Coach JE Sarpong, the Ghanaian coach credited with the discovery of legendary Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan, has opened up about the lengths he went to have him admitted to Accra Academy as a student.
JE Sarpong, on the Gajio Podcast, stated that the headmistress of Accra Academy at the time was opposed to recruiting a young Asamoah Gyan as a student and therefore rejected the request initially.
Aware of the enormous potential of Asamoah Gyan, Coach Sarpong, who was a tutor in charge of Physical Education (PE) at the school, says he made sacrifices including running errands for the headmistress and threatening to quit the school to have her approve the admission of Asamoah Gyan.
“I met Asamoah Gyan through his sister, who was a lover of sports. She told me about his potential and pleaded with me to recruit him because, at the time, Baffour Gyan was doing well at Adisadel College.
“When I told the headmistress about bringing in a new student who is also a footballer, she outrightly rejected it. I had to run errands for her so that Asamoah Gyan could be granted admission.
“We were preparing for the Milo tournament, and I needed someone of Asamoah Gyan’s qualities. I had watched him once, and that’s all I needed to know that he was a great player. The headmistress assumed that I had taken a bribe to recruit Asamoah Gyan, so she sent somebody to Gyan’s house to investigate.
“When the person informed me about it, I got livid. I confronted the headmistress and threatened to leave the school. For one month, I wasn’t going to school, and there were agitations in the school over my absence. She sent someone to come for me, and I turned her down.
“The headmistress eventually agreed for Asamoah Gyan to come and gave me an admission letter. I immediately informed Asamoah Gyan’s father and got the items for his admission,” he narrated.
JE Sarpong’s determination and sacrifice eventually paid off, as Asamoah Gyan went on to have a stellar career.
Gyan’s club career saw him have stints at Liberty Professionals, Udinese, Rennes, Sunderland, and Al Ain, among others.
The national team level is where Asamoah Gyan enjoyed great success. He became the greatest goal-scorer in the history of the Black Stars, as well as the African player with the most goals in the history of the FIFA World Cup – 6.
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
