A diminutive striker with an awesome turn of pace, Ishmael Addo's ability to score goals and demoralise is opponents has led to him earning the nickname 'the baby-faced assassin'.
National side
Addo was the top-scorer in the 1998/99 FIFA Under-17s World Cup and his seven goals helped Ghana to an impressive third place. Went on to play for the U21 side that reached the FIFA World Youth Championship final in Argentina in 2001, a year after he had scored on his senior debut against Sierra Leone, aged 17.
Club
Started his career at Ghana's fabled Hearts of Oak FC club in 1998, where he remained for four seasons, in three of which he finished the country's top scorer. In his final year, Addo's 22 goals helped the side win the League and Cup double, to add to the African Super Cup he had won in 2000.
2002: After an unsuccessful loan spell at French club SC Bastia, the Ghanaian striker was signed by Maccabi Netanya FC during the summer. He opened his account for his new club with a hat-trick in a cup game in only his second start, and scored eight goals in 19 league appearances in his debut season.
2003/04: Struggled to find the net in a difficult season, and his five goals were not enough to save the club from relegation. That did not put off Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC though and he joined the side in July and made an immediate impact at the start of the new season with a goal on his Tel-Aviv debut in a 2-1 win against FC PAOK Thessaloniki in UEFA Champions League qualifying.
Did you know?
Addo was once named in FIFA's top 100 prospects.
- January 2004: Signed by Greek club Ergotelis on a one year deal. The 23-year-old signs from the Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv, where he struggled to establish himself in the first team.
- 2006: Returned to Ghana after failure to make it in Europe
- Oct '06: Signed with hearts of oak
- Dec. 2008: Striker Ishmael Addo has continued his club globe trotting career by signing for Indian top flight side East Bengal. The 26-year-old former Hearts of Oak player signed a one-year contract to join compatriot Yusif Yakubu at the club.