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
Michael Essien his arrival, Essien was assigned the number 4 shirt and played as a box-to-box midfielder, which allowed him the freedom to protect and assist playmaker Juninho while defensive midfielders Edmílson and Mahamadou Diarra assisted the defence and directed the distribution. Essien made his club debut in the team's 2003 Trophée des champions match against Auxerre on 27 July 2003. In just the fifth minute of play, Essien scored his first goal for the club, and four minutes later, Diarra scored a goal. Lyon won the match 2–1, giving Essien his first club honour as a player. In just the third