The Black Panther'' by the Greek media, many observers feel Ofori-Quaye could be the third great player to emerge from Africa after Eusebio -- the original Black Panther nearly four decades ago -- and George Weah more recently.

Born on March 21, 1980, he played briefly for Goldfields in Ghana before being snapped up by Kalamata, who also had six other Ghanaians on their books.

They nurtured him carefully for half a season before giving him his debut shortly after he turned 16 towards the end of the 1995-96 season.

He returned their faith with a goal on his debut and went on to play eight more matches, gaining in confidence and maturity in each one.

He was in the Ghana team who finished fourth in the Under-20 World Cup in Malaysia in 1997 and has gained wide experience against Europe's top clubs in the Champions League.

And despite his relatively tender years, whoever secures his signature next will probably benefit from somebody very special in the years to come.