Opoku Afriyie

Opoku Afriyie is a former Ghanaian footballer. He was popularly called Bayie. He played as a striker and won many caps with Asante Kotoko and the Ghana national football team. He works currently for Asante Kotoko as Team-Manager.

Contents

Club football

Opoku Afriyie played for Asante Kotoko for several years before signing for Hearts of Oak prior to ending his footballing career.[1] He was the top scorer in the Ghana domestic football league in 1979 and again in 1981.[2] In 1982, he was nominated for the French magazine France Football African Footballer of the Year. He came eighth.[3] Opoku Afriyie is among 20 other Ghanaians nominated by CAF out of a total of 200 African footballers for the title of the best African player of the last 50 years.[4]

International career

He was a member of the squad that won the 1978 African Cup of Nations making Ghana the first team to win it thrice.[5] He scored the two goals in the final of that tournament.[6] He also played in the 1980 African Cup of Nations where Ghana failed to defend its title.[7]

Coaching career

Opoku Afriyie was appointed team manager of Asante Kotoko in 2003.[1] He has also served as the team manager and welfare officer of the Black Stars.

Honours

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Opoku-Afriyie Appointed Kotoko's Team Manager". Football News. Modern Ghana Homepage. 17 April 2003. http://www.modernghana.com/GhanaHome/SportsArchive/sports_details.asp?id=VFhwTk0wNUVTVDA9&menu_id=1&sub_menu_id=0&gender=Football%20News. Retrieved 2007-04-06. 
  2. ^ Batalha, José (1 November 2000). "Ghana - List of Topscorers". Football statistics website. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. http://www.rsssf.com/tablesg/ghatops.html. Retrieved 2007-04-06. 
  3. ^ Pierrend, José Luis (14 February 2000). "African Player of the Year 1982". Football statistics website. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/afrpoy82.html. Retrieved 2007-04-06. 
  4. ^ "20 Stars enter CAF's poll". Officical website. Ghana Football Association. 10 October 2006. http://www.ghanafa.org/news/archiveread.asp?contentid=1366. Retrieved 2007-04-06. 
  5. ^ "Ghana Record at Africa Nations Cup". Sports news (Ghana Home Page). Archived from the original on 2007-02-14. http://web.archive.org/web/20070214001524/http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/soccer/can_record.php. Retrieved 2007-04-06. 
  6. ^ Bediako, Ken. "The Black Stars Story". Unofficial Black Stars website. GhanaBlackStarsLive.com. http://www.ghanablackstarslive.com/his_early.php. Retrieved 2007-04-06. "Thanks to two well executed goals by nimble footed Opoku Afriyie the cup remained in Ghana forever at the expense of the Cranes from Uganda" 
  7. ^ Courtney, Barrie. "1980 MATCHES - Africa". INTERNATIONAL MATCHES PROJECT - INDEX. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. http://web.archive.org/web/20070930182508/http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~nfm24/football/1980af.html. Retrieved 2007-04-06.