Frank Osei-the demolishing man

- by KotkoExpress

“Goals like amen in prayer is the icing on the cake of a good show in a football match. It is the climax of everything that the players struggle for on the pitch”, so says a coach friend of mine.

Others also say that, at the end of a football game, we ask of the score line, not who played better. Goals are the only wages that fans get for supporting clubs. That explains why the ‘Jabu Pule’ of Kumasi Asante Kotoko FC, Frank ‘the demolishing man’ Osei has in recent times become the ‘darling boy’ of the fans who have a religious attachment to Kotoko.

It is your preserve to loathe or love him as a player, but one thing stands out clearly to the fans, he pays them good wages by scoring beautiful as well as important goals for them.
Twenty-two years ago in the Italian city of Naples, Frank Osei was born to Mr. Kwadwo Wusu and Madam Janet Kroanie both royals of Asante-Akyem Agogo.
At the age of eight, he was brought home to start schooling at the Agogo L/A Primary School, and later to the African Child Preparatory School at Achimota, Accra, where he wrote his BECE after which he returned to Agogo Collins Commercial College for his Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations.

Football Career

Unlike most footballers who had the benefit of playing active colts soccer before making an inroad into the premier division, Frank’s benefit as a child with some football in him was when he had a stint wit Napoli Babies. But he started cutting his teeth in active soccer at Collins Commercial College, where he featured for the school team, and played alongside current teammate, Charles Taylor.
On completion of his Senior Secondary education, he moved back to Accra to play for a division three side at Achimota, Vitamins FC.
After a while, Frank moved to Kumasi and signed for a division one side, Ashanti Heroes F/C. Having endeared himself as a good striker, talent hunter, Alhaji Karim Grunsah poached him to play for King Faisal, where he plied his trade for three seasons, scoring some brilliant goals for the team.
With the ambition of playing for a top European club high on his mind, Frank Osei easily passes as one of the most well travelled player (in search of a foreign contract) on the local scene. His trials have taken him to France, Germany, Belgium, Italy and many other European countries, but he has not been able to make the grade.
Although the inability to make the grade may be a bother to many players due to the huge cost involved, he is not in the least worried. “I’ ve always trusted the good Lord to make a way for me out there, but that does not mean that I should not make the move to get what I want. “It could be that God in his own wisdom is preparing a good offer for me somewhere. When the time is ripe, the offers would start rolling in their numbers. “I foresee myself having a problem of choice as to which European club to play for”, he said.
Frank Osei’s recruitment by Kotoko was dramatic as was his maiden game for the club. On his return from one of those unsuccessful trials, Kotoko poached him after striking a deal with Grunsah. That deal has controversy written all over it, as his former chairman, Alhaji Grunsah has not been economical with comments on his transfer to Kotoko lately.
After an initial hiccup, the outspoken chairman of Faisal, Alhaji Grunsah finally released him to play for Kotoko. Currently in his third season at Kotoko, Osei is very much surprised at the way Alhaji Grunsah and his team officials have launched a crusade on the airwaves seeking monies from Kotoko.
If the said crusade has been planned to distract his concentration at this time that he has rediscovered his scoring boots, Frank says they are fighting a losing battle. “All I know is that, I was duly transferred to Kotoko. Whatever problem arises now is between Alhaji Grunsah and Kotoko”.
When asked if the media ‘war’ by the owner of King Faisal FC was not going to affect his play, he had this to say; “I’m not disturbed. “After all, it is not my duty to determine who pays what to whom. “My primary duty is to play my heart out for my current employers, and I’m doing just that to the best of my abilities”.
In his first outing for Kotoko in Kumasi against Power FC, Frank Osei recorded his first goal from a free kick. But he has since not been consistent with his form, an issue that confined him to the bench most of the time during the 2003 season. But he has proved his mettle this season as one player wielding cudgels of destruction, which Hearts of Oak have thrice tasted in the less than a month. To all intents and purposes, Frank Osei is at the moment one player enjoying beyond measure, his romance with Kotoko.
After scoring some heart soothing goals for the club, he emerged top scorer in the recently held Coca Cola Top 4 Competition-a feat he attributes to the mercy of God, which he cannot escape.
“If I’m not mistaking, even thieves pray to whoever they believe in before they set out on their stealing escapades. “I prayed to God for success in the competition. It was my wish that if someone scores even twelve goals in the competition, God should give me 13 goals to top the chart.
“Lo and behold, he granted my request and I’m grateful for that”. The Coca Cola Top Four did not only bring him the honour of a top scorer, he also sees his equalising goal in Kotoko’s second leg match against Liberty Professionals, as his memorable goal so far. “I like that goal for one reason. It was a goal that all Kotoko fans were waiting for, no wonder the response to that goal was deafening.”
Though Frank Osei is enjoying the massive support of most people in the Kotoko fraternity, he is not enthused about a small segment of football lovers who have been attributing his current form to juju. “As a footballer, my idol is Thierry Henry of Arsenal; can any one tell me that Thierry's performance is juju-assisted?
“I believe in the only true God, and now I’m enjoying the fruits of days of hard training. That’s all there is to my current form”. He has had the chance to play for the national teams, namely the Black Satellites, the Black Meteors and has had call ups into the Black Stars, even though he is yet to play in a competitive game for the nation at that level. Having had his successes as a player, the only event that brings sorrow to him is the painful loss of the African Cup Winners Cup to WAC of Morocco in 2002.
Having played for other premier division clubs before, Frank sees playing for Kotoko as “the greatest honour that any player on the local scene should seek. “With the massive following, it takes only the brave hearted to sustain his performance in Kotoko”.
Donning the famous red shirt of Kotoko is something that most footballers have not been able to do successfully. Some players who were performing wonders on the field of play with previous clubs come to Kotoko, but fail to shine. Having had his fair share of a rough start at Kotoko, Osei knows the reason behind that phenomenon.
“Playing for Kotoko is like carrying the whole stadium of over fifty thousand spectators on your tiny shoulders. “To be successful at Kotoko, you have to be able to manage the effect of the fans on you”.
With the 2003 season marking the turning point in his romance with Kotoko, he is hopeful that the African Champions League and the 2004 season are definitely going to mark the resuscitation of his career. “I’m happy to have been part of the history making team of 2003. 2004 I believe holds a lot of promise for us, so we would go for all that comes our way this year”.

Plans for the future

Besides nursing the dream of playing actively beyond the borders of Ghana, he also hopes that, when his playing days are over, he would either enjoy his retirement abroad with his family, or go for a coaching course so that he would be able to assist soccer development in the country.

He has a piece of advice for the up and coming footballers, his colleagues and fans. “As footballers, let us cut down on our night life and all other things and activities we undertake that negatively affect our performance so that we can give enough attention to our career development”. The fans, he said, should be a little patient with the team when things get rough for them in matches.