| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1982-07-30)30 July 1982 (age 43) | ||
| Place of birth | Accra, Ghana | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1999 | Hearts of Oak | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1999–2002 | Hearts of Oak | 71 | (64) |
| 2002 | →Bastia (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2002–2004 | Maccabi Netanya | 48 | (13) |
| 2004–2005 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 13 | (1) |
| 2005 | →Ergotelis (loan) | 15 | (1) |
| 2005–2006 | Enosis Neon Paralimni | 1 | (0) |
| 2006–2008 | Hearts of Oak | 53 | (39) |
| 2008–2009 | East Bengal | 4 | (2) |
| 2011 | Wassaman United | 0 | (0) |
| 2015 | Eleven Wonders | ||
| International career | |||
| Ghana U17 | |||
| Ghana U20 | |||
| 2000–2002 | Ghana | 9 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ishmael Addo (born 30 July 1982) is a Ghanaian former professionalfootballer who played as astriker. He is best known for his accomplishments during his career at Ghanaian sideHearts of Oak, but has also spent several years in France, Israel, Greece, Cyprus and India. A diminutive striker with an exceptional turn of pace, Addo's ability to score goals and demoralise the opposition has led to him earning the nickname "baby-faced assassin".[1] Holding the record of overall top scorer in the history of theGhanaian League (22 goals in a single season), he is considered to be one of the most talented strikers ever to grace the competition.[2] At some point during his career, Addo was named inFIFA's top 100 prospects.[1]
Addo started his professional football career at Ghana'sHearts of Oak in 1998, where he remained for four seasons, in three of which he finished the country's top scorer.[1] During his spell with the club, he won the2000 CAF Champions League and2001 Super Cup, fourGhanaian League championships (1997–98, 1999, 2000, 2001) and twoGhanaian FA Cups (1999, 2000). In his final playing year with Hearts of Oak, Addo broke the Ghanaian League season top-scorer record with 22 goals,[2] thus helping his side win the league and cup double.[1] During that same season, he scored two late, controversial goals for Hearts of Oak to defeat arch-rivalsAsante Kotoko 2–1, in a match that was marred bythe worst stadium disaster ever to take place in Africa.[3]
After an unsuccessful loan spell at French clubSC Bastia, Addo was signed by Israeli sideMaccabi Netanya during the summer of 2002.[1] He opened his account for his new club with a hat-trick in a cup game in his second start, and ended up scoring eight goals in 19 league appearances in his debut season.[1] His second season with Maccabi Netanya did not go as smoothly, as he struggled to find the net during a difficult season for the club. His eventual tally of five goals were not enough to save the club from relegation. Addo had however already drawn the attention of Israeli clubMaccabi Tel Aviv, joining the side in July 2004. He made an immediate impact at the start of the new season with a goal on his debut in a 2–1 win against Greek clubPAOK during the2004–05 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.[1][4] He went on to feature in all sixUEFA Champions League group stage matches, without however scoring a goal.[5]
After struggling to establish himself in the Maccabi Tel Aviv first team, Addo was loaned out toGreek Superleague clubErgotelis in January 2005 until the end of the season. He scored his only goal in 15 caps for the club on 20 February 2005, in a 2–1 victory over reigning championsOlympiacos.[6] He then moved to Cyprus signing withCypriot First Division sideEnosis Neon Paralimni, but after spending yet another season struggling, he decided to return to Ghana and his first clubHearts of Oak in October 2006.[1]
Addo spent the next two years at theGhanaian League club adding one more Ghanaian League championship to his palmarès in 2007. He left Hearts of Oak in 2008 and signed withIndian top flight sideEast Bengal in 2008, joining compatriotYusif Yakubu at the club.[1][7] He was released from his contract at the end of the season in 2009, after failing to impress the club, who fielded him as a midfielder, despite the fact he had proven to be more efficient as a striker throughout his career.[8]
After spending the next two years without a club, Addo had a short stint with newly promotedGhanaian Premier League sideWassaman United.[9] He left the eventually relegated club in 2011 and was once again unattached until January 2015, when he signed with second-tier Ghanaian clubEleven Wonders.[10]
Addo was a key member of theGhanaian U-17 team that reached theFIFA U-17 World Championship semifinals inNew Zealand. He won the golden boot award, scoring seven goals that helpedGhana to an impressive third-place finish.[11]
Addo made hissenior debut in July 2000 at the age of 17, also managing to score his first goal againstSierra Leone during the2002 World Cup CAF qualification final round.[1][12] He went on to have 9 appearances for the black stars.[13]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 July 2000 | Accra Sports Stadium,Accra |  Sierra Leone | 5–0 | 5–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
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