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 "Mannie" Essien South Africa. Broadcaster Olisa Adibua, at Cool FM later spoke to the manager about giving him a job as a producer. Essien went on to produce radio sweepers and station IDs for Cool FM, Wazobia FM, and Nigeria Info Fm. His manager, engineer Amin Moussalli, advised him to go into radio presenting. Essien is the host of the TV cooking competition, "Knorr Taste Quest", and is a co-host on "'Discovery 234" on DStv. On radio he hosts the "Good Morning Nigeria Show", and is a voiceover and audio jingle producer for brands including MTN, Coca-Cola, Chicken Republic, and FCMB. Essien