Just as Abedi Pele was battling and leaving it out all on the pitch, his wife – Maha Ayew – was in the labour room and giving it a final push as their son, André Dede Ayew was born on December 17, 1989. Maha, a day after Lille had suffered a spirit-damping 3-1 loss, gave Abedi one of the best pre-Christmas gifts ever.
Andre Ayew, who became the second of the maestro’s sons after Rahim Ayew, was born 530.1 km from Strasbourg (where his father was involved in a 3-1 disappointing league loss to Strasbourg) in the city of Sechille.
At the time of his birth, his father was fast becoming a household name on the African continent and the global scene at large.
Abedi, as a young teenager, was a part of Ghana’s 1982 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) squad that went on to win what will be the last of Ghana’a four continental crowns till date.
Despite the brilliance of Abedi, of which winning a Uefa Champions League medal, an African Cup and being named a three-time CAF African player of the year was inclusive on his resumee, Abedi failed as skipper of the Black Stars for six years, as he was unable to lead the team to its maiden World Cup participation.
When he made the return from Strasbourg to Lille, and headed towards Sechille, which was 11.2km apart (20min), Abedi went to his beloved Maha Ayew to caress his newly born son, André.
The objective was spelt out, the mantle had been passed for André to exceed his father’s exploits.
And rightfully so, André’s career began at the age of seven for 1860 Munich in Germany. A lot of promise was seen at a tender age, which drew strong semblance to that of his father, Abedi.
The little strides taking at 1860 Munich was the start of one of the greatest journey’s in Ghanaian football history.
Ayew, similar to his father, signed for Olympique Marseille in the 2007 season. However, Ayew had spent two seasons with the youth setup before making the step up with the senior side in the 2007/08 campaign.
The talent was glaring for all to see; His technical ability, his charisma and leadership was evident at an early age.
But the question hanged on, when will this young prodigy get to feature for the national team?
Back home, others felt it was early to throw the young lad into the national team, whereas other school of thoughts were of the notion that “ If you’re good enough, you’re old enough. “
Irrespective of the constant disagreement and opinions held regarding André – which has been the charactertic of his career throughout – Dede will get his first involvement with the national team on August 21, 2007, making a late cameo against Senegal in a friendly game.
The experience garnered by Dede at the training camp with the Senior team propelled André to hold his own, leading the U-20’s to the African Youth Championship and ultimately, the U-20 World Cup crowns.
But this significant achievement was the begining of what was to come.
Hero to Villain
The sound of the final whistle from the Stade Amahoro, Kigali, was music to the ears of many Ghanaians as the Black Satellites (Ghana’s U-20) managed to secure qualification to the U-20 global showpiece after winning the 2009 African Youth Championship.
A Ransford Osei brace – his 7th of the tournament – meant Ghana, who had been on a brief hiatus from the competition for 8 years, made their return.
However, Osei’s brace in the final would have been irrelevant without the goal that helped Ghana to salvage a point in their first game and, which ultimately kick-started the journey to glory.
Ayew equalised against Cameroon in the first game, which earned Ghana a hard-fought draw and a precious point. The climax of the Youth Championship meant Sellas Tetteh, Ghana’s U-20 coach in 2009, had to prepare his boys for the biggest stage.
And, in as much as Sellas was tactically astute and proved it by going all the way to win the tournament, another voice was needed on the pitch in order for the words of ‘B)b))’,( moniker) to resonate well with the players.
The man elected with the mandate of leading Ghana’s young guns, who themselves were under fire to perform well due to the 8 year absence in the tournament, was André. The 8 year absence accounted for 3 editions of the tournament being missed.
With all the verve, swagger and tenacity, team
Ghana wrapped up their preparations and landed in Egypt, where the tournament was being held. Placed in group D and eager to put the ghost of the past behind them and finally go beyond their two runner’s up placed-finishes, André Ayew led the team out against Uzbekistan.
Ghana made light work of Uzbekistan with a 2-1 win, and so did the team lay waste to England in a 4-0 trouncing of the Young Lions. Dede and his teammates moved past the group stage undefeated, with a frantic 2-2 draw against Uruguay in the last game.
Beating South Africa, South Korea and Hungary, the Satellites had a date with destiny, facing Brazil, a side who had denied Ghana 16-years prior, with a 2-1 victory. And just as he had done all tournament, André tip-toed his way on to the pitch, with a team exuding confidence behind him; ravenous for success.
The game against the most successful side in the history of the competition [Brazil] had to be taken the mile and, when there was no winner after the extra 30 minutes, penalty shootout decided the game.
André stepped up and coolly dispatched his kick. After Brazil had missed their spot kick, Emmanuel Agyemang Badu stepped up to send the 30 million populated nation into delirium, as Ghana did the unthinkable in becoming the first African Nation to win the trophy.
The Sellas Tetteh well-drilled team had done remarkably well, and when Andre Ayew hoisted the trophy, the admiration was for the young captain who had shown great leadership and technical skill to aid the team into World Cup (U-20) folklore.
But the comparison’s won’t just go away, will
they? The semblance and drawing parallels from every passing André performance with his father grew even stronger. His attributes were evident for the global media and audience to be left in awe of the Abedi Pele-esque André.
The longing of Ghanaians was fulfilled when the u-20 World Cup-winning captain made his first tournament bow for Ghana at the 2008 African Cup of Nations on home soil.
However, Dede had to wait until the 2010 AFCON to score his first goal for the senior team. The first goal for André, against Burkina, would go on to be his first of 10 AFCON strikes, making him the Ghanaian with the most goals at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Dede followed his impressive 2010 AFCON campaign with his first FIFA World Cup appearance in South Africa, where he played a starring role for Ghana. The young André provided the crucial assist for Asamoah Gyan’s winning goal against the United States in extra time, sending Ghana to the Quarter-finals of the tournament.
Uruguay eventually won against Ghana after a dramatic game, with the U-20 winner watching on from the stands as his accumulated yellow cards meant he had been suspended for the game.
The invaluable experience gained on the World Stage was once again reflected in the 2014 World Cup, with Dede scoring against the USA in the opening group game, before thumping home a header against Germany in the second game.
André Ayew and Ghana fought out of of their skins but failed to advance past the group stage and were eliminated, with the 2015 AFCON looming.
It was at the 2015 AFCON that Andre, perhaps, played his most impactful tournament for Ghana, with an exceptional overall contributiom, leading Ghana to a runners-up placed finish. An inconsollabe Dede, after Ghana had lost out on penalty shootout to Ivory Coast in the final, told the story of how hard he strived to win the ultimate crown.
With Asamoah Gyan’s role at the Black Stars all but ending, Dede was handed the captain’s armband at the 2017 AFCON due to his ever-present role in the team.
An inspired Dede Ayew and Ghana managed to reach the AFCON semi-final but were ousted by Cameroon, and failed to beat Burkina Faso in the 3rd and 4th playoffs, losing by a lone goal in the process.
Ghana, winners of the AFCON in 1982, had managed to reach the final of the tournament twice in 7 years (since 2010) and finished as semi-finalist on 3 different occasions.
The feat achieved by André Ayew and the Black Stars augured well for the future, especially heading into the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon. The wait to land the coveted trophy seemed to have been within the grasp of the Dede-led team, but there was a major twist in the next 3 major tournament for André.
André, who had scored 9 AFCON goals prior to the start of the 2021 edition, was lively and full of smiles, as usual.
Dede and the Stars were determined to put the 2019 Quarter-final defeat to Tunisia behind and start on a good note.
Ghana, pitted against Morocco, Gabon & Comoros in group D, began the tournament on a sour note with a 1-0 loss to Morocco, before earning a point in a 1-1 draw against Gabon, which Andrè Ayew scored his first goal of the tournament – his 10th in total.
However, with 1 point from a possible six, a first group stage elimination and the worst AFCON performance put up by the Black Stars, was staring the team in the face. A win in the last game, against Comoros, will all but have aided Ghana to the knockout stages, at least, as a part of the best qualifying 3rd place teams.
A 30,000 Stade Roumdé Adija was packed for an exhilarating clash, with all to play for and, before the half hour mark, the game had lived up to the billing.
Comoros’ El Fardou Ben became the first player in Les Coelacanths history to score at the AFCON, doing so after 4 minutes. In a bid to ensure parity before the interval, the beginning of 3 infamous moment commenced for Ayew. André was adjudged to have impeded Comros’ goalkeeper Salim Ben Boina, leading to his dismissal and ratcheting up the pressure on his teammates.
Ghana went on to lose the game by 3-2, although the team showed great resilience to draw level at 2-2, heavily affected by Ayew’s sending-off. The exit meant the Black Stars had failed to progress from the group phase for the first time since 2006 which, obviously, didn’t sit well with most Ghanaians back home, leading to Dede being at the heart of the Black Stars’ heated discussions.
A remorseful Dede, rightully, took blame for his actions and was ready to make amends for what was turning out to be a broken relationship between the U-20 winning skipper and Ghanaians.
At the time when the next major tournament came about – 2022 FIFA World Cup- André was believed to have grown leggy and lost a bit of yards, sparking, as usual, debates of his inclusion in the team.
But for Dede, as strong as his mental fortitude and character is, he was determined to hit back at his critics and no better stage than the World Cup, where he had previously scored twice for Ghana.
And when Dede, serendipitously, moved past Portugal’s rearguard to almost toe-poke Mohammed Kudus’ assist into a gaping goal to cancel out Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty, there was a tinge of the Dede of yesteryears.
After Otto Addo had gotten the veteran’s experience on board, which helped pull parity, he was withdrawn for the injection of pace as Osman Bukari took his spot.
Just before he took his seat, Joao Felix had crept in behind the Black Stars high line and side-footed the ball past an on-rushing Ati Zigi to put Portugal in the lead. The game ended 3-2 in favour of Portugal but once again, Ayew dominated the headlines back home for his goal and the aftermath (celebration), with Dede taking the plaudits on the bench before Portugal struck to go ahead. Dede’s facial expression summed it up; looking dejected.
But the main twist was yet to unravel. Ghana had defeated South Korea 3-2 and headed into the game against Uruguay, a repeat of the 2010 World cup, needing only a draw to secure passage to the next round of the competition.
Buoyed by a potential knockout stage berth, the Black Stars started the game on the front foot and were awarded a spot kick for the early pressure. Does that ring a bell? A penalty against Uruguay? Yes. 12 years earlier, Asamoah Gyan had it within his reach to send Ghana through as the first-ever African nation to sail to the semi-final, but his shot cannoned off the bar and went wide into the sky; a game Dede Ayew watched from the stands as his accumulation of yellow cards saw him take a cheerleading role.
But this time, there was no Asamoah Gyan and there couldn’t be an Asamoah Gyan moment once more, could there be? Lightning, definitely, did struck twice as André, making a stuttering run up, fired the ball tamely, which was thwarted by Uruguay’s goalkeeper, Rochet.
For the second tournament running, André had managed to get himself into the bad books of Ghanaians, facing a public rancor back home after the tournament.
Ghana went on to lose to Uruguay 2-0, culminating in the elimination of the team, yet again, at the group stages of the World Cup.
Dede could definitely not be third time unlucky, could he? When the 2023 AFCON (which was played in January 2024) came about, Ghanaians, as usual, were eager to know the players who were going to represent the country.
For André, his contract with Nottingham Forest had expired in July of that summer and was clubless and rarely played a lot of football until he joined Le Havre in November 2023.
Hughton, coach of the Stars, called up the captain (André) for the tournament, after earlier defending his inclusion in Ghana’s last AFCON qualifier ahead of the continental showpiece.
But this time Andre, 33, seemed to be miles of the pace of the game but had the fire inside his belly to stir the team up, as ever.
A stodgy start to the tournament saw the Black Stars with just a point (similar to their last AFCON) and involved in a must-win-game against Mozambique on the final day.
Where was André in the midst of all the mayhem? André was a second half substitute for Ransford Konigsdorffer in Ghana’s first group game and an unused substitute in the 2-2 draw against Egypt.
Dede, appearing in his 8th tournament finals, had immortality in sight as he had moved up with Rigobert Song and Ahmed Hassan for the most tournament appearances.
Ghana came out of the traps against Mozambique, with Ayew -not Andre- striking in both halves of the game to put the Black Stars in n a seemingly unassailable lead and control of the game.
Dede, a secomd half substitute for Joseph Paintsil, struggled with the rhythm of the game early on and was booked three minutes from coming on – for his troubles.
By the time Jordan had scored his second spot kick with 20 minutes left to play, André knew a cynical challenge or tackle would put the team under immense pressure and rule him out of the knockout game.
But for what he dreaded most, being on the lip of every Ghanaian for the wrong reasons, Ghana’s leading AFCON scorer gave Mozambique a life line in the game.
Dede handled the ball in the area, with Mozambique’s Katamo converting the resulting penalty kick to create a tense finale in stoppage time.
And when the whistle had gone, the team (Black Stars) were crestfallen, sombering within and in utter disbelief. From what apparently looked to be a routine 2-0 victory over a side, who had never beaten nor secured a point against Ghana, to sharing the spoils with them.
The chunk of the blame, although Richard Ofori had his part to play after inadvertently conceding a corner kick with a touch of the ball, was leveled at André Ayew.
The believe back home was Dede played an integral role in aiding Mozambique halve the deficit and snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat.
For 3 tournaments running, André had one way or the other contributed to Ghana’s tournament exits, which was largely reiterated by fans in the aftermath of the AFCON.
A sect of supporters called for his exit while others, a mere minority, stood by his side.
Last Dance?
When Otto Addo – managing the Black Stars in his second stint- omitted Andre Ayew from his 2026 World cup qualifying double header against Mali and Central African Republic, it sent chills down the spines of most Ghanaians.
Addo named his 26-man squad at the headquarters of the Ghana football Association on Wednesday, May 29, 2024, without André Dede Ayew.
Ayew, despite featuring sporadically in the last 3 tournaments, is the captain of the team and the most capped player (120) in the history of the Black Stars.
It was, regardless, a huge call for Otto Addo to omit such an enormous presence from the setup but signalled a clear intent from the former Borussia Dortmund talent developer, who is bent on building a new fun-packed Black Stars with young guns.
However, the window for Ayew to feature -prominently or in a less reversed role – is not totally closed, with the comment of the head coach giving him a glimmer of hope
The decision [to drop him from this squad] is what it is now. But never say never, he said
Ultimately, there is assuredly going to be a last dance with the Black Stars but the daring question is when? Time is certainly a revealer of all things and when the Black Stars do commence their six-day training camp at the University of Ghana Stadium, they’ll have to do so without the tenacious skipper.
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Story by: Andrews Sefa Bamfo |univers.ug.edu.gh
