From George Ernest Asare, Kumasi
“My dream since infancy was to feature prominently for Kumasi Asante Kotoko, so it was a dream come true when I put on the Kotoko jersey for the first time in my life against my former club, Heart of Lions, in a friendly encounter at the El-Wak Sports Stadium. Just after the match, my father called and asked about how I fared in that match, and my response was that, wearing the Kotoko jersey for the first time was great.”
“Unlike some players who have complex in playing for Kotoko for the first time, I did not experience any complex and played very well, wining many fans to my side at the end of the match, and since then, I have not looked back. I want to give everything I have to the club, so that anytime I leave for future prospects, I will have nothing to regret about. This will go a long way to make the management, players, the numerous Kotoko fans and more especially the media, who have been instrumental in the support and encouragement, to appreciate my efforts and continue to pray for me.”
These were the words of Kotoko’s prodigy, Eric Kwabena Bekoe, the unassuming soccer icon, when he granted an exclusive interview to The Mirror at his residence in Kumasi last Thursday. Bekoe, who is now carving a niche for himself, so far as goal scoring is concerned, also told The Mirror that “I am just an ordinary player taking my first step in my football career so sometimes become overwhelmed about the praises that soccer fans heap on me about my exploits, but in all things I give thanks to God for bringing me to this level at this tender age, and my prayer is that, He will continue to direct me to enable me leave a legacy with my dream team which would inspire future players of Kotoko to strive for the best all the time”.
“There are two things I want to do in life — to build an orphanage to give back what I have gained to the needy, down-trodden and the deprived to glorify God, and also to be a soccer icon, who will inspire future stars — and I am praying that God will give me the strength to realise such dreams,” he prayed.
Bekoe, who is 21 years old, said his father was totally married to Accra Hearts of Oak “but now that I am playing for Kotoko and winning many fans to my side, my father has also become a Kotoko fan and always pray that we win our matches”.
The player, who is yet to be married, has a two-year-old beautiful daughter “but for religious beliefs I could not marry her mother, so I am taking my time to get a partner who will appreciate my life and beliefs to take very good care of my two-year-old daughter”, he revealed.
On how he started his football career, Bekoe said “I am just an ordinary player striving to make it big at the local and international arena”.
Bekoe, who holds a diploma in Graphic Designs, started his basic education at Kotobabi 17 Basic School in Accra, before entering the Uncle College of Art at Kanda where he offered Visual Arts to obtain a diploma certificate but branched into soccer soon afterwards to take it as a career.
In school, Eric did not delve much into soccer “because my colleagues were always taunting us that Visual Arts students were academically bankrupt, so I wanted to prove to them that we were as brilliant as they were, but had individual interests so far as life is concerned, hence my decision to play soccer after school where I made the grades” .
Very religious, down to earth and ready to give praises and thanks to God for any success in life, Eric said “without God I would not have been able to come this far, and with God as my backbone, I am certain that I will be able to realise all my goals in life by not only leaving a legacy as a soccer icon in future just like my mentor, George Oppong Weah, but would also be able to establish the orphanage which is my childhood dream of helping the needy and the downtrodden in society”.
Bekoe started his football career with the defunct Antwerp Babies in Accra at Dzorwulu before being spotted by the junior side of Tudu Mighty Jets, King Dogo FC, where his instincts for goals created a lot of problems for opposing goalkeepers and defenders.
From there, he was promoted to the senior side where his exploits attracted the technical men of the national Under 17 team, the Black Starlets, where he
featured prominently.
One defender who always found Bekoe a hard nut to crack even at his tender age was Daniel Coleman, the Accra Hearts of Oak rock. They first met some years ago when Bekoe was featuring for Mighty Jets, while the latter was featuring prominently for Power FC.
“When we met for the first time, I gave him a lot of problems, scoring two great goals against his side, and after the game, he congratulated me, saying, I have a bright future, and later advised that, I should concentrate on the game. We have been very good friends since then, but he always told his mates to put an eye on me when I am playing against them, saying I am a deadly striker, and that was exactly what he did when Kotoko played against Hearts in our last league match.”
According to Bekoe, the match he would like to forget quickly was that last premier encounter between Kotoko and Hearts of Oak in Accra, where he had it tough and could not score for Kotoko to please the fans, “who had placed much confidence in me”.
Bekoe also played for Liberty Professionals and was later loaned to Kpando Heart of Lions where his instincts for goals attracted the technical men of Kumasi Asante Kotoko.
“When I got the signal that my dream team, Kumasi Asante Kotoko, wanted to sign me, I thanked God for answering my prayers at long last. You will not believe if I tell you that I played for Kotoko for some time before I later appended my signature to a contract form. At that time, Heart Of Lions had purchased a brand new Golf for me in addition to a handsome amount of money to entice me to extend my contract for just another year, but I politely declined the offer, and accepted that of Kotoko,” he revealed.
On how he was able to fit into the Kotoko set-up as soon as he joined the team, Bekoe said it was the Grace of God and the massive assistance from his senior colleagues like Nana Arhin Duah, Stephen Oduro, Daniel Acquah, Emmanuel Osei Kuffour, coupled with the encouragement from the numerous Kotoko fans and more especially, the media hype “that has brought me to this level”.
Bekoe, whose hobby is driving, also told The Mirror that as a soccer star “I have now become a public figure, so I need a lady who will welcome every friend I will have in life, and also adequately cater for my two-year-old girl. This is because it is friends who make my life, and failure to appreciate such things can mar an otherwise healthy relationships”.
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