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Africa

Last updated: 10 november, 2010 - 13:48 GMT

Andre ‘Dede’ Ayew

Andre 'Dede' Ayew

Andre 'Dede' Ayew's rise to football prominence has been swift but not without its challenges.

The 21-year old comes from a famous football family; his father Abedi Ayew Pele was a three-time African Footballer of the Year, his uncle Kwame Ayew was a Ghana international and represented the country at the 1992 Olympics.

With that background, Dede has practically had to prove himself from day one in a young career and it is only recently that he is beginning to come into his own.

And it was his performances for Ghana at the 2010 World Cup that went a long way to giving him an identity of his own.

That tournament had come on the back of another great display for the Black Stars at the 2010 Nations Cup and a year earlier at the 2009 World Youth Championship when he captained Ghana to Africa's first title at that level.

A year earlier, it was all so different for him.

He had been picked by Claude Le Roy, Ghana's then French coach for the 2008 Nations Cup despite widespread criticism and when he failed to shine in the semi finals, the criticism only got louder.

But he has risen from that remarkably, maturing on loan at Arles Avignon from Olympic Marseille before finally convincing Didier Deschamps he is good enough for the Marseille first team.

So far this season he has proved his worth for the French giants with several goals for them.

And with 29 caps already at age 21, there is more to come.

African Footballer of the Year 2010

Related Links

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