Dream-Believe-Achieve: The story of Kofi Kyereh
On a team bus with his former teammates at FC St. Pauli to a game, Daniel-Kofi Kyereh was scrolling online to check out some vintage jerseys of the Ghana Black Stars.
It was a few months before the Africa Cup of Nations tournament. His main goal was to find all the needed elements in time for him, his family and friends who mostly went to public viewing to support the Black Stars.
He purchased 17 vintage Ghana jerseys in different sizes for his family and friends. In his mind, it was going to be the usual get-together with family and friends to support the national team. There was something bigger waiting, a dream was about to be realised but Kofi Kyereh had no idea.
Later in the day when the team had arrived at their hotel, Kofi received a call during dinner time with his teammates. There was one rule during dinner at FC St. Pauli – no phones out at the dinner table.
Kofi took a peek at his phone to see who was calling as it could be an emergency and saw a +233. Nothing about football crossed his mind. To him, it was probably a family member from Ghana calling. He left his dinner table and went out of the room to call back the number.
To his surprise, former Black Stars coach Charles Kwabla Akonnor was on the other side of the call line.
“He (CK Akonnor) introduced himself and I was like, I know exactly who you are,” Daniel-Kofi Kyereh told Pulse in an exclusive interview ahead of the FIFA World Cup tournament.
“So he told me he wanted to invite me for the national team and asked if I was interested. The first sentence I said to him was, I have waited my whole life for this call. Then he said that’s amazing. This moment he always remembered because even after playing for the national team, he always mentioned those words I said to him,” Kofi disclosed.
Those words were not ones Kofi just came up with during his invitation call with CK Akonnor. These were words from the talent, passion and dedication he had for football since childhood.
Growing up in Braunschweig, a small village in Germany Daniel-Kofi Kyereh started playing football and was also involved in athletics. Those were his passions. He enjoyed doing both and was having fun as a kid. With his mum having to take him to practices for both sports, the back and forth was taking a toll on schedules. So, Kofi’s mum asked him to decide which one he loved more so the focus would be on one sport.
“I said I like football more,” Kofi Kyereh told Pulse.
Kofi’s choice of football was instinctive as football moments popped up in all his activities even if he wasn’t being intentional about it. He likes to have fun with everything he is involved in, a trait seen in his technique on the pitch as a professional footballer. The freedom he has picking passes, making runs and moves are lovely to watch from a player who is passionate about his craft.
Credit: Pulse.com.gh
