Samuel Opoku Nti (born January 23, 1961, in

Kumasi Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is t ...

) is a former

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

ian football forward.

Biography

He is generally considered to have been Ghana's top footballer in the early to mid-1980s; before the international advent of Abedi Pele. Opoku Nti featured in Ghana's victorious 1982 African cup winning side as well as the unsuccessful 1984 squad; which was eliminated in the 1st round of the competition. In the 1992 African Cup, he was controversially left on the substitutes bench for the majority of the tournament in favour of Mohammed Gargo, Stanley Aboraa, and Nii Lamptey - all of whom were considerably less experienced than Nti. His nickname is "Zico," in honour of the Brazilian footballer and 1983 FIFA player of the year. In 1983 Opoku Nti, while playing for Asante Kotoko, finished as runner-up for the prestigious France Football African Footballer of the Year award. The African Sportswriters Association named him Africa's best player, in the same year. This was the year that Opoku Nti's match-winning goal made Asante Kotoko win the Africa Clubs Championship by beating Egypt's Al-Ahly in the final at Kumasi. It was one of the most memorable goals in Ghana soccer. In the 16th minute of the cup final, a counterattack was initiated by Kotoko's right-back Ernest Apau. Strong midfielder "Butcher" Yahya Kassum continued the attack and sent a pass to speeding right-winger John Smith Bannerman. Bannerman whisked past Al-Ahly's reliable left-back Rabi Yacin and floated a pass to the marauding Opoku Nti, who tapped the ball past a bewildered Al-Ahly goalkeeper Thabet into the net, sending the teeming Kotoko fans into a frenzy of celebration. In 1984 Opoku Nti moved to Swiss champions Servette FC. After spending just one season with the club and falling out with the coach, Nti moved to

Ottmar Hitzfeld Ottmar Hitzfeld (; born 12 January 1949) is a German former professional football player ( striker) and manager. He accumulated a total of 18 major titles, mostly in his tenures with Grasshopper Club Zürich, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. ...

FC Aarau FC Aarau is a Swiss football club based in Aarau. They play in the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of Swiss football after being relegated from Swiss Super League. History FC Aarau was formed on 26 May 1902 by workers from a local br ...

, where he spent the next three seasons, before moving to another Swiss side

FC Baden FC Baden is a Swiss football club based in Baden, Canton Aargau, which is a short distance from Zürich. It was founded in 1897. FC Baden has a total of 22 different teams at age levels, including five women's teams. They play in the Swiss Promo ...

. he was the manager of FC Africa n football team.

External links

Ghanaweb articleWeltfussball entry
1961 births Living people Ghanaian footballers Ghana international footballers 1982 African Cup of Nations players 1984 African Cup of Nations players 1992 African Cup of Nations players Servette FC players FC Aarau players FC Baden players Expatriate footballers in Switzerland Asante Kotoko S.C. players Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Africa Cup of Nations-winning players Footballers from Kumasi Association football forwards {{Ghana-footy-forward-stub