Mohammed Ahmed Polo

Mohammed Ahmed Polo burst onto the football scene of Ghana in the early 1970s and quickly endeared himself to the fans with his amazing skills including magnificent dribbling antics, accurate passing, expert conversion of spot kicks, abundant stamina and everything that one loves about the game. He joined the junior side of Hearts of Oak in 1973 but within a year was promoted to the senior side. So significant was his contribution to Hearts of Oak that he was drafted into the Black Stars when he was still a teenager. Indeed Ahmed Polo won the hearts of all and sundry and became the first and perhaps youngest to win the “Footballer of the Year” award by the Sports Writers Association of Ghana in 1974.

He also became the fulcrum of the “Fearsome Five” players of Hearts of Oak alongside compatriots “Bomber” Mama Acquah, “Thunder” Anas Seidu, “Expensive” Robert Hammond and “Goal Thief” Peter Lamptey. During his time with these colleagues, they swept almost every trophy that was being competed for in Ghana football. But for injuries that hit him as early as his fourth year of playing football at the highest level, Ahmed Polo would have assisted Hearts to win their first continental trophy in 1977. He was very instrumental in helping the team to eliminate the dreaded Al Ahly of Egypt at the quarter-final stage and Uganda’s Mufuliara Wanderers at the semi-final stages in what has become known as the “Miracle of El Wak”. Ahmed Polo, in spite of the injury, was patriotic enough to play a vital role in the Black Stars annexation of the Africa cup for the third time in 1978 and ended up being named among Africa’s best eleven after the tournament.

Polo has embellished the football landscape of Ghana with so much panache and poise that sport writers showered accolades on him like confetti. The three of them that thrill me are “The Dribbling Magician, The Soccer Superamus and the Soccer Professor”. He had a way of playing to the strength of his colleagues that helped to unearth their potentials and also mentored many during his over 20 years of play including Abedi Ayew “Pele”. He played professional football with Al Wasl of the UAE for about four years in the late 1970s as well as with Shell Gabon FC at the twilight of his career.

Polo was once named Africa’s fourth best footballer and has carved his name in letters of gold as far as Ghana football is concerned. He spices up the game of football with something extra that he alone could manufacture and to-date, is considered as Ghana’s best-ever.