The man is all business. To sit across from Tony Yeboah in conversation or to
watch him on the pitch is to witness an athlete who knows exactly what he wants.
During the course of the next two years Yeboah's goals are simple. He wants
to: (1) lead his native Ghana to its first ever World Cup in France 98, (2) pace
Leeds United to an English Premiership title, (3) retire from professional soccer
and help soccer flourish in Ghana, and (4) continue growing his already
successful PUMA distribution business in Ghana.
For Tony Yeboah, no goal is unrealistic. Think back to the beginning of last
year's English Premiership season. Yeboah had just arrived at Leeds United
from Eintracht Frankfurt of the German Bundesliga. Within a six week period
Yeboah had set the league scoring race alight, claiming that his newly
discovered diet of Yorkshire pudding was the key to his scoring prowess. Three
goals in particular are already the stuff of legends. One each against Liverpool,
Wimbledon, and West Ham, these goals were voted as 3 of the 10 best goals of the
season. Stunning smashes from as far as 30 yards out, on the volley and half
volley, these bullets would surely have shattered the goalposts had Yeboah hit
the woodwork instead of the roof of the net.
Leeds United were the most feared English side of the early 1970's. Led by
fiery midfield captain Billy Bremner and recently retired Ireland manger Jack
Charlton, Leeds won two English league titles, finished 2nd 3 years running, and
challenged for European glory. Although Leeds did win the League title in 1992,
no Leeds side of the last 20 years has been able to achieve and maintain similar
levels of success as the squad of the early 70's. In the last several years,
however, the club's management has focused on bringing glory back to Leed's
homeground Elland Road. The club has made an effort to sign several experienced
international quality players in order to compete with the big money clubs such
as Manchester United and Newcastle. Yeboah was brought in to spearhead the Leeds
offense.
Yeboah paid dividends immediately, as he expected. For he has been scoring
spectacular goals by the bushel his entire career. Yeboah arrived in Germany
eight years ago at the age of 22. He first played for German Second Division club
Saarbrucken before attracting the attention of the bigger clubs. Yeboah spent 5
seasons with Eintracht Frankfurt in the German Bundesliga. As one of the first
African players to reach Germany's top division, Yeboah went on to win the league
scoring title in his first season at Frankfurt. As Yeboah describes it, "I won
the best goalscorer in Germany. Then the following year I won it again. That time
was the very, very best of my career, because it's not easy, you know, for an
African player to win this. I was captain of the team, and this was the first time in
history, in Germany."
Prior to professional soccer in Germany, Yeboah played for Corner Stores, a semi-pro
club in Ghana. Yeboah's background is actually similar to that of many
European players in that soccer was his only passion growing up. He was introduced to the
game at age six by his father, Mike Yeboah, who at the time was the most famous
player in Ghana until injury forced him out of the game at age 28. "My father
helped me a lot, because at that time in Africa, we played football for just
entertainment... he tried to help me buy boots, buy balls... every Christmas
present was a football... so he gave me a chance to play."
Yeboah plans to return to Ghana upon his retirement in order to increase the
opportunities for Ghana's youth players. Yeboah remarked "I notice from the
Ghanaians, we've got very, very intelligent players, they're young players,
and they're having problems. Some have financial problems, no money to buy
their jerseys, boots... that's why I want to help them. I'm trying to help
them come up." Yeboah is well suited to promote the game, as he owns the
distribution rights for Puma in Ghana. As he jokingly remarked to our Puma
colleague during this interview, "Yes, I've got a Puma shop. A big shop, maybe
after that, the company. I'll take your job!"
The physical nature of the English game has not posed a problem for Yeboah. At
5'10" and 195 lbs he seems to be carved from granite. With an extremely muscular
upper body and thighs the size of tree trunks, Yeboah has made his presence known
among English defenses. Yet he believes Leeds must change their style if they are
to challenge for the championship this season. "At Leeds, we play more with our
strength - we're a very fit, physical side. So, sometimes when some of our
players look tired, then the team is going down. We have to reach our skilled,
intelligent players. But, the intelligent players in the team are old, 30 or
31. And it's difficult for the 30 year old players. You can't play Wednesday,
Saturday, Monday, you can't perform as well. We need the young players to use
their strength, then players like (Scotland Captain) Gary McAllister can use
their head. When you see the beginning of the league, we perform well, we beat
all the big clubs, because at the time we are very fit, after preseason. At the
middle of the league, we have to play, use your brains a little. Don't chase
the ball a lot, and let other people chase it. That's why Liverpool and
Manchester and Newcastle, they've got the advantage, because they can keep the
ball, possess the ball. So it's a big advantage."
Despite the challenges Yeboah and his teammates face in bringing the spotlight
back to Elland Road, Ghana's favorite son realizes it is his business to put
the ball in the back of the net. "When you score spectacular goals...you feel
very happy. Sometimes it's part luck. The ball, it can hit the bar and go...
(laughter). So when you score like that you have to feel happy. I scored a lot of
goals in Germany, but since I came here the two goals against Liverpool and West
Ham, these two goals were some of the best in my career" Yeboah is a man who
does not take goals lightly, on or off the field. Ghana begins its World Cup
qualifying this fall, and Yeboah is determined to finish his career on a high
note, in France 98. He'll then return home to Ghana where, once again, a
Yeboah will share the passion of soccer with a younger generation.
Yeboah's blistering scoring pace continued through the winter, until it was
put on hold by the African Nations Cup in January. Disappointment in South Africa was
followed by knee problems in England, which resulted in an injury-shortened
season for Yeboah. Still, his final tally after a season in Yorkshire was 19
goals, still well near the top of the charts. Unfortunately, Leeds finished in
the middle of the table. As Yeboah states "next year we have to do something.
It's very, very sad, when you see the fans, they are so mad about football.
The players know they expect a lot from us, but we can't compare ourselves to
Manchester United or Liverpool or Newcastle, because they've got fantastic
players. But Leeds' fans always expect a lot, they think we have to beat
Manchester."
Soccer in Africa has been growing in competitiveness and popularity during the
last ten years. Although disappointed that Ghana did not win the African Nations
Cup last January, Yeboah feels that South Africa's championship was
potentially the best result for that country and for African players in
general. "Nobody knew Mark Fish (South Africa's star defender who just signed
with Lazio of Rome) could play good football like that. After this tournament, a
lot of the nations have got some black players that can also play in Europe."
Interestingly, Yeboah feels that most African players would rather play in
Germany, France, or Italy. With a chuckle he says "They don't like to play in
England. It's very difficult for them, because English football is totally
different. In Germany, they play Saturday to Saturday. You can have more rest,
more preparation for the next game. But England, they play a lot of games... so
it's very difficult. Apart from that, the game is very quick, very
physical."