No list of all-time Premier League goals can be complete without Tony Yeboah’s memorable screamer against Liverpool in August 1995.
As the ball dropped out of the Elland Road sky, Yeboah took a step back and smashed a volley off the underside of the bar and into the back of the net.
Despite making only 47 Premier League appearances across three seasons, it was this epic moment amongst others that left Yeboah with a lasting legacy in Leeds and Premier League folklore.
But the Yeboah legacy does not end there.
Now, there’s a new Yeboah on the block aiming for his own glory, as Tony’s nephew Kelvin hopes to claim MLS Cup glory with Minnesota United.
“Growing up, I remember my Dad putting on videos of my uncle playing football, and singing songs about him!” Yeboah told GOAL in 2022.
“Me and my brothers would watch these goals all the time. I especially remember seeing the goal against Liverpool.
“It was a beautiful image to have in the back of your mind all the time, of my uncle scoring goals in the Premier League.
“It was a great source of inspiration. To have someone close to you that’s already done it, it just makes you believe that maybe you can make it as a professional too.”
Kelvin arrived on U.S. soil in July but is already carving out his own name, finding the net seven times in the final nine games of the MLS regular season to help Minnesota finish sixth and qualify for the postseason.
Still just 24 years old, it has been a long route to get Yeboah to the U.S.
A striker like his uncle, Yeboah started his football journey in the West Ham academy but failed to make the grade in east London.
Happy Birthday to the man who scored one of the finest goals in Premier League history!
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) June 6, 2021
Mr Tony Yeboah 🇬🇭 🔥
This thumping goal has everything!Technique, power and a very pleasing bounce off the crossbar! 👏
🎥 @premierleague #beINPLpic.twitter.com/VEexI5X6ea
He then bounced around the lower leagues of Italy and Denmark before landing with semi-professional AC London in the ninth tier of the English football pyramid.
With enough positive momentum, Yeboah continued his career in Austria with WSG Tirol and then Sturm Graz. Still in the opening stages of his career, it was already the fourth country Yeboah had lived in following stints in his native Ghana, England, and Italy.
“Austria was a very positive experience for me at such a young age,” Yeboah said. “I learned a lot, and not just in terms of football. It taught me a lot about living by myself and just being alone.
“You learn a lot about yourself that way, so it was a fantastic journey in that sense. I really grew up.
“On the pitch, it helped me as I got so many minutes, as that really builds your confidence as a young player.”
Finally settled, Yeboah aimed even higher, heading back to Italy where he grew up to join Genoa. But things didn’t go as planned.
One season in Serie A saw Yeboah fail to find the net in 17 appearances while loans to Augsburg and Montpellier also did nothing to galvanize a stuttering career.
It was at Standard Liege – on a temporary basis – where Yeboah rediscovered his form, scoring four times in five starts in the Belgian top flight.
That was enough to convince Minnesota, in the midst of a late-season push for the playoffs, to take a chance on a player that still has not even reached his 25th birthday despite now playing for his 10th club in his seventh country.
He might seem like a journeyman already, but things are vastly different for Yeboah in the MLS. He’s in the best form of his life and became just the fourth player in the league’s history to score in five of his first six games.
“He is coming here as a marquee player,” Minnesota head coach Eric Ramsay said of Yeboah’s arrival.
A brace on his debut! 🍵
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 25, 2024
Kelvin Yeboah with a cheeky chip to level the game. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/jLwr3AEQP9
“He’s our big threat. He is our main man at the top of the pitch at the moment, so with that comes a certain amount of pressure that you imagine the top players have had to deal with their whole career.”
Kelvin, who grew up idolizing the heroics of his famous uncle, asked Tony for advice before moving to the MLS and it’s already proving to be a shrewd suggestion.
Now, everyone related to the Yeboahs will be watching along intensely as Minnesota aim to triumph over the star-studded LA Galaxy in the Conference semifinals this weekend.