Former Chelsea and Real Madrid midfielder Michael Essien claims it was an honour to play for the senior national team of Ghana, the Black Stars. The 37-year-old made 58 appearances and scored nine goals for the Black Stars before announcing his retirement two years ago. He represented Ghana at three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments as well as two FIFA World Cup tournaments (2006 and 2014). "It was an honour to play for the Black Stars. It is the dream of every young footballer and thankfully I realized mine," Essien told Carol Tshabalala in an interview. "It was a pleasure to represent my country. I'm lucky because I'm the only player who has represented the country at every stage, starting from the U12, U15, U17, U20 to the Olympics Games with the U23 and straight to the Black Stars. I think I've done enough." He added, "We looked up to Appiah during the 2006 World Cup qualifiers. He was a great leader and person." "He united and urged us to do everything in our power to qualify the country to the World Cup." Essien currently plays for Sabail FK in Azerbaijan. He has previously played for clubs including Liberty Professionals, Bastia, Lyon, Chelsea, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Panathinaikos, and Persib Bandung.
It was an honour to play for Black Stars - Former Chelsea ace Michael Essien
