Dominic Adiyiah, the forgotten hero of the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Dominic Adyiah was the hero of the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup winning squad, his name was on the lips of all soccer loving fans in Ghana and the continent of Africa.
His prolific goal scoring form was the reason behind his success. He scored eight goals to help Ghana lift the trophy in Egypt, which was the first time an African country has won the trophy.
Soon after the world Cup just like every other youthful player, he made a moved to Italian giants Ac Milan which was where his prominence begin to crumble, he was never used by the Brazilian coach Araujo.
Adiyiah who previously was named the most exciting player in the Ghana Premier League has lost everything now, he played for Chiangmai United in the 2019/2020 season a lower tier side in Thailand. And has since been forgotten in the country’s sports.
The U-20 tournament has produced world class players and for a golden boot winner in the show piece to gradually vanished in to the thin air remains a misery.
His move to Ac Milan was the beginning of his downfall, was he moved by money or he was been over hyped ?. The person that initiated the move for the young talent caused him more harm than good.
For me I must say it was a big mistake, signing for Ac Milan, but as a youngster when a big team like Milan needs you, you cannot say no” Adiyah told Oti Adjei.
Well, it’s true, Signing for AC Milan did him more harm than good because from the on set, the signs were clear that the bench was going to be his permanent place as Milan were having forwards like then Pato,Fillipo Inzaghi, Robinho and they later on brought in Antonio Casano, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
After that bad spell in Ac Milan, Adiyiah moved from club to club in Europe to find his scoring form, but always earned up getting loaned out or termination of his contracts.
Since leaving Ac Milan, Adiyiah has played for Arsenal Kyiv, Atyau, Reggina, Karsiyaka and Partizan Belgrade.
In all six clubs Adiyiah only managed to score 32 goals in 201 appearances which was too low for a golden boot winner at the U-20 tournament.
Adiyiah has has made 20 appearances for the senior national team the Black Stars, scoring four goals.He was a member of the squad that reached the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup.
The players he played with in that tournament, has been phenomenal in their performance, the likes of Andrew Ayew who captained them to the tournament , Doglass Costa, Alex Texeira, David Luize and many more are up in their game.
The rise and fall of Dominic Adiyiah has lessons for the upcoming generation of footballers, even though he is forgotten in the global scene , he will always be known in history as the man that lead the country and the continent to getting it’s first trophy at the U-20 category.
By Saaka Yakubu Issah
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