[1] Once heralded as a potential African great thanks to his combination of strength, pace and poise early on, Addo, a combative central defender who could also play as a defensive midfielder, had his budding career blighted by knee injuries.

[2] Born in the Ghanaian capital Accra, Addo began his European career brightly at Club Brugge in 1996 and over three seasons at the Jan Breydelstadion made 65 appearances, scoring five goals.

At Brugges, he was viewed as a potential superstar on the European stage, after bursting into the first team ranks and helping them to win the Belgian Championship.

He played just 24 times during this period, going out on loan[3] at Roda JC for two years – before finally becoming a regular, as PSV retained their Eredivisie title in 2006.

[6] On 29 April 2007, Addo won his fifth Eredivisie Championship with PSV in 2006–07, with a 5–1 win on the final day home against Vitesse Arnhem.

He was a member of the Ghanaian squad at the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals, playing in all four of Ghana's games including the exit to Brazil in the second round.

Eric Addo attended St Anthony's Preparatory School at South Odorkor in Ghana; even at this early developmental stage, he showed great ability when playing soccer with his peers and student in grades ahead of him.