Tony Yeboah walloped his way into English football folklore twenty years ago with a wondergoal that still sets pulses racing.
Wheeling away with a trademark wag of his finger at the Elland Road crowd the Ghanaian had slammed home a 98mph volley against Liverpool.
It was a seminal moment in the Premier League’s history. And more was to come. Not content with August 1995’s Goal of the Month, he then went and whacked in September’s, too, against Wimbledon.
That second goal went on to be named Goal of the Season. But Yeboah, then 29, only turned out 66 times in the white of Leeds before heading to German club Hamburg.
Germany was where Yeboah had made his name, winning the Bundesliga top-scorer honour in 1993 and 1994 for Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Premier League’s style was a culture shock for him. Speaking about his time in England, he said: “The style, the way they did things – in England it was totally different.
“I wasn’t happy at first, not because I didn’t like Leeds but because English football, the kick and rush, didn’t come naturally to me. I didn’t feel like I belonged there.
After a four-year spell in the Bundesliga and a year-long swansong in Qatar, he turned businessman.
Returning to his native Ghana, Yeboah set up the aptly-named Yegoala chain of hotels in the capital Accra and Kumasi.
The hotels’ website boasts that they offer a “distinct world of luxury, seclusion, romance and relaxation.”
But one damning review on travel website Tripadvisor suggested Yeboah made a far better striker than hotel manager.
It read: “The only good thing is that the location is quite good and the meat pie is great!” play
Speaking about his venture, Yeboah said: “I set them up as I wanted to provide employment opportunities.
“It makes things easier when it’s ‘Tony Yeboah’s hotel’ — people like to come and visit and I speak to them, show some pictures, share my memories. It’s fun.
“I have had many guests stay in my hotel who are Leeds United fans over from England. They will say ‘do you remember this goal?’ or ‘do you remember this game?’
But with prices starting at £77-a-night, will Yeboah be offering a special discount to United fans at his three-star establishments?
He joked: “There are no special discounts for Leeds fans, I’m afraid!” Nor is he a one-trick pony. Play Not that either business venture is his greatest achievement, because Yeboah has entered the English football lexicon permanently.
Urban Dictionary — a website which catalogues slang terms — recently recorded the following entry.
“Yeboah: ‘Term given to a goal that is scored via the underside of the cross-bar, particularly powerful strikes. It comes from the goals of Tony Yeboah, a Ghanaian footballer who was famous for scoring spectacular goals.’” And what finer way for the Premier League’s first African superstar to be remembered?
Credit: The Sun