David Akologo
The struggles of the Black Stars at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations has shed further light on the dearth of quality Ghanaian goalkeepers with some pundits and followers of the team reasoning that Ghana would still be in the tournament if the country had a goalkeeper of high competence.
The overwhelming feeling in the country is that the time has arrived for the handlers of the national to cast their net wide and select the possible short-stopper for the next Black Stars assignment.
The solution to Ghana’s cry for a goalkeeper with phenomenal agility, impeccable ball-playing skill and outstanding saving technique possibly lies in the Bolivian league where a Ghanaian goalie by the name David Akologo is making waves in the South American country.
Through his exploits for Club Aurora, Akologo has cemented his name in the memories of Bolivians and established himself as their elite league’s best goalkeeper.
His aerial prowess, calming ball-playing abilities, formidable shot-stopping and commanding presence have earned him likeness to no other person than the man tagged by many as the best African goalkeeper of all time - Cameroon legend Thomas N'Kono.
Akologo has been mentioned in the same sentences as the great N’kono who several decades ago took the Bolivian league by storm with his jaw-dropping goalkeeping skills while on the books of Club Bolivar.
While they played for different Bolivian clubs, there is not much difference in terms of quality albeit Akologo is more suited to modern football.
Their similitude goes beyond their skillset as Akologo seem to be treading the same path as the N’kono by achieving feats similar to that of N’Kono in Bolivia.
Earlier this month, he etched his name in the history books of his club and Bolivian football when he powered Aurora to the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores
This singular feat has put him at par with N’Kono who set the same record some 27 years ago.
In an interview with Sportsbrief.com, Akologo opened up on equalling N’Kono’s longstanding record and also shared his aspirations of having a career trajectory akin to that of the great Cameroonian goalie.
"This is a great achievement for me. I did not even see Thomas N'Kono during his playing days but I heard my idol, Buffon, speak greatly about him and that caught my attention. In fact, after we qualified, that was when I heard he was one of the best goalkeepers to play in Bolivia," he told Sports Brief in an exclusive interview.
"He arrived here after his time in Europe but I am hoping to make it here and when the opportunity arrives, I will definitely love to play in Europe," he added.
Despite arriving in Bolivia barely a month ago, Akologo has already made an impression on the football authorities in the country who have already initiated talks to get him to naturalize for the country but Akologo is hopeful of becoming Ghana’s number one goalie, hence determined to catch the eyes of the handlers of the national team.
"I was approached by people from the Bolivian Football Association but I am a Ghanaian and even though I am not ruling out any chance, at the right time I will make the right decision. But for now, all I want to do is to help my team succeed," said Akologo.
Born in Madina, Accra, the 26-year-old had stints with some local clubs including Lazio (in Madina) and Tudu Mightyjets before earning a life-changing move abroad.
