His life might have been cut short by a sudden and mysterious death but the impact he made with his craft will forever be in the minds of the few who had the privilege of witnessing his extraordinary skills.

For those who saw him in his elements, but for death, he would be rubbing shoulders with Pele, Messi, Maradona and Ronaldo as the finest to graced the beautiful game called football.

Blessed with outstanding footwork and silky passing skills, any minute spent watching Shamo was like watching a doyen of art at work.

Like a baby, he caressed the ball, like a ghost he dribbled past opponents and with cheeky ease and precision he scored his goals.

In the minds of those who watched him, death robbed Ghana of a player who could win the country multiple Ballon D’Ors.

Sam Johnson played with the ‘magician’ at Hearts of Oak and he corroborates claims of him being an outstanding footballer.

“You know, Shamo is, hmmm, wow. You can’t predict him. Look, Shamo never did normal things in football. He always did things that would baffle your mind, things you have no idea he could do. He was a different breed of a footballer. Things that you don’t expect in football, Shamo will do it. He was very good”.

Shamo died on this day in 1997 under circumstances that are yet to be fully told.

Conflicting stories have been made to explain his death but one thing everyone subscribes to is that he was a gifted footballer who was a delight to watch.