George Alhassan, commonly referred to as Jair is a retired Ghana

Ghana

Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

ian footballer. He is best known for his exploits in the 1982 Africa Cup of Nations which saw him lift the trophy for the second time in his career. During his career he played in Ghana, Gabon and Korea.

He was given the nickname Jair, due to a similar style of play to the Brazilian player Jairzinho

Jairzinho

Jair Ventura Filho, better known as Jairzinho , is a former association footballer. A quick, powerful forward or winger, he was a member of the legendary Brazilian national team that won the 1970 FIFA World Cup, during which he scored in every game Brazil played...

.

Club career

At the club level, Alhassan played for Hearts of Oak in the domestic football league. He later played in UAE before joining El-Ahly in Egypt for a short period only due to his long term injury problems.

International career

Alhassan made several appearances for the Ghana national football team

Ghana national football team

The Ghana national football team, popularly known as the Black Stars, is the national association football team of Ghana and is controlled by the Ghana Football Association...

, including qualifying matches for several FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...

s. He played for the Ghana squad who won the 1978 African Cup of Nations

1978 African Cup of Nations

The 1978 African Cup of Nations was the 11th edition of the African Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa . It was hosted by Accra and Kumasi, Ghana...

 held in Ghana.

Personal life

George is the father of Kalif Alhassan, a professional football player in the United States with Portland Timbers

Portland Timbers

Portland Timbers may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams:*Portland Timbers, a Major League Soccer expansion team that began playing in 2011....

.

Honours

• African Cup of Nations
  African Cup of Nations
  The Africa Cup of Nations, also referred to as the African Cup of Nations or African Nations Cup, officially CAN , is the main international association football competition in Africa. It is sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football , and was first held in 1957. Since 1968, it has been...
  
   Winner: 1978
  1978 African Cup of Nations
  The 1978 African Cup of Nations was the 11th edition of the African Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa . It was hosted by Accra and Kumasi, Ghana...
  
  , 1982
  1982 African Cup of Nations
  The 1982 African Cup of Nations was the 13th edition of the African Cup of Nations, the soccer championship of Africa . It was hosted by Libya. Just like in 1980, the field of eight teams was split into two groups of four...
  
  

• African Cup of Nations
  African Cup of Nations
  The Africa Cup of Nations, also referred to as the African Cup of Nations or African Nations Cup, officially CAN , is the main international association football competition in Africa. It is sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football , and was first held in 1957. Since 1968, it has been...
  
   Golden boot: 1982
  1982 African Cup of Nations
  The 1982 African Cup of Nations was the 13th edition of the African Cup of Nations, the soccer championship of Africa . It was hosted by Libya. Just like in 1980, the field of eight teams was split into two groups of four...
  
  

• Topscorer of the Ghanaian Premier League: 2 times
  • 1977, 1985