Football legend CK Gyamfi dies

Ghana legend Charles Kumi (CK) Gyamfi has passed on at the Cocoa Clinic in Accra, Starr Sports can confirm.

The 86-year-old was remarkable for being the first African player to play in Germany, when he joined Fortuna Düsseldorf in 1960.

He guided Ghana to win its first African title and two others subsequently.

Gyamfi won three Africa Cup of Nations trophies, making him one of the most successful coaches in the continental tournament besides former Egypt manager Hassan Shehata.

CK Gyamfi was among the few people to play for Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.

CK left for Germany in August 1969 after German top division club Fortuna Dusseldorf had played a friendly with his club Hearts of Oak. He would become Ghana’s first ever footballer to play professionally in Europe, dazzling German fans with his breathtaking talent and earning the nickname “Tunda Vita” (Thunder weather) for his powerful shooting ability.

Interestingly, Ghana’s then Amateur Football Association, under the leadership of legendary administrator Ohene Djan, arranged for him to be groomed as a coach in Cologne, which was at the time the world’s most reputable center for the training of coaches, inspired by the great German coach Hennes Weisweller.