A former teammate of Bernard Dong Bortey, Emmanuel Osei Kuffour, Dan Quay, Sani Mohammed, Prince Tagoe and all the members of the triumphant 2004/05 CAF Confederation Cup squad of the Glorious Club of Ghana.
His name only suggested he is a Muslim. That was enough for many.
But little was known about his family background.
He looked gorgeous in the colourful Rainbow Jersey of Accra Hearts of Oak, but little did many know he is a Bissa.
He was only called Adnan Ali, but little did many know he is the son of the Ali Dabre Palace.
More than 15 years after writing his name in the annals of Ghana football, Bissanewsonline on Saturday met with the former Accra Hearts of Oak player Adnan Ali Dabre, reminiscing the midfielder’s days on the field of play in the rainbow colours.
It was a very nostalgic moment for bissanewsonline (BNO) editor Abdul Malik Guerm, who for many years had been asking of the whereabouts of Ali, who joined Hearts of Oak at a tender age.
The editor was at the Ali Dabre Palace for a program but will unsuspectingly meet the footballer, who now lives in Japan.
He just returned to Ghana to spend some holidays with family.
He was too shy to grant an interview the BNO but was ok to pose for photos with the editor.
Adnan Ali, who is the son of late Chief Ali Dabre I, joined Accra Hearts of Oak in 2003 as one of many young footballers who were recruited to augment the team under the tutelage of late Coach Herbert Addo.
His Bissa side was not known by many, especially those outside Accra, as he did not have the “Dabre” appellation attached to his name.
“He didn’t add “Dabre” to his name so many don’t know he is from this noble house,” his elder brother Chief Mohammed Ali Dabre III said in an interaction with Bissanewsonline.
Tough on the ball with superior aerial ability and appreciable passing accuracy, Ali in most occasions made it into the the 18 man squad of Accra Hearts of Oak.
He is a man of few words now but has a success story with the arguably the greatest club in Ghana.
He played a huge part in the 2003 season where the Phobians went unbeaten in the full 30 league matches, winning 13 and drawing 17 to place second to Kotoko.
He and the likes of Eric Nyarko, Frank Kornu, Frank Twum, Emmanuel Addo and Azumah Nelson were among the “young turks” to join the Phobians in their quest to conquer Africa, a move which became successful a year later.
Adnan Ali was among the unused registered players of the 2004 CAF Confederation Cup squad that defeated Asante Kotoko in that famous fratricidal final in Kumasi, where the Phobians demonstrated their supremacy over their perennial rivals.
He spent three seasons with the Phobians from 2003 to 2005, and was part of the triumphant league winning team when Hearts defeated Kotoko by a lone goal in the finals of the 2004 Novelty league, led by legendary Coach Cecil Jones Attuquaufio.
The Dabre man was signed by Coach Herbert Addo, survived the Challenges to play under Coach Ernst Middendorp and became a legend under Coach Jones Attuquaufio.
Adnan Ali, a son to a Bissa Chief and still a Bissa Chief, a former player to Accra Hearts of Oak and an Icon in the Bissa fraternity.
Story by Fiifi Abdul Malik
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