Alhaji Mohammed Ahmed called Mohammed Polo was and popularly known as the “Dribbling Magician” who was born on 11th November, 1956 was a former Ghanaian International footballer and arguably the most technically gifted player ever to emerge from Ghana. He was part of the Ghana squad that won the 1978 African Cup of Nations trophy held in Ghana. He was a left winger and played for Hearts of Oak in the Ghana premier league.He won several honours with Accra Hearts of Oak and left an indelible image in the Ghana football.

Polo started his football career with Hearts of Oak youth football known as Auroras.He shared the stage with superstars such as Mama Acquah, Anas Seidu, Peter Lamptey and Robert Hammond.The quintet were named as the “Fearsome Five” by the fans as at that time and played an integral role for the team winning major honours. He attained his Black Stars call up at the of 17. The maestro has also had stint with Accra Great Olympics football club based in Accra.He has also featured for top-notch clubs such as Al Wasl in Dubai where he made history after the fans fell in love with him instantly, FC 105 Libreville in Gabon and Shell FC.

The 64 year old has also coached major teams such as his darling club Accra Hearts of Oak,Great Olympics and Stade Malien. He has won major accolades for himself and some of these are: Crowned as the best Ghanaian footballer of the year in 1975, winning the 1978 African Cup of Nations with Ghana, 2006 Coca-Cola award in breaking barriers just to mention a few.

The veteran footballer has stated clearly that Ghana as a nation has lost its value and dignity in football as a Nation and not seen as fearful as it use to be.These were his words on the performance of the Black stars in relation to the Afcon qualification and whether the team can end the country’s almost four decades wait for the title.“To be frank, Ghana is not respected anymore on the continent. Some years back, other countries had great respect for our game but as we speak it is no more because they are able to score us with ease”.

He went on further to elaborate on his reasons for such statement by saying “During our time, countries on the continent especially the North Africans had to cheat before they can score u. It is about time we start organizing ourselves well. I can emphasize North African countries are currently ruling the game on the continent. I think we are sleeping, a country that has been likened to Brazil. We had players that were compared to world-class players like Ronaldo, Messi and others. We need to start organizing ourselves if we want to win a trophy but for now, I don’t think we can end the trophy drought anytime soon” he said.

The Maestro has also advised the young players currently playing for the Black Stars to defy all odds and play from their hearts and for the nation. Ghana has qualified for the Afcon 2022 in Cameroon and will be monitoring the players both abroad and locally to make a formidable squad in the quest to in the trophy this time.

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