Michael Essien his power-packed performances. In the quarter-final against Nigeria, when team captain John Mensah was dismissed on the stroke of the hour for a professional foul on Nigeria's Peter Odemwingie, Essien assumed the captaincy for the remainder of the match as Ghana eventually won 2–1. He was voted as an All-Star Player during the tournament. The Team of the Tournament was decided by the Technical Study Group (TSG) after careful observations of all the tournament's matches. During an international match played against Libya on 5 September 2008, Essien ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament playing for Ghana in the World Cup qualification
Emmanuel Essien Emmanuel Essien Emmanuel Ibok Essien was elected Senator for the Akwa-Ibom North West constituency of Akwa-Ibom State, Nigeria at the start of the Nigerian Fourth Republic, running on the People's Democratic Party (PDP) platform. He took office on 29 May 1999. Essien studied Electrical/Electronics Engineering at the College of Technology, Calabar (1975 - 1977), the University of Ife (1977 - 1978) and Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, graduating in 1982 with a degree in Civil Engineering. He worked with Mobil Producing Nigerian, taught at the Federal Polytechnic, Mubi, and established an engineering construction company, as well as undertaking large-scale farming. In