Emmanuel Boakye

Football player infobox| playername= Ymmi Boakye
fullname = Emmanuel Kwame Agyeman Boakye
nickname =


dateofbirth = birth date and age|1985|3|25
cityofbirth = Ejura
countryofbirth = Ghana
height = 1.73m
nickname =
currentclub = Heracles Almelo
clubnumber = 2
position = Defender
years = 2005-2007
2006-2007
2007-
clubs = Ajax Amsterdam
Heracles Almelo "(loan)"
Heracles Almelo
caps(goals) = 6 (0)
30 (0)
0 (0)
nationalyears =2007–present
nationalteam = flagicon|Ghana Ghana U-23
nationalnumber =
nationalcaps(goals) = 2 0(0)
pcupdate = 02:16, 30 May 2007 (UTC)
ntupdate = May 30, 2007

Emmanuel Boakye "(pronounced 'Bo-ah-chee')" (born March 25, 1985 in Ejura, Ghana) is a Ghanaian footballer who plays as a defender for Heracles Almelo [cite news | date=2007-06-24 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/6237300.stm | title=Boakye gets permanent Almelo deal | publisher=bbc.co.uk | accessdate=2007-06-24] in the Dutch Eredivisie.

Club career

A strong, confident and aggressive attacking Right Back, with lots of speed and skill, Boakye moved to The Netherlands in 1993, and played for amateur side Zuidvogels (from the town of Huizen) as a child and moved to FC Utrecht youth as a teenager. Ajax scouts discovered him in 2000. The defender, who can play as a right fullback but also in the center of defense, joined the Ajax B1 youth team in 2000.

Boakye was first added to the Ajax-1 squad in the fall of 2005 by head-coach Danny Blind, as many Ajax defenders were injured or suspended at the time. [ [http://english.ajax.nl/web/show/id=154814/contentid=41788 first selection] , ajax.nl] The youngster made his first team début on 24 September 2005 in the Eredivisie home game against Roda JC. In total, Emmanuel Boakye had six appearances for Ajax in the Eredivisie, plus another four in the post-season Eredivisie play-offs and one in the Dutch Cup competition.

Ajax offered the player a contract renewal in April 2006 [cite news | date=2006-04-04 |url=http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=376702&CPID=9&clid=&lid=&title=New%20deal%20for%20Ajax%20defender | title=New deal for Ajax Defender | publisher=skysports.com | accessdate=2006-04-04] [cite news | date=2006-04-03 |url=http://www.ajax-usa.com/news/2005-2006/boakye-pens-new-deal-and-joins-first-squad.html | title=Boakye pens new deal and joins first squad | publisher=ajax-usa.com | accessdate=2006-04-03] , and the Ghanaian started the new season with the first squad, but at the end of the pre-season campaign Ajax and the player agreed that a transfer on loan would be best for his development. [ [http://english.ajax.nl/web/show/id=154814/contentid=46544 contract renewal] , ajax.nl] Boakye was soon linked with two Eredivisie outfits. When Sparta Rotterdam lost interest the choice for Heracles Almelo was easily made.

On 10 August, 2006, Ajax defender Boakye was loaned out to Eredivisie side Heracles Almelo [cite news | date=2006-08-10 |url=http://www.ajax-usa.com/news/2006-2007/boakye-loaned-out-to-heracles-for-one-season.html | title=Boakye loaned out to Heracles for one season | publisher=ajax-usa.com | accessdate=2006-08-10] for the remainder of the 2006-2007 season, officially until 30 June, 2007 [cite news | date=2006-08-09 |url=http://www.heracles.nl/b9032c59-1854-4285-a3a2-b1c0446f321f.aspx?newsId=1877 | title=Boakye naar Heracles Almelo | publisher=ajax-usa.com | accessdate=2006-08-09] . Ajax and Heracles agreed a one year loan deal, effective immediately. The Ghanaian defender extended his Ajax contract until 2008 in April 2006, but would not have seen much action in Amsterdam this season, with defenders such as Jaap Stam, Thomas Vermaelen, Johnny Heitinga and George Ogararu above him in Henk ten Cate's pecking order.

On 18 June, 2007, Boakye made his loan move permanent, sealing a three-year deal with Heracles Almelo from rivals Ajax Amsterdam. He made 31 appearances whilst on loan at Heracles. "We are extremely happy that we could sign such a young and good defender for three years," Heracles Almelo director Nico Jan Hoogma said. "The competition for him was fierce but we nevertheless managed to do it." [cite news | date=2007-06-19 |url= http://www.voetbalkrant.com/index.php?menu=Nieuws&pag=Lezen&nieuws=150662 | title= Boakye definitief naar Heracles | publisher=voetbalkrant.com | accessdate=2007-06-19] Boakye opted for Almelo despite offers from Feyenoord, AZ Alkmaar and SC Heerenveen [cite news | date=2007-06-07 |url= http://www.v-bal.nl/nieuws/bekijk.php?id=24670 | title= 'Heerenveen meldt zich bij Ajax voor Boakye' | publisher=v-bal.nl | accessdate=2007-06-07] [cite news | date=2007-06-07 |url=http://www.soccernews.nl/news/30121 | title= Heerenveen meldt zich voor Boakye | publisher=soccernews.nl | accessdate=2007-06-07] .

Opting for Ghana

On 11 November, 2006, Boakye told football magazine "Elf" that he has chosen to represent the National team of Ghana. [cite news | date=2006-11-11 |url=http://www.voetbalzone.nl/doc.asp?uid=34753 | title=Boakye: ‘Ik heb voor Ghana gekozen’ | publisher=voetbalzone.com | accessdate=2006-11-11] .

Nevertheless, the 21 year old player of Heracles Almelo, on loan from Ajax Amsterdam, will get his Dutch passport in December 2006 [cite news | date=2007-01-24 |url=http://www.heracles.nl/b9032c59-1854-4285-a3a2-b1c0446f321f.aspx?newsId=2350 | title=Emmanuel Boakye genaturaliseerd! | publisher=heracles.nl | accessdate=2007-01-24] .

'This is how i feel. It was a difficult decision, but I was born in Ghana and almost all my whole family still lives there. I gladly want to defend their honour. I understand that they follow my progress now. I secretly hope to participate in the All-African Games Under-23 in Algeria 2007. But the 2008 Olympic Games and the 2008 African Cup of Nations is also a big experience for me. The African Cup takes place in next year Ghana', says Boakye.

International career

[cite news | date=2007-01-19 |url=http://ghanafa.org/news/read.asp?contentid=1699 | title=Players called up for Olympic duty | publisher=ghanafa.com | accessdate=2007-01-19] On Friday 19 January 2007, Boakye was called up by Ghana Olympic Coach Jones Attuquayefio into the Ghana Olympic squad [cite news | date=2007-01-20 |url=http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/SportsArchive/artikel.php?ID=117619 | title=28 called up for Black Meteors | publisher=ghanaweb.com | accessdate=2007-01-20] , known as the "Black Meteors" for the 2-legged qualifying match against Burkina Faso's Olympic team in the qualification for the 2008 Summer Olympics Games. Boakye told "Voetbal International" that he gladly wants to play for his fatherland. 'This is a dream come true', said the player of Ajax to [http://www.vi.nl/vi/show/id=62802/contentid=89045/sc=16091a VI.nl] [cite news | date=2007-01-25 |url=http://www.vi.nl/vi/show/id=62802/contentid=89045/sc=16091a | title=Boakye maakt debuut in selectie Jong Ghana | publisher=vi.nl | accessdate=2007-01-25] . He made his debut in that game against Burkina Faso.

Major Honors

;Club

flagicon|NED Ajax Amsterdam
* KNVB Cup Winner: 2006

External links

* [http://www.ajax.nl/web/show/id=45609/dbid=5599/team=1/typeofpage=55719 Official Ajax profile]
* [http://www.heracles.nl/1b82ff1b-d487-40b1-a9ea-086a7bfa6020.aspx?SpelerId=29 Heracles Profile]
* [http://discussions.ghanaweb.com/viewforum.php?f=2/ Ghanaweb Football Forum] - Ghana Football Fan Forum
* [http://www.ghanafa.org/ Ghana Football Association] - official website

References