XINHUAAcheampongscoresforTianjinTEDAFrankOpokuAcheamponghadadreamasayoungboy-toshootforgoalwheneverpossible.Todaythatdreamiscomingtrue,notinhisnativeGhana,butinfarawayChina.
AfterarrivinginTianjin,amajormetropolisinnorthChinaabout30minutesbyhighspeedtrainfromBeijing,Acheampongwasquicktoshowcasehisskills,goingfroma“promising”toa“talented”player.FansoftheTianjinTEDAfootballclubwhereheplaysoftendescribeAcheampongasthenew“Messi”-orMessiah-ofChinesefootball.Itseemsthisisnotmerepartisanshipwhenonetakesalookathisperformancesonthefieldandimpressivestatistics.
InhisfirstofficialmatchoftheseasononMarch18againstTianjinQuanjianF.C.,whichfieldedBrazilianAlexandrePatoandFrenchmanAnthonyModeste,Acheampongexcelledbyscoringthreegoals(inthe16th,84thand90thminute),thusbringingavictory(3-2)forhisteam.Acheampongwasalsoonhandtoscore,allowingTianjinTEDAtosnatchtwodraws(1-1)fromBeijingGuoanonApril6andfromShanghaiSIPG,leadersoftheChineseSuperLeague,onApril22.
OnMay6,heplayedanactiveroleinTianjinTEDA’svictoryagainstGuizhouHengfeng(5-1)byscoringadouble(inthe81stand84thminute).Acheampongthendeliveredtwoassistsinthesamematch,allowingHuiJiakang,hisforwardteammate,toalsoscoreadouble.Inninegamesplayedinthe2018season,Acheamponghasscoredninegoals.
Formanyfootballfans,onlythetighteningofChinesefootball’sregulationsinabidtonurtureChinesenativeplayerspreventedAcheampongfromparticipatinginallthe11ChineseSuperLeaguegamesthisseason.AccordingtotheregulationsofChineseFootballAssociation,thenumberofforeignplayersonthefieldshouldnotbemorethanthatofU23Chineseplayersineachgame.
TianjinTEDAiscurrentlyranked10thamongagroupoffourclubseachwith15points,behindtopclubssuchasShanghaiSIPGandShandongLunengTaishan,currentcoleadersoftheChineseSuperLeaguewith23pointseach.
XINHUAAcheampong(left)inactionfortheGhaniannationalfootballteaminJuly2013Borntoscore
WaitingfortheresumptionoftheChineseSuperLeaguematchesscheduledforJuly18,Acheampong-nicknamedthe“Ghanaianbullettrain”becauseofhisrocket-likerunningskills-saysheishappytoplayinChina.DespitebeinganearlyfanofEnglishfootballwhodreamedofplayinginthePremierLeague,hehasalreadyforgottenhisfailedtransfertoHullCityinJanuary2017.AcheampongthenpatientlywaitedinBelgiumforsixmonths,untilagoldenoffercamefromChina.
InJuly2017,hefinallyleftBelgium,acceptinganattractiveofferfromtheChineseSuperLeague.TianjinTEDAofferedhimacontractof300,000euros($350,000)permonth,whichisfourtimesmorethanhispreviouspaycheckinEurope.Inthefast-pacedworldoffootball,thisisanoffernoonecanrefuse.
“IwasabletomakeagooddealwithTianjinTEDA.IfImanagemyfinanceswell,Iwon’thavetoworryaboutmoneyanymore.MygoalisthatmyfriendsandfamilyalsobenefitfromwhatIwillhavewon.Iftheyarehappy,Iamtoo,”saidtheaffableGhanaian.
HismovetoChinaiscoincidentallylinkedtohisdebutintheGhanaiannationalteam.ItwasduringafriendlymatchonAugust15,2012,againstChina.Hewasjust19yearsoldatthetime,butwasalreadytoutedasthefuturestaroftheGhanaianBlackStars.HisteamfinishedthirdattheFIFAU20WorldCupandbecameafinalistfortheAfricaCupofNationsin2015.
Butnodoubt,Acheampongwillnotbesatisfiedwiththat,bothinhisnationalteamandintheChineseleague.Histrackrecordprovesthattheyoungplayerishungryforglory.NosoonerdidhecompletehisfootballtrainingandstarthiscareerwithKingFaisalBabesF.C.ofKumasi(2009-10)thathebecameinvolvedwithBerekumChelsea(2010-11),andfinishedchampionofGhana.HethenmovedtoThailand,whereheaddedtohistrophycollection.WithBuriramUnited(2011-13),heplayed65matchesandscored32goals,winningtheThailandChampionshipCupandSupercuptwiceeach.
Havingprovenhisworth,Acheampongthenlookedtonewhorizonstosatisfyhisthirstfortrophies.HejoinedtheRoyalSportingClubinAnderlecht,Belgium,whereheplayedfrom2013to2017.WiththeMauves-astheteamisnicknamed-thisversatileleft-footerplayedoffensivemidfielderin165games,scoring22goalsanddelivering21assists.ThatwasenoughtohelphisclubwintwoBelgianChampionships(2014and2017),threeSupercups(2013,2014and2017),aswellasoneKing’sCup(2015).Onthishighnote,heleftBelgiumforChina.
InChina,withtheTianjinTEDA,Acheampongwasinitiallyonloanforsixmonths.Hisperformancequicklyconvincedhismanagerstobuyhim.HecurrentlyfiguresamongthebestAfricanscorersintheChineseSuperLeague,leadingCédricBakambu(eightgoals)andbehindWuLei,whoscored12goalsin11gameswiththeShanghaiSIPG.Thedueltodeterminewhowillbethehighestscorerisfarfromover,andeveryoneeagerlyawaitstherestoftheChineseSuperLeagueseason.
**ReportingfromCameroon
**Commentsto
DATAFrankOpokuAcheampongBio
*BornonOctober16,1993inAccra,Ghana
*Height:1.69meters
*Weight:65kg
*CurrentTeam:
TianjinTEDA
FootballClub,
ChineseSuper
League
*Position:Forward
*Bestfoot:Left