Accra Hearts of Oak was formed on 11th November, 1911, mark their 110th anniversary today and pulse.comgh has compiled the all-time XI of the phobias.
The club has chalked plenty of successes within their 110 years of existing. They have won the Ghanaian top-flight league 21 times, the FA cup 11 times, one CAF Champions League, one CAF confederation Cup and one CAF super cup.
Hundreds of players have gone through Hearts of Oak, but few were able to establish themselves as fans favourites as a result of their consistent good display.
All these successes would, of course be impossible to achieve without a huge number of amazing talents that wore the Phobias over the years. It’s quite a challenge to pick an all-time starting XI of a team that can boast with players who have grabbed so many individual and team awards during their illustrious careers. But pulse.com.gh team were able to come out these best XI of all- time for Hearts of Oak.
Below is the list of the finest XI Hearts of Oak team of all-time.
1. Sammy Adjei – Adjei was the goalkeeper of the Hearts of Oak team that conquered Africa in 2000 and also won five Ghana Premier League titles and the CAF Super Cup in 2001 with the Phobians. Adjei was part of the Black Stars team that qualified Ghana for their maiden FIFA World Cup in Germany.
2. Chris Briant – He was the first skipper of the Black Stars. He also captained Accra Hearts of Oak.
3. Ofei Ansah – He was a versatile defender, who played in both the left and the right fullback positions. Ofei was part of the of the Hearts of Oak team that finished runners-up twice in the 1970’s and also won several league titles and FA Cups with the Phobians. The hard-tackling defender won the 1978 and 1982 Africa Cup of Nations with the Black Stars.
4. Jacob Netteh – He was the skipper of the all-conquering Hearts of Oak team in 2000-won the Champions League, CAF Super Cup, several League and FA Cup titles as the leader of the playing body of Hearts of Oak. His performance also earned him a call-up to the Black Stars in his heydays.
5. Addo Odametey – The centre back has a good sense of judgement of the game. He once captained Hearts of Oak and also led Ghana to win the 1965 AFCON in Tunisia. He won league and FA Cup titles with Hearts of Oak and again won several FA Cup medals and a lea.gue title when he was transferred to Real Republicans.
6. Adolf Armah – The mercurial midfielder is rated by his teammates at Hearts of Oak and Black Stars to be one of the finest creative midfielders Ghana has ever produced. He was part of the successful Hearts of Oak era in the 1970’s and also won the Africa Cup of Nations with the Black Stars in 1978, emerging as one of the star men of the tournament.
7. Ofei Dodoo – Nicknamed the ‘Little Bird’ was a winger. He was part of the Hearts of Oak team that won the maiden topflight league in Ghana and also contributed immensely to the Black Stars triumph in 1963 in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
8. Emmanuel Osei Kuffour – The supporting striker paid his dues to the club winning several league titles and FA Cups, after joining them from Ebusua Dwarfs. He was instrumental in helping the team win a historic treble in 2000- won the CAF Champions League, the Ghana Premier League and the FA Cup. Osei Kuffour crowned the Champions League title with the top scorer’s award with ten goals scoring in both the home and the away games to condemn Esperance in the final.
9. Ishmael Addo – He was a genius scorer of his days, making the news as the first player to win the top scorer award in the Ghana Premier League on three consecutive occasions and equalled the feat of Dan Owusu in the 1980’s as the only player to do so. Addo played a major role in helping Hearts of Oak win the treble in 2000 and also scored in Tunis and Accra against Esperance in the CAF Champions League final.
10. Shamo Quaye – The attacking midfielder excited a lot of soccer fans in the country and his memory is still fresh in the minds of football loving fans, because his presence in the Hearts of Oak team intensified the rivalry between Hearts and Kotoko. He won league title and FA Cups with the Phobians. Shamo Quaye also had stint with the Black Stars
11. Mohammed Polo – The dribbling magician as he was affectionately called is the most creative player Accra Hearts of Oak has ever produced. He joined the team in the early 1970’s and in 1973 he was voted the footballer of the Year by the Sporst Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) in its maiden awards night. Mohammed Polo was part of the fearsome five of Hearts of Oat- the team that tormented their rivals Asante Kotoko in the 1970’s. Polo was also part of the Black Stars team that won the 1978 AFCON on home soil.
Substitutes: Dodoo Ankrah, Dan Quaye, Amankwah Mireku,Hesse Odamtey Sanni Wahab, Dong Bortey, Peter Lamptey, Robert Hammond, Mama Acquah, Anas Seidu, Charles Allotey, Joe Ansah, Mahatma Otoo, C.K Gyamfi, Aggrey Fyn, Adu Darko, Charles Taylor.
Criteria used to select Hearts’ finest are:
Position, national teams contribution, commitment and number of seasons played for the club and individual brilliance.
