George Alhassan, nicknamed Jair referring to

Jairzinho Jair Ventura Filho (born 25 December 1944), better known as Jairzinho (), is a Brazilian former footballer. A quick, skillful, and powerful right winger known for his finishing ability and eye for goal, he was a key member and top scorer of th ...

is a retired

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

ian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

. He is best known for his exploits in the 1982 Africa Cup of Nations which saw him lift the trophy for the second time in his career. During his career he played in Ghana, Gabon and Korea. He was given the nickname Jair, due to a similar style of play to the Brazilian player

Club career

Alhassan played for Accra Great Olympics from 1974 to 1982 and later returned to play in 1985 to 1990. In the process he won the Ghana Premier League in his debut season in 1974. From 1982 to 1984, he played for

FC 105 Libreville Football Canon 105 de Libreville or simply FC 105 Libreville is a Gabonese football club based in Libreville. It was founded in 1975 as is the club of the army and the police. They play at the Stade Omar Bongo. Achievements *Gabon Championnat Na ...

in Gabon, where he won two trophies, the

Gabon Championnat National D1 Gabon Championnat National D1 is the top division of the Gabonese Football Federation, it was created in 1968. Gabon Championnat National D1 Clubs - 2015/16 * Bitam ( Bitam) * Cercle Mbéri Sportif (Libreville) * FC 105 Libreville (Libreville) ...

in 1983 and the

Coupe du Gabon Interclubs The Coupe du Gabon Interclubs is the top knockout tournament of the Gabonese football. Winners *1961-63 : ''unknown'' *1964 : AS Mangasport (Moanda) *1965-77 : ''unknown'' *1978 : AS Stade Mandji (Ogooué-Maritime) *1979 : AS Stade Mandji (Ogo ...

in 1984.

International career

Alhassan made several appearances for the

Ghana national football team The Ghana national football team represents Ghana in men's international football, doing it since 1957. The team consists of twenty players including the technical team. The team is nicknamed the Black Stars after the Black Star of Africa in ...

, including qualifying matches for several

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

s. In 1978, he played for the Ghana squad who won the African Cup of Nations in home soil. Four years later he helped Ghana regain the title successfully, being the top scorer of the tournament with four goals, including two against

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

in the semifinal and one in the final against hosts

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

Personal life

George is the father of

Kalif Alhassan Kalif Alhassan (born 15 October 1990 in Accra) is a Ghanaian footballer who plays for PDX FC in USL League Two. Career Professional Alhassan began his career with Ghana Premier League side Liberty Professionals in 2007, helping the club to th ...

, a professional football player in the United States with

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Champions ...

After retirement

In October 2020, he was appointed as the Welfare Officer of his former club Accra Great Olympics.

Honours

Club

Great Olympics *

Ghana Premier League The is the top professional association football division of the football league system in Ghana. Officially formed in 1956 to replace a previous league incarnation, the Gold Coast Club Competition (which began in 1933 and ended in 1953–54), t ...

: 1974 FC 105 Libreville *

: 1983 *

: 1984

International

Ghana *

African Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

Individual

Golden boot:

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...

Team of the Tournament:

Top scorer: 1977, 1985 *

References

External links

*
I couldn't play in Korea due to pork meat- Ex-Ghana top scorer - George Alhassan Interview

1955 births Living people Africa Cup of Nations-winning players Ghanaian footballers Ghanaian expatriate footballers Ghana international footballers 1978 African Cup of Nations players 1982 African Cup of Nations players 1984 African Cup of Nations players Ulsan Hyundai FC players K. Berchem Sport players K League 1 players FC 105 Libreville players Expatriate footballers in Gabon Expatriate footballers in South Korea Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Gabon Accra Great Olympics F.C. players Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in South Korea Association football forwards Accra Great Olympics F.C. non-playing staff Ghana Premier League top scorers {{Ghana-footy-bio-stub