I never wanted to join Hearts, Kotoko - Augustine Arhinful

Until the desire to play abroad for economic gains became irresistible, Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko were the preferred destinations for almost every Ghanaian player.

The two giants with their remarkable local and continental history became the teams of choice for young players who wanted to catch the eyes of national team coaches as well as foreign scouts who had developed connections with these two clubs.

But for a young Augustine Arhinful who had become the toast of football fans in the Sekondi-Takoradi township for his performance with Sekondi Soccer Missionaries and the national under-20 team, the two teams despite their historic feats were not clubs he ever dreamt of joining.

Strangely, Arhinful had developed ‘love’ for Accra Great Olympics who were then managed by the famous Harry Zakour and boasted of household names like Kayode, Ben Forster, Isaac Acquaye among others.

So when his contract with Missionaries elapsed, Arhinful was keen on completing a dream move to but those dreams were quashed by the club’s lack of interest in him.

“I wanted to join Accra Great Olympics. I don’t know why but I just wanted to join them. When I was young, Harry Zakour was then with Olympics so when my father took me to Sekondi when Hasaacas were playing, they had these players called, Dan Forster, a fair coloured guy with a bushy hair. They had all this Kayodes, Isaac Acquaye’s and all that. But I actually never liked Kotoko, not that I hate them but also Hearts of Oak”, he said.

Arhinful, however, ended up at Goldfields where he became a household name for his goal-scoring prowess.

After a brief spell with Goldfields, Arhinful joined German giants, Borrusia Dortmund.