Computer and Baby Jesus - Stephen Appiah reveals 'hidden' nicknames at Hearts of Oak

Former Black Stars skipper Stephen Appiah has disclosed reasons why he was nicknamed Computer and Baby Jesus during his playing days with Accra Hearts of Oak.

Born in Accra, Chorkor, Appiah began his career at the local club Hearts of Oak in 1995, at 15 years of age. In 1996, he had trials with Galatasaray's youth squad but was not signed and he returned to Hearts of Oak where he played until 1997 with 21 games and scored 19 goals.

According to Appiah, though he had a short stint with the Phobians, he was given these names due to his silky play as a youngster and the ability to split defenses with his tailored-measured passes.

Speaking to Muftawa Nabila on JoySports, the former Juventus and Fenerbache star said “I was very young and I was playing with all these top and experienced players. My performance in games was unbelievable so people were calling me Computer because they said everywhere I stand, I can gage and give a pass”, he said.

“It is called a tailored-measured pass and they changed my name to Baby Jesus because I scored all the top goalkeepers in the league including Salifu Ansah, Osei Kojo, and Edward Ansah. I was young and getting that football sense to position myself and the balls was beyond imagination”, he added. 

Appiah burst into the limelight at age 14 when he featured and helped Ghana win the FIFA U-17 World Championship tournament in 1995 after beating South American giants Brazil in the final.

He enjoyed a larger part of his European success playing in the Italian Serie A where he featured for Udinese, Parma, Brescia, Juventus, Cesena, and Bologna while he also spent three years with Turkish giants Fenerbache from 2005 to 2008. 

Appiah, 42, played for Ghana’s U17 and U20 before making his debut for the Black Stars in 1995 and retired in 2010 after the World Cup in South Africa, where capped 67 times for the Black Stars and scored 14 times. 

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