For many players in the Ghana Premier League, the shortest route to stardom is scoring against one of Hearts of Oak or Asante Kotoko. Better yet, do it against both behemoths.
It's an old trick in the book. But it is not exactly easy to pull off.
This season, a high school graduate from T. I Ahmadiyyah, named Prince Tweneboah has dusted off the rule book from Methuselah's shelves and executed it masterfully.
Tweneboah first announced himself on the big stage when he scored two minutes into his league debut against Hearts of Oak at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Eighteen year old Prince Tweneboah (right) celebrates after scoring the first and the fastest goal of the season against Hearts of Oak
For that goal, he used his pace and brilliant interpretation of space to great effect. When the chance eventually came, he glanced it home with a fine header.
On Sunday, he came up clutch again when he stabbed him from close range to deny Asante Kotoko the maximum points.
With the two goals, Tweneboah has singularly ensured that Holy Stars have picked up four points from the league's elite, in their debut season. Unsurprisingly, people have begun to pay attention.
While the future is uncertain, one of two things can happen; build on this and become a bonafide legend, or crumble under the weight of expectation.
In that sense, Reuben Senyo, Kwame Obeng Darko, Eric Gawu 'Gatete', and Mark Adu Amofah 'Shaffa' are cautionary tales.
If wishes were horses, Tweneboah would imitate Adu Amofah.
Adu Amofa (in front) is joined by teammates Kwabena Dodzie (kneeling behind him), Charles Taylor (right of Amofa), Nana Arhin Duah (left of Amofa) and the late Michael Asante (behind them) as he celebrates his goal against ASEC Mimosas in the CAF Champions League in 2006
In Obeng Darkoh's case, a hat trick against Asante Kotoko in 2004 elevated him beyond his abilities. Darko's association with the stables that produced Asamoah Gyan, Mark Adu Amofah, and later Eric Bekoe, gave him even more credibility.
The fact that he was coached by the late Jones Attuquayefio at the time, also gave him an extra layer of approval. That was not all.
Between 1999 and 2006, Kotoko signed a million players right after they excelled against them. Aziz Ansah (Great Olympics), Stephen Oduro (RTU), Ofosu Amoah (AshantiGold), Charles Taylor (Hearts of Oak), and Yusif Alhassan Chibsah (King Faisal) are examples.
Before long, it became the club's transfer policy.
So, signing ''Baby Rooney'', as he was affectionately called, was the latest in Kotoko's habit of impulse buying.
How did it end? It was an unmitigated disaster. By 2008, Kotoko had offered him as a makeweight in the deal for Alex Asamoah. Darko refused to go and a year later, he filed for floating status away from Kotoko who did not want to have anything to do with him.
Or, Tweneboah could emulate Adu Amofa. Poached from Real Sportive, Amofah would go on to score 21 goals for the Porcupine Warriors over eighteen months. Although his stint was brief, Amofah won hearts for his penchant for scoring important goals.
Before he became fan favorite in Kumasi, Mark Adu Amofa (fourth in the standing row from right) lined up alongside Charles Vardis and Esme Mends for Real Sportive.
Tweneboah does not have Amofah's combination of supreme technical ability and athleticism. But he has time. Time to develop his game into a fine forward who presents attacking solutions for multiple teams.
Fortunately for Tweneboah, no one has been crazy enough to compare him to the greats of the game. That has allowed him to quietly go about his business without any unnecessary expectations or attention.
He may have left high school only a year ago, but Tweneboah's swift adaptation to the elite ranks has been striking.
Thus far, he has been involved in all goals (four) scored by Holy Stars.
With some luck, this precocious teenager may be more than a reminder of what was before.
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