Dominic Adiyiah: Abedi Pele’s heir apparent

What do Diego Maradona, Robert Prosinečki and Lionel Messi have in common? The answer: they all won the player of the tournament award at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup, and the name of Ghanaian hotshot Dominic Adiyiah can now be added to that list.

The lively striker, who currently plies his trade in Norway with Fredrikstad FK, helped his country to the final against Brazil with eight goals in four games. He could not add to his tally in the final - which ended goalless - but the Ghanaians prevailed on penalties to usurp the pre-tournament favourites in Egypt, despite being reduced to ten-men after just 37 minutes.

In the group stage Ghana overcame a tepid England scoring four goals without reply - Adiyiah scoring twice. He also scored a goal in each match against Uzbekistan and South Africa. The frontman then helped himself to braces against the Korean Republic in the quarter-final and Hungary in the semi-final.

Speaking to FIFA.com, Adiyiah said of his achievement: “I'm not going to rest on it, I'm not going to sleep beside the medals or the awards. This is a challenge for me, so I have to work hard. I'm following in the footsteps of the likes of [Lionel] Messi, [Javier] Saviola and [Sergio] Aguero and I want to emulate their careers - and I'll work hard to do that. I'm preparing to get to the top.”

Adiyiah’s goals will not have gone unnoticed, particularly given they were scored wearing fluorescent yellow boots. But it is not the footwear that makes the Accra-born player so deadly. His movement and partnership with Ransford Osei in attack caused a host of problems for even the hardiest defences in the competition. The duo have pace and strength in abundance and their understanding is reminiscent of players who have spent years playing together.

Osei himself shot to fame scoring seven goals in five games during the 2009 African Under-20 Championships, which they won, beating Cameroon in the final with two goals from the eighteen year-old Osei.

Osei is currently on loan with Dutch Eredivisie side FC Twente from Israeli side Maccabi Haifa, while Adiyiah’s performances will have a number of clubs monitoring his progress in the Norweigan league, which has seen the likes of Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel and Hull City’s Seyi Olofinjana forge a name for themselves in the past.

Adiyiah, 20, made the move to Norway in 2008 after some impressive performances for Heart of Lions in his home country, which he had joined from the Feyenoord academy in Ghana. Although Adiyiah has not scored in his eight games for the Oslo-based side, his performances in Egypt will give fans optimism that they finally have an adequate replacement for former star player Tarik Elyounoussi who has moved to Heerenveen.

Winning the tournament, the Adidas Golden Ball and the Adidas Golden Shoe awards was “a dream come true” according to Adiyiah, who told the FIFA website: “I'm really happy. Glory be to God for giving us a great tournament! I think it was a marvelous tournament and it is one of the greatest moments in my life for having the Golden Shoe and the Golden Ball together with a Gold Medal. I thank my coach very much because he has been there for me, and all my colleagues for helping me to get to this great moment.

Adiyiah was not the only player to make a name for himself at the tournament. He won the player of the tournament accolade (Adidas Golden Ball) ahead of Brazilian stars, Alex Texeira and Giuliano, which is no mean feat given the samba stars performances throughout.

Vasco de Gama reportedly turned down a bid from Manchester United and Everton for Texeira but it will surely not be long before the winger makes the move to one of Europe’s top clubs.

Similarly to Kaka, his close control, strength and dribbling ability make him incredibly hard to knock off the ball, and he has an end product to his play that many at his age lack. The 20 year-old linked well with Brazil captain Giuliano who kept play simple making sure the ball continued moving. The number ten is similar in style to new Juventus signing Diego, always looking to score as well as create goals from an advanced midfield role.


Victory for the Black Satellites follows hot on the heels of Ghana’s qualification for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. It will be the first time the tournament has been held on the continent and there will arguably be the strongest African challenge ever to grace the competition.

The Ivory Coast have long been admired on the world stage, with the likes of Didier Drogba, Kolo and Yaya Toure and Saloman Kalou in their ranks, but Ghana should also not be underestimated.

A midfield including Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari and Stephen Appiah is arguably the best in Africa and Ghana have a solid defence with the likes of John Mensah and John Pantsil. Their attack does on the face of it, however, seem lightweight.

Junior Agogo – who has scored four goals in qualifying - has emerged as their best hope, however the 30 year-old, who has spent much of his career in England’s lower leagues, may struggle against the world class defenders he will face in the World Cup.

Asamoah Gyan led the line at the previous World Cup and he remains another option, but they do not have a talismanic figure such as the Ivory Coast’s Drogba, Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o or Togo’s Emmanuel Adebayor.

Abedi Pele is still revered in Ghana as their all-time striking legend and his son was part of the victorious Under-20 side. Andre ‘Dede’ Ayew who captained the side from midfield was, however, outshone by Adiyiah, arguably the heir to Pele’s striking throne.

With the Under-20 African Championships and World Cup in their pocket Milan Rajovic, the Ghana head coach, may be looking to recruit a few members of the victorious under-20 squad to the senior squad in the next few months. On current form Ransford Osei and Dominic Adiyiah would seem worthy of the chance to show their ability.