Five things to know about new Black Stars head coach C.K Akonnor

Former Black Stars midfielder, Charles Kwablan Akonnor, has been appointed the new head coach of the senior national team.

He replaced Kwesi Appiah whose contract expired in December 2019.

To the ardent followers of Ghanaian and German football, Akonnor is not a new name. However, he remains an unknown prospect to lots of supporters of the Black Stars.

Here are five facts about the new Black Stars boss.

National asset

Akonnor was a key player for Ghana’s senior men’s team, the Black Stars. He earned 41 caps for Ghana, scoring 12 goals. He was part of the team that went to the African Cup of Nations in 1994, 1996, 1998 and 2000.

Captain, leader…

Akonnor showed himself to be a leader during his playing career, being named captain both at club and national team level. In the 2001-02 season, Akonnor was named captain of German side Wolfsburg.

He also captained the Black Stars after star player, Abedi Pele retired.

From one rival to another

Akonnor is one of the few people who has made the jump from fierce rivals Hearts of Oak to Asante Kotoko. He was appointed Hearts coach in 2011.

However, he was sacked the next year after a run of bad results for the club. Having spent a few years at Ashgold, C.K was appointed as Kotoko coach in 2018, before being let go the next year. His time in Kumasi was successful as he led the side to the NC Special Competition Tier 1 trophy.

Club man

C.K Akonnor made over 370 appearances in his lengthy club career, which spanned about 19 years. He also scored about 48 goals for his seven clubs.

His longest spell was at Fortuna Köln where he spent six years of his career.

A step up

C.K had a brief stint as Black Stars assistant coach in 2019. He was in the dugout along with Kwesi Appiah for Ghana’s first two AFCON 2021 qualifying matches, against South Africa and Sao Tome and Principe. He had a noticeable impact as well, particularly in the first game in Cape Coast.

With the technical teams dissolved, however, C.K was let go, along with everyone else. He has now been given the top job and has to prove that he deserves it.

Source: citisportsonline.com