Former Black Stars coach, Charles Kumi Gyamfi has been named as one of the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) top five successful players who later became coaches in Africa.
As a coach, Gyamfi led Ghana to win three of four Nations Cup in 1962, 1965 and 1982 after he was recalled home by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first President, to take charge of the Black Stars.
Aside Gyamfi, others named by the BBC are Hassan Shehata, Mahmoud El Gohary both from Egypt, Badou Zaki of Morocco and Stephen Keshie of Nigeria.
“Three of Ghana’s four African Cup of Nations triumphs came under his guidance, making him the joint most succesful coach in the competition with Egypt’s Hassan Shehata…A highly successful club career saw him become the first African to play in the German Bundesliga in the 1960s when he signed for Fortuna Dusseldorf,” the BBC says.
The BBC’s Farayi Mungazi who made the list on August 4, 2011 writes that the path of successful player’s transition into coaching is a well-trodden one.
“It is a well-trodden path that has embellished the reputations of many former greats but is has also turned many others from heroes to zeros in a very short space of time – Put simply, a successful playing career is no guarantee for success when you decide to be the boss,” Mungazi says using former Ghana captain Stephen Appiah who has spoken of his desire to go into coaching once his career is over as an example.
By Ekow Quandzie