'Dynamite in both legs' - Brian Deane recalls Tony Yeboah's legendary Leeds United spell - Leeds Live 22/9/22


Brian Deane has recalled his time alongside the explosive Ghana forward at Elland Road

Former Leeds United forward Tony Yeboah is responsible for arguably two of the greatest goals ever scored in the Premier League.

His explosive long-range volley which cannoned in off the crossbar and beyond Liverpool goalkeeper David James has gone down as one of the defining moments in Premier League history.

Just four weeks later, Yeboah plucked the ball from out of the air, jinked past his marker and unleashed an unstoppable rocket on the half volley past Paul Heald on his way to a hat-trick at Wimbledon.

Both goals added to the legend of one of the most intriguing talents to arrive on British shores and Brian Deane had a front row seat on his journey to stardom at Elland Road.

"He had dynamite in both legs! As a player, he was a phenomenal talent," Deane revealed in an interview with FourFourTwo.

"One of the best things about Tony was that he’d score a goal out of nothing. He often took the pressure off others, because we knew he could save us if we needed a bit of magic.

"He was so good at centre-forward that I got moved out wide to accommodate him. But I was happy to play alongside him. I’ve played with some terrific strikers, but he’s up there with the very best."

Yeboah had pedigree when he swapped the financial capital of Europe in Frankfurt for Leeds of West Yorkshire. He had won the Bundesliga golden boot in back-to-back seasons in 1993 and 1994 respectively and was also voted ninth in the race for the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1993.

His two seasons under Howard Wilkinson saw Yeboah showcase his elite quality in England. Thirty-two goals, three hat-tricks and two Goal of the Month awards followed and had it not been for his injuries then his impact could've been even more emphatic.

George Graham never saw eye-to-eye with Yeboah and played the Ghanaian international just six times. It was an unceremonious end to an unforgettable period for Yeboah, which had seen Leeds finish fifth in successive seasons, reach the League Cup final and qualify for the UEFA Cup.

Yeboah went onto play at the highest level for another five seasons with Hamburg and spent the final year of his career in Qatar, where he lifted both the Qatar Stars League and Emir of Qatar Cup with Al Ittihad.

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