Despite his young age, Ghana's forward Andre Ayew is deemed one of the most influential players in the Black Stars' squad. He seems to have inherited the football genes of his father – the legendary Abedi Pele who was voted as the African Player of the Year three times. Ayew played a pivotal role in helping Ghana collect 16 points from possible 18 in an impressive qualifying run. The In-form forward produced a string of superb displays with French giants Olympique Marseille this season, scoring six goals in 17 Ligue1 matches. Ghana, who eye their first CAN triumph since 1982, will be anticipating a similar outcome from Ayew during the upcoming edition in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. “I am nowhere close to what my Dad achieved and so I feel the good people must not compare me to him at all,” Ayew said. “He did a lot for both Ghana and Marseille but I just want to improve match after match, season after season and that is for me what is important”. Ayew was included in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) shortlist for the 2011 African Player of the Year award, which was eventually won by Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure. The Ghanaian star, who won the African youth Championship and the U-20 FIFA World Cup in 2009, is looking for his first title with the national team. He came close to realizing that aim in 2010 but Ghana suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat by Egypt in CAN final in Angola.
