Fascinating facts about new Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah

fiifi anaman

April 4, 2017 3:29 PM

Here are 9 things you probably never knew about Appiah, who has been handed a return to the Black Stars as Avram Grant’s replacement

These are the nine things you need to know about Ghana’s new coach Kwesi Appiah, according to Pulse Sports' Thomas Freeman Yeboah.

Born on 30th June, 1960

Kwesi Appiah will turn 57 years on the 30th of June. He hails from Brong Ahafo region of Ghana.

Right footed player, but played as left full back

Appiah is one of the few players who excelled at left full back position, despite naturally being a right footed player.

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CAF Champions League winner with Asante Kotoko

He was signed from Mine Stars to Asante Kotoko and played a key role as the Porcupine Warriors won the 1983 African Club Champions Cup (now the CAF Champions League). Kwesi Appiah would captain the team later on.

Captained the Black Stars

Kwesi Appiah was the skipper of the Black Stars in the late 1980’s to the early 1990’s. He would become the third Black Stars skipper to coach the team - C.K Gyamfi and Edward Aggrey Fynn had earlier captained and coached the Black Stars.

Stripped of his captaincy for not being bilingual

Kwesi Appiah was stripped off his captaincy in 1991 ahead of the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations in Senegal. The technical director of the team at the time CK Gyamfi made Abedi Pele replace Kwesi Appiah as skipper of the team arguing that most of the referees and nations who were participating in the 1992 AFCON were from Francophone countries, hence a player who could speak both French and English was very key. Abedi Pele was plying his trade in France with Olympique Marseille, so he was settled on.

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Africa Cup of Nations winner

Kwesi Appiah was part of the Ghana team that won the 1982 Africa Cup of Nations in Libya, which was the last time Ghana did so. He featured prominently at left full back position for the Black Stars, under the tutelage of C.K Gyamfi.

First Ghanaian coach to win gold at the All African Games football

Kwesi Appiah guided the national U-23 team, the Black Meteors to win Ghana’s first ever gold in the All African Games in 2011. That title had eluded Ghana since the inception of the competition in the 1960’s but Appiah made it a reality.

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First indigenous coach to qualify Ghana for the World Cup

Kwesi Appiah was the first Ghanaian coach to propel the Black Stars to the FIFA World Cup. He topped a group that had Zambia and thrashed Egypt 7-3 on aggregate in a play-off to book Ghana a place in the 2014 Mundial in Brazil. Two Serbian coaches had helped Ghana to secure qualification for their first and second FIFA World Cups in 2006 and 2010, before Kwesi broke the status-quo.

Sudanese Premier League coach of the Year (2016)

Kwesi Appiah was named the best coach in the Sudanese league last year, after he masterminded Khartoum FC’s 5th place finish in the league. He gave several youth players the opportunity to feature for the team’s senior side. He has been hailed as building a respectable reputation for Al Khartoum.

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