A central defender with good positional sense and pace, Kofi Amponsah arrived in Greece in 1998 and has since played for a number of clubs in the country, joining AEK Athens FC in 2003.

National team

A full international, Amponsah helped Ghana into the quarter-finals of the 2002 African Cup of Nations, where they lost 1-0 to Nigeria.

Club

After leaving Ghana for Europe he joined Olympiakos Piraeus FC in 1998.

1998: The Athens club loaned him to Panelefsiniakos FC for six months but he returned to the capital in January 1999, making five UEFA Champions League outings over two seasons. Once coach Dusan Bajevic was replaced, Amponsah lost his spot in the squad and eventually joined FC PAOK Thessaloniki in January 2000.

2000: The tough-tackling defender soon became a key member of the PAOK squad, scoring twice in 20 league matches in his first season at the Gipedo Toumbas stadium and also played four times in the UEFA Cup before PAOK's loss to PSV Eindhoven. He recorded similar statistics the following term, with PSV again ending PAOK's participation in Europe.

2002/03: An impressive campaign in the heart of PAOK's defence won Amponsah a move to AEK, signing a three-year contract in July 2003. Made an immediate impression by helping the Athens club overcome Grasshopper-Club in the final UEFA Champions League group stage.

..signs for AE Paralimni from Appolon Kalamarias in Greece in July 2008

Did you know?

When he joined AEK, it was the third time he had been signed by coach Dusan Bajevic.