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Top six foreign coaches who broke the hearts of Kotoko fans

Thomas Freeman Yeboah recounts the tales of expatriate tacticians who disappointed the Fabulous fandom

Foreign coaches have indeed disappointed the Porcupine Warriors. The likes of Ernst Middendorp and Ralf Zumdick could have won something remarkable, if they had stayed with Asante Kotoko for long.

The success of a coach at Asante Kotoko is dependent on winning the bragging rights against Hearts of Oak or winning major silverware like the league and the CAF Champions League.

These are the top six foreign coaches who broke hearts across the Asante Kotoko fandom.

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Ian Porterfield

The British came to Asante Kotoko with a high profile - his cv glowing with stints at the likes of Reading, Aberdeen, Zambia -  but he failed to put smiles on the faces of the Asante Kotoko fraternity.

His tenure saw Asante Kotoko suffer their worst defeat against Accra Hearts of Oak in 2000 - a 4-0 defeat at the Accra Sports Stadium.

The poor display of the Porcpine Warriors under the British compelled the CEO of the club Herbert Mensah to terminate his appointment amidst issues of alleged assault against the former.

Hans-Dieter Schmidt

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The German had a good start to his Asante Kotoko coaching career by propelling the Porcupine Warriors to the final of the maiden CAF Confederation Cup in 2004. But because of the 2004 Ghana presidential elections, the game was postponed to early 2005.

Asante Kotoko had set a date with their bitterest rivals, Hearts of Oak in the final.

After a two-legged affair which ended two all, Schmidt's side lost via penalty shootout in front of their home fans. He took a decision that made him unpopular among the Asante Kotoko fans: he withdrew Charles Taylor - who was the livewire of the team, virtually their best performer - after his side took the lead.

The management of Asante Kotoko wasted no time in letting him pay the ultimate price for allowing the trophy slip through their hands in such a painful manner.

Talat Uzum

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The Turkish coach couldn’t turn things around for Asante Kotoko when he took charge of the team. In addition to his inability to win a major silverware for Asante Kotoko, he was handed home and away defeats in the league by Accra Hearts of Oak in the 2006-07 season.

Maurice Coreman

He took over from Bashir Hayford who had won the Ghana Premier League in a grand style a season before, so a lot more was expected of him.

However, he failed to build on Hayford’s success and in the end suffered sacking following a defeat to Hearts of Oak in Kumasi during the 2008-09 season.

Bogdan Korak

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The Serbian was hired by an ambitious Dr. K.K Sarpong who had been disappointed by a local coach in Ebo Mends, so he turned his attention to Europe for a coach and settled on Serbian trainer, Bogdan Korak, whose compatriots had made a mark in Ghana football by qualifying the West African giants for their first two FIFA World Cups.

Korak, however, couldn’t live up to the hype and was replaced by Maxwell Konadu his assistant due to disciplinary issues and poor performance.

Zdravko Lugarusic

The Croat replaced acting Asante Kotoko coach Michael Osei prior to the start of the current Ghana Premier League season when a new management team headed by Dr. Kwame Kyei took over the team.

Lugarusic was expected to better the records of Michael Osei. He had good start to his Asante Kotoko career by going seven league games without a defeat, with five wins and two draws, yet he fell in the most anticipated fixture of the season when his side were outwitted 1-0 by Accra Hearts of Oak on match day 8.

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That was the beginning of the end for the Zdravko Lugarusic era with Asante Kotoko, as his side drew two and lost one of their three subsequent games after the Hearts defeat.

The fans, who had sacked him from their training ground after a defeat to Medeama, were happy to hear the management part ways with him following a goalless draw against Ebusua Dwarfs at home on match day 11

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