John Paintsil picks CK Akonnor as best Black Stars player in history

Former Black Stars defender John Paintsil has settled on Charles Kwablan Akonnor as the most gifted player to have donned the national jersey.

Between 1991 and 2000, Akonnor made over forty appearances for the Black Stars scoring over a dozen goals.

At club level, the forward enjoyed great success in the German Bundesliga with Wolfsburg and also had stints in the Turkish league.

Paintsil told Kasapa FM that Akonnor’s ability to combine all the attributes effectively earned him the place as the best Ghanaian footballer he has witnessed.

He explained that though gifted with skills to be individualistic, Akonnor often used his talent for the greater good of the team.

The former Fulham player observed Akonnor knew when to be selfish with the ball and when to pass on to a teammate.

He expressed confidence Akonnor who is currently the coach of the Black Stars will excel in his new role.

“Football has two things; selfish play and playing for the team. CK was a player who could shoot from all angles. People who don’t believe can go and check out his goals. He can move to the right side and hit with the left. He was scoring 40, 30 yard free kicks. I don’t believe in players who like to dribble the entire field to score. I called that selfish play”. But there are some players when you crucially need them to show up with a goal they do. As a coach, you pick players who will play for the team and I think CK was a team player”.

I think it’s the right choice. He has played and knows how the job is. He is a very disciplined man. A disciplined coach will ensure that all his players are disciplined both on and off the pitch”.

Painstil also picked John Mensah as the best player he partnered with in the national team. “John Mensah was a rock. At the back, he covered every position”.