 |
Stanley AborahBelgian footballer of Ghanaian origin, midfielder
Date of Birth: 23.06.1987
Country:  Ghana |
Content:
Birth and Early Life
Stanley Aborah was born on June 23, 1987, in Kumasi, Ghana, to a footballing father, Stanley Aborah Sr., who was then playing for local club Asante Kotoko. In the early 1990s, Stanley and his family moved to Belgium, where his father played for Cappellen.
Club Career
AjaxAt the age of 9, Aborah joined the youth academy of Cappellen, where he spent four and a half years before moving to Anderlecht. He then played for Gent and Germinal Beerschot before joining Ajax's football academy in 2001, moving to the Netherlands.
Ajax Reserves
At Ajax, the 14-year-old Aborah impressed in an international youth tournament in Italy. Due to Ajax's partnership with the Belgian club, acquiring the young player was straightforward. Stanley began playing for Ajax B1 under the guidance of Wim Kwakman and won the Dutch U-17 championship in his first season.
In July 2004, Aborah signed his first professional contract with Ajax and was promoted to the club's reserve team, Jong Ajax, under the management of John van 't Schip and Marco van Basten, with the latter leaving the club in late July to coach the Netherlands national team. New reserve team additions included Kenneth Vermeer, Jerginho Sahadewsing, and Emmanuel Boakye.
Ajax First Team
In October 2004, manager Ronald Koeman promoted the 17-year-old Aborah to the first team. This was largely due to injuries to key players Rafael van der Vaart and Tomáš Galásek.
Aborah's debut came on October 16 in an Eredivisie match against Heerenveen. He started on the bench but entered the game in the second half when Ajax were already trailing 2-1. Replacing defender Escudé, Stanley played too deep and ineffectively. Near the end of the match, Selaković scored the third goal, giving Heerenveen an away victory and Ajax their first league defeat of the season.
Three days later, on October 19, Stanley made his UEFA Champions League debut against Maccabi Tel Aviv. As in the previous match, he was among the substitutes and appeared in the second half, again replacing team captain van der Vaart. In the first half, Koeman's players had effectively decided the match, scoring three goals against Strauber. In the middle of the second half, Koeman made three substitutions, bringing on young players Buhary, Aborah, and de Ridder. Stanley, playing in attack, had several chances to make a difference, but the score remained unchanged. After the game, Koeman praised his young player: "This is a very talented player, who is only 17. He is physically strong, has pace, and he has a big future."
Before the end of the year, Aborah made two more appearances for Ajax, in matches against PSV and Rozen
