Ghana international winger Frank Acheampong has explained why he was named captain of the Chinese Super Ligue side, Tianjin Teda.
Acheampong, who joined the club in 2017, was appointed as captain last year August, becoming the first Ghanaian to lead a super league side in China.
Speaking in an interview with Untold TV, the former Ghana youth star opened up on how he was appointed to lead the team.
Asked about how he felt when he was named as the captain, he said, “It was very difficult at that moment, I don’t know normally if you hold a position in a club or work and things are all working then you will feel proud and feel happy but my time eight games there was no win, I think one draw so things were not good”
“One day I was there when the coach, Uli Steilike called me and said he wants to make me the captain and I said why and how because I cannot speak the language frequently, they have a lot of experienced players, but he told me he thinks the players and management respect me which is good for me”
He continued that, “I have been part of the national team and set record in the club being the first foreigner to score 17 goals in a season and they needed a leader, so I told him am going to think about it because I have to inform my family and management if it a right decision”
“I sat down with the experienced players in the club on why they want to assign this duty to me and they were like on and off the pitch they just like me, they feel like I can be their leader”
“So the coach waited for me for about two days so then I have to tell him I have accepted the decision and I will be the captain,” he said.
Source: Mybrytfmonline/Sylvester Ntim
