Few things are as comforting to a manager as casting an eye to the bench and seeing a player blessed with an enormous potential and ability, a one size fits all utility player willing and able to adapt to the game in a just about any position without so much as a shrug.
With tactical flexibility in mind, players that can operate in a number of different positions are without any equivocation a manager’s dream. Injuries and suspensions also play their part, with teams always being found short in certain areas during the course of a season.
There is a rarity of such players in the Ghanaian elite division and Legon Cities are fortunate to have one of them in their fold. He is Joseph Amoah.
Having joined the Royals from lowly Benab FC, not many gave the 19-year-old the chance to walk straight into the Legon Cities team and become an integral member of the Paa Kwesi Fabin led team. The secret to his early success with the Accra club is his versatility.
Amoah, since his arrival at the club, has played as a left-back, right-winger, and as an attacking midfielder. Primarily a left-back, it seems impossible to say for sure which area of the pitch Amoah performs best in.
This is by no means a criticism, but rather testament to the exceptional performances by the Legon Cities man this season. His passing abilities and intelligence in reading the game so well has helped him become an accomplished footballer.
More often than not, being unsure of a player’s best position is a huge concern for a manager. Fortunately for Fabin, he can sleep easy at night knowing that he possesses a player who will perform effectively regardless of where he is deployed on the pitch.
In all honesty, Amoah’s contributions both going forward and defensively this season have been so good, it’s largely irrelevant where he starts a game. Admittedly, Amoah has spent much of the season in defence, but nevertheless his return has been exceptional for a player in his debut season in the elite league.
The left-back position is one of the most specialist yet under-appreciated positions in football. From Paolo Maldini, Roberto Carlos, Ashley Cole to Marcelo, the position has been home to some of the most dynamic and technically gifted players the sport has ever seen, and that’s a trend that has continued to this day.
The way full-backs are viewed has changed immensely in the past few years. They’re now judged just as much on their attacking capabilities as their defensive skills, so having that 19-year-old dynamo, capable of exploding forward from deep or picking out the striker with a menacing early cross, can be the difference at the highest level.
Everyone who has Legon Cities this season has a favourite Joseph Amoah moment, a real testament to the diverse- and frankly absurd- range of talents possessed by a footballer who is at the very top of his game.
We all love football for its unpredictability and there is no teenage left-back in Ghana who can mix it up like the leading light of Legon Cities. We hear so much about Amoah’s ability to explode past an opposing defender or make up yards in the blink of an eye, but quick players so often make one trick ponies. This particular Ghanaian teenager is anything but.
Born in Ayigya, a suburb of Kumasi, his talent was visible in his formative years as he was always seen playing keepy-uppy to and from school. Many who saw him those periods never doubted his ability but prayed he would play to the highest level one day.
Amoah underpins his undeniable natural attributes with a refined touch, a killer instinct and a sublime footballing brain. A complete, multi-dimensional player in a position where pace and physicality are king, he stands out like a sore thumb for all the right reasons.
A gifted technician, he’s comfortable in possession anywhere on the left flank and has provided some mouth-watering crosses and through-balls for team-mates when allowed to get forward. His balance alone is enough the better of most Ghanaian Premier League defenders, but there is a bullish strength about the way he carries the ball which makes him a candidate for bigger and better things.
Amoah admits he couldn’t have wished for a better footballing education than what he had at Benab FC.” I enjoyed every minute of playing football at the academy; it was great being a kid and doing something that you really love with some of the best footballers from across the country. It was great to have been part of it, I’m really grateful to them for giving me the chance to spend my formative years there- to learn football and to learn to be a good person.”
Amoah is an example of a modern full-back. He has scored two goals and registered nine assists in 26 games across all competitions- a testament to his remarkable footballing intelligence and technical brilliance.
Amoah truly is a generational talent and is swiftly becoming one of the country’s leading full-backs. His heroics on the field and maturity off it mean it won’t be long until he’s recognised as a sporting icon in his homeland.
Joseph Amoah is a supers
tar in the making.
