FM10: The Ayew family

FM players following European football in the early nineties will probably remember a certain Abedi "Pele" Ayew, one of the star players of French outfit Olympique Marseille at the time. He was the man of the match in the only European Champions league win of a French team ever in 1993 and is one of the most decorated African players in history.

His feud with Anthony Yeboah stands for the darkest period of the Ghanaian national team though, the Black Stars as the former monolithic giants of African football crumbled into just another inconsistent wannabe.

Today Abedi Ayew is the chairman of Nania FC, a club in the second division in Ghana ( for UK residents: first division, similar to the Coca Cola Championship, get your labeling right already ! )

His brother Kwame Ayew is still an active player in FM10, having featured for Portugese sides Setubal, Boavista and Sporting. He's out of contract at the start of the game, screen:

Much more interesting for the FM10 player are the three sons of Abedi though.

Ibrahim "Rahim" Ayew is the oldest one. He played for the Ghanaian CHAN ( basically an African Cup of Nations for players under contract on the continent ) team reaching the final of the first edition of the tournament and is currently under contract at Egyptian giants Zamalek FC.

This is Rahim straight out of the Black Stars' training grounds in Cabinda, Angola at the African Cup of Nations:

( pic: ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP/Getty Images )

Abedi's other two sons Andre "Dede" and Jordan Ayew went through the youth system of Olympique Marseille.

Dede has impressed in the UEFA Champions League under coach Gerets at the age of 18 and was a squad player for the Black Stars of Ghana at the African Cup of Nations in 2008. His club career has been somewhat undewhelming since then, after a loan to Ligue 1 side Lorient he fell victim to the manager and strategy change at Marseille. Currently he is on loan to Ligue 2 outfit AC Arles Avignon.

In 2009 he captained the Black Satellites ( Ghana U20 ) to the African and World Cup titles, the first ever for an African team. Just like his father he plays best as a left winger.

Like father like son:

Stats at the start of the game:

In 10.2 he has a fixed PA of

in 10.0 he's a

Andre and Jordan both had decent potential in '09, never managed to get it out of them, like.

Remember seeing Andre for Ghana at the ACN a few years back, always kept an eye open for him but I've never seen him since, unfortunately. Was he good enough to play back then, or were Ghana just sealing his nationality incase he was eligible for France?

Anyway, Andre looks alright, I always look at Gadi on FM10 and he reminds me of Andre on 09, for some reason.

nice thread... +10

but -5 for using those silly bars instead of numerical stats

Andre was a star for the Black Starlets that won the u-20 WC this year and a fixture in the Black Stars squad...

Jordan is the youngest of the Ayew brothers and still with OM. He scored the equalizer in his debut for the seniour team, paving the way for an 2:1 away win over FC Lorient.

Screen at the start of the game:

His PA is:

I wouldn't be suprised to see it increased one notch in FM2011 or some database patch though.

Note: To my knowledge he has not declared his allegiance to Ghana yet.

How do you play with those bars?!

please change from bars!

Good thread. Shame about the bars, but I guess it's all a matter of opinion.

Interesting OP. But changing the bars and including a photo of Ibrahim Ayew will help.

Yeah I remember there was a massive hype about Andre Ayew at the last African Nations Cup but never really stood out whenever I saw him, he clearly has potential but reminds me of a poorer version of Theo Walcott.

Yeah I remember there was a massive hype about Andre Ayew at the last African Nations Cup but never really stood out whenever I saw him, he clearly has potential but reminds me of a poorer version of Theo Walcott.

Well, he was barely 18 back then ( genuine, born in France ), so his little impact back then is not much of a suprise. He had a couple good matches for Marseille in Ligue 1 and even the Champions League, but somehow fell off the road when the club's ambitions shot into the sky again.

The performances on loan at Lorient and so far Arles Avignon have been somewhat disappointing. Imho he's somewhat similar to his former teammate at Marseille, Mathieu Valbuena, in that his contribution is often not that appearant and he needs his teammates to exploit the spaces he creates.

For the national team he's currently shaping up to be the spiritual successor of Stephen Appiah rather than his father. "Tornado" Appiah has never been the most individually brilliant player on the team, but his unwavering commitment and leadership on and off the pitch have shaped him into an iconic figure for Ghanaian fans and players alike. Abedi "Pele" Ayew otoh certainly was the star of his generation, even ahead of Tony Yeboah. The infight between the two of them along with political turmoil in Ghana, albeit mild by African standards, lead to the former monolithic giants of African football turning into one team amongst many.

Andre Ayew has already captained the U20 to two major international titles, something his father never managed in seniour football. According to interviews and reports I hear from the camp in Angola "Dede" is quite influential already with the seniour team as well, despite his age.

Ok, I see I went on a rant again, by the forum rules this probably doesn't even belong here. What I actually wanted to post is that I will add screenshots with numbers once I find the time.

PS: Andre and Rahim are with the Ghana squad at the African Cup of Nations and given the injury situation might be looking at some substantial playing time.