Quarshie To Assist Porterfiled at Kotoko

The management of Kumasi Asante Kotoko has confirmed the appointment of Emmanuel Quarshie of Hasaacas fame as the assistant coach of the club. Quarshie who was until last Wednesday Head Coach of Berekum Arsenals reportedly received the nod of management after holding separate meetings with management and new coach, Ian Porterfield early this week.

The solidly built former captain of the Black Stars is known to have single-handedly guided Sekondi Hasaacas back to the premiership, but was compelled to move on when he received an offer from Berekum following the exit of their former coach, Malik Jabir.

Quarshie bucked the trend in his hey days when as an offensive midfielder coming from a club like Hasaacas he commanded the respect of his colleagues and captained the Black Stars to their 4th African Cup title in Tripoli in 1982. He is regarded as one of the finest defenders the country has ever produced and as a football coach he carries a lot of promise, something Porterfield seemed to have noticed when he met with him last Tuesday.

He had an international stint in Egypt with Zamalek as a player and may come very useful when Kotoko returns to Africa to continue with the African Cup Winners campaign.

Quarshie's terms of engagement were not made known to the Kotoko Express, but his appointment is the first of its kind since Herbert Mensah took the reigns of management some three and a half years ago and it would go a long way to elevate the status of Quarshie who is bound to pick up some useful lessons from the more experienced Porterfield.

Porterfield himself requires a good assistant because of the little time he has to assess the Ghanaian terrain and with a local coach by his side he is bound to receive adequate tips on how to handle various teams, especially the up- coming Sunday's dreaded clash against Bofoakwa Tano in Sunyani.