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Sports News of Thursday, 22 August 2024

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

He didn't joke around - Joe Addo on why Abedi Pele was a great player

Abedi Pele Abedi Pele

Former Black Stars defender Joe Addo has named Abedi Pele as his best-ever Black Stars captain.

He highlighted Abedi Pele's dedication and discipline as the main reasons for choosing the African football great as his favourite skipper.

Joe Addo said, unlike the rest of the players, Abedi trained with conviction and took the sessions as though they were matches.

"Osam Adiodo invited me to the team. I was very, very young and I was still playing for the under-20s, I think. Poku Nti was the captain, and then it became Kwesi Appiah for a while. Then Burkhard Ziese came and changed things and made Abedi the captain. The time that I played in the national team, Abedi was the best captain that I had," he told Joy News.

"He was unbelievable and was so disciplined. More disciplined than us. Because sometimes we joke, we have fun, and we take it as if everything is alright. But when he comes, everything changes. The way you see him train is the same way you see him play. He doesn't joke, and on the field, everybody is his enemy."

The former Stuttgart defender shared that whenever Abedi was in camp, everything was put in order, including eating and sleeping hours.

"Even when you play 2v2 and you are on his team and you lose, you are in trouble. He doesn't want to lose; that was his nature. There were things that he did that were overbearing to some of us. When he comes, he makes sure we eat on time, sleep on time, and we were not used to those things."

Abedi Pele is regarded as the best Ghanaian footballer ever. He won one AFCON title and led Ghana to one final.

EE/EK