Abedi Pele facts for kids
Abedi in 2007
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Abedi Ayew | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 5 November 1964 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Accra | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.74 m | ||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1970–1978 | Great Falcons | ||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||||||||
| 1980–1982 | Real Tamale United | 46 | (21) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1982–1983 | Al Sadd | 8 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1983–1984 | Zürich | 18 | (9) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1984 | Dragons l'Ouémé | 8 | (11) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1985 | Real Tamale United | 19 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1986–1987 | Niort | 32 | (14) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1987 | Mulhouse | 16 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1993 | Marseille | 112 | (23) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1990 | → Lille (loan) | 61 | (16) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1994 | Lyon | 29 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1996 | Torino | 49 | (11) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1998 | 1860 Munich | 50 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2000 | Al Ain | 31 | (28) | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 479 | (159) | |||||||||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1982–1998 | Ghana | 73 | (19) | ||||||||||||||||
| Teams managed | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2004– | Nania (Head Coach and President) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Abedi Ayew (born 5 November 1964), better known as Abedi Pele, is a famous Ghanaian former professional footballer. He played as an attacking midfielder and was the captain of the Ghana national team. Many people think he is one of the greatest African footballers ever.
Abedi Pele became very well known while playing in France for clubs like Lille and Marseille. With Marseille, he helped them win the UEFA Champions League in 1993. He was also the first player to win the CAF African Player of the Year award in 1992.
Contents
Abedi Pele's Early Life
Abedi Ayew was born in a town called Kibi in Ghana. He grew up in Dome, which is just outside the city of Accra.
He went to Ghana Senior High School in Tamale. People started calling him "Pelé" because his amazing football skills reminded them of the legendary Brazilian player, Pelé.
Playing for Clubs
Abedi Pele was one of the first African players to become a big star in European club football. His journey in football started in Ghana with Real Tamale United in 1978.
After playing in Ghana, he moved to Qatar to join Al Sadd in 1982. He also had a short time playing for FC Zürich in Switzerland. He then returned to Ghana and played for Real Tamale United again. Later, he joined AS Dragons FC de l'Ouémé in Benin before starting his European career in France.
He began playing in Europe with the French team Chamois Niort. He then joined Marseille and was later loaned to Lille.
At Marseille, Abedi Pele was a very important player. He helped the team win the French league four times. He also played in two European Cup finals. He was part of Marseille's "Magical Trio" with Jean-Pierre Papin and Chris Waddle. This team was one of the strongest in Europe in the early 1990s. They lost the European Cup final in 1991. But Abedi was still with Marseille when they won the Champions League final in Munich in 1993, beating AC Milan.
After his time at Lille, he played for Lyon in France. He also played for Torino in Italy and finished his European career with 1860 Munich in Germany. Later, he signed a two-year contract with Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates, where he was considered one of the best foreign players.
Playing for Ghana
Abedi Pele played for the Ghana national team, known as the Black Stars, 73 times. He was a key player for Ghana in the African Championships throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
He was part of Ghana's team that won the 1982 African Cup of Nations. However, he never got to play in the FIFA World Cup because the Black Stars did not qualify during his career. Still, he was one of the most important players in African football for almost ten years.
His performance in the 1992 African Cup of Nations was especially memorable. He was voted the best player of the tournament. He scored in three games in a row, helping Ghana reach the final. Sadly, he got a yellow card in the semi-final against Nigeria, which meant he couldn't play in the final. Ghana then lost the final to Ivory Coast in a penalty shootout. Because of his amazing skills, he was also called "The African Maradona".
Abedi was one of the first African footballers to be ranked high in the FIFA World Player of the Year voting, in 1991 and 1992. He won the African Player of the Year award three times in a row. He also won the BBC African Sports Star of the Year in 1992.
He holds the record for playing in the most African Cup of Nations tournaments. He first played in the tournament in 1982 and continued for 16 years, with his last appearance in 1998.
After Retiring from Football
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After retiring, Abedi Ayew has been involved in many charity football matches organized by FIFA. He is also a member of FIFA's Football Committee.
The Ghanaian government honored him with the country's highest award, the Order of the Volta. He was the first Ghanaian sportsman to receive this special honor.
In 2001, he was asked to become the Chairman of the Ghana Football Association (FA). He decided to let a more experienced person take the role, saying he wanted to learn more first.
Today, Abedi Pele owns a football club called Nania. He hopes to help young talented players grow and improve football in Ghana. He also does a lot of charity work across Africa.
How He Played
Abedi Pele was a playmaker. He was known for his incredible speed, how well he controlled the ball, and his amazing dribbling skills. He was also great at passing and scoring goals. He usually played as an attacking midfielder or a forward. People often called him the "Maestro" because of his brilliant play.
Abedi Pele's Family
Abedi is from a family of footballers. His brothers, Kwame and Sola Ayew, also played football.
He is married to Maha and they have several children. His sons, André, Jordan, and Rahim, have also become international footballers for Ghana. André and Rahim played for Ghana in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Jordan and André also represented Ghana in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Honours
Player
Marseille
- French Division 1: 1990–91, 1991–92
- UEFA Champions League: 1992–93; runner-up: 1990–91
Al Ain
- Pro-League: 1999–2000
- UAE President's Cup: 1999
Ghana
- African Cup of Nations: 1982; runners-up: 1992
- West African Nations Cup: 1982, 1983, 1984
Individual
- BBC African Footballer of the Year: 1991
- African Footballer of the Year: 1991, 1992, 1993
- Africa Cup of Nations Golden Ball: 1992
- Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 1992, 1994, 1996
- Ghana Footballer of the Year: 1993
- MasterCard African Team of the 20th Century: 1998
- IFFHS African Player of the Century (1901–2000): 3rd Best
- IFFHS All-time Africa Men's Dream Team: 2021
- FIFA World Player of the Year: 9th 1992, Nomination 1991
- FIFA All-Star Forward: 1996 (Reserve), 1997 (Reserve), 1999
- FIFA 100
- Golden Foot Legends Award: 2011
- Ghana Football Awards Living Legend Award: 2022
- Ghana SWAG Best Colts (Young) Player: 1978
- On 26 March 2004, he was appointed a "(WAFUNIF) Special Envoy 4 Peace and Development"
- CAF Top 30 African Footballers in the last 50 years: 5th place
Orders
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OOTV Civil Division: Order of the Volta: (1996)
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Manager
Nania
- Ghanaian FA Cup: 2011
- Ghana Super Cup: 2011
See Also
In Spanish: Abédi Pelé para niños
Images for kids
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Abedi Pele in December 2007
