Tony Yeboah: Cult Hero

As a young kid with a burgeoning enthusiasm for football, I watched an awful lot of greatest goal compilations on VHS. Amongst those great goals, there were always two that stood out. 

Being born into a family of Leeds fans meant that the decision about who’d I’d support had already been made for me long before I'd even been able to walk, never mind shown an interest in the game. Great goals were always that extra bit memorable when they were scored from the boot of a Leeds player. What made the two goals in question stand out even more, though, was the fact that they were scored by the same player. That player's name? Tony Yeboah.

In early January 1995, Leeds were hovering just above mid-table in the Premier League, and in need of some added fire-power to kick on and push for a European place. Enter the man who would inspire schoolboy re-enactments in playgrounds throughout the country.

Yeboah initially arrived on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt, with Leeds having the option to make the move permanent for £3.4m - a sizeable fee in the mid 90’s. Without social media, or even the ability to watch foreign football regularly, it’s very unlikely that many Leeds fans knew what kind of player they were getting; it didn't take them long to find out, though…….

Yeboah’s impact was immediate as his goals helped propel Leeds to 5th in the league and with it qualification for the following seasons UEFA Cup. Despite only joining the club in January, Yeboah still ended up as the team's top goalscorer with 13 in all competitions; quite the achievement, and a testament to how quickly he settled into life in the Premier League.

However, it was the following season where Yeboah produced the iconic goals that would see him go down in English football folklore. In only the second game of the season Leeds welcomed a Liverpool team who were firmly in their ‘spice boys’ era. Their players may have had a reputation for entertainment, but they weren’t a match for what Yeboah served up that evening.

Five minutes into the 2nd half with the score 0-0, Tony Dorigo hooked the ball forward towards the Liverpool box, where Rod Wallace went unchallenged as he knocked the ball down for the lurking Yeboah, who caught the ball with sweetest volley you’ll arguably ever see. The ball arced towards the goal, and thundered off the underside of the crossbar as it sailed past the helpless David James. Yeboah then wheeled away, wagging his finger, eyes bulging as if to say ‘ did you just fucking see that?’ Yes, we did. An incredible strike that proved to be a worthy winner for Leeds.

Nearly a month to the day later, Leeds travelled to London where they faced Wimbledon. With two back to back losses tempering what had been a bright start, the team really needed someone to step up and return them to winning ways.

That day at Selhurst Park, Yeboah was at his ruthless best as he scored 3, helping Leeds to a 4-2 win. However, there was one goal in particular that caught the eye…..

After a bit of back and forth headed ping pong between the two sides (it was the mid 90’s; tiki-taka was a mere twinkle in Pep’s eye at that point), the ball dropped to Yeboah in space about 30 yards out from the Wimbledon goal. He took the ball down on his chest, then knee, and surged forward at pace. He cut past the oncoming defender with his left, the ball then bounced up, and he used his right knee to again drive the ball forward. The bouncing ball sat up perfectly for him to unleash a venomous strike. Once again the crossbar was rattled to near breaking point, before, eventually, the ball came to rest in the Wimbledon net. He’d done it again. In the space of two months, Yeboah had scored two wonder goals that would be etched into Premier League history forever.

It’s hard to pick a favourite; apparently the man himself has said that he prefers the Liverpool goal, so who am I to argue? It’s certainly the most referenced goal. Whenever anyone of a certain age is lining up a volley, they’re definitely screaming ‘Yeboaaahhhhh’ in their head as the ball drops from the sky. Even last week, listening to The Guardian’s Football Weekly podcast, host Max Rushden referenced Yeboah’s strike when talking about a Scum player's goal. 

The fact that the name ‘Yeboah’ has become synonymous with volleys, so much so that it has become part of the football lexicon, is emblematic of the enduring legacy of those goals. 

Yeboah would once again finish Leeds’ top scorer in the 95/96 season, hitting the net 19 times. However, the following season things took a turn for the worse: new manager George Graham - the managerial antithesis of flair - used Yeboah rarely; unsurprisingly, Leeds managed only 28 goals all season - 3 fewer than bottom side Nottingham Forest.

After only registering 7 appearances in the 96/97 season under Graham’s stewardship, Yeboah failed to report for pre-season training ahead of the following season. As a result he was sold to Hamburg for £1million. It was an inglorious ending to his Leeds career, but time is the great healer, and Yeboah will always have a place in the hearts and minds of Leeds United fans.