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Meet top 5 best Black Stars coaches of all-time

C.K Gyamfi topped the list of most successful Black Stars coaches of all-time

1. C.K Gyamfi

The former Kotoko, Hearts of Oak and Black Stars striker was the first coach to win the African Cup of Nations on three occasions, making him the most outstanding in the list of 32 coaches to have controlled the dugout of the Black Stars over the years: AFCON 1963, AFCON 1965 and AFCON 1982. His feat was equaled by Hassan Shehatta of Egypt in 2010

C.K as he was popularly called, made the Black Stars a championship side when they played their debut African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 1963 and won on home soil. He again masterminded their triumph in 1965 on Tunisian soil to become the first country to beat a host nation in the final.

The only minus in that era was that Ghana failed to translate their continental feat into World Cup qualification. At the time, there was only one slot shared by Africa and Asia, making qualification difficult. Ghana slipped in the African part of the qualifiers for the World Cup.

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The man revered by many on the continent made it a hat-trick as a coach by winning the Africa Cup of Nations for a record third time when against all odds he led the Black Stars to beat hosts Libya on North African soil. That would be the last time the Black Stars would win the Africa Cup of Nations. He gave whiz kid Abedi Pele the chance to feature prominently in the Black Stars.

2. Milovan Rajevac (2008-10)

When Le Roy resigned, Ghana who had felt in love with Serbian coaches looked for a Serbian to replace him and then came Milovan Rajevac.

Milovan Rajevac is the second in the list of the most successful Ghanaian coaches and the facts are clear. He guided the Black Stars to their second FIFA World Cup, after propelling a depleted side to reach the final of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations against all expectations.

In the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the Serbian got Ghana there with two games remaining and masterminded their progress to the quarter finals for the first time to equal Cameroon and Senegal as the two African Nations to reach that far in the competitions history.

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But for Asamoah Gyan’s miss from the spot kick, after Suarez hand had denied a late goal in extra time, Ghana would have reached the semi-finals under Rajevac’s watch. He had faith in youngsters like Kwadwo Asamoah, Andre Ayew, Dominic Adiyiah by making them a core of his team.

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3. Ratomir Dujkovic (2004-06)

The Sebian Dukovic made history by becoming the first coach to book a place for Ghana in the World Cup finals, when he topped a group that had Burkinafaso, DR Congo, Cape Verde and South Africa. The GFA kept faith in Ratomir Dujkovoic despite a poor AFCON campaign in Egypt that saw the Black Stars fail to progress past the group stage. In the World Cup finals, he helped Ghana qualify from a difficult group that had Italy, Czech Republic and USA, who were all highly ranked on the FIFA ranking prior to the mundial and were better sides than Ghana on paper.

4. Osam Duodu

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He was the second coach to win a major trophy for the Black Stars in 1978.

Osam Duoudu assisted by his compatriots E.K Afranie brought Ghana back to the pinnacle of African football when they guided the team to win the Africa Cup of Nations for keeps in 1978. Ghana earned the tag, the Brazil of Africa, because Brazil had won the FIFA World Cup for good in 1970 and the Black Stars who had assembled in Brazil twice for a training tour were likened to the great Brazilian team that won the FIFA World Cup in 1958, 1962 and 1970. Osam Duoudu and Afranie before the AFCON were sponsored to witness a FIFA World Cup all in an attempt to let them learn new things.

5. James Kwesi Appiah

The former Black Stars captain was the first indigenous coach to qualify Ghana for the FIFA World Cup.

Kwesi Appiah, who had assisted Claude Le Roy Milovan Rajevac and Stevanovic was given the mantle as Black Stars coach. His first major test was the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013 and his side finished fourth. Kwesi Appiah made history, by becoming the first indigenous coach to qualify the Black Stars to the FIFA World Cup finals, but the team couldn’t progress past the group stage over issues of player boycott of training during the tournament over the delay in the payment of appearance fees.

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Although, the GFA threw their weight behind him after the tournament, he was sacked over the issue of hiring a technical director for the Black Stars.

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