In what seems a mixture of honouring and nostalgic expression, Ghana’s record premier league winners Asante Kotoko have brought into prominence their glory days in the domestic league regarding goal scoring, and have turned to celebrate Eric Kwabena Bekoe, one of the club’s most iconic strikers in history who took the local league by storm.
Aside the business aspect which proves beneficial to stakeholders on and off the field, the game of football and it’s unceasing excitement it generates all over the world, is based on one crucial thing – goals. Goal scoring, though a duty of almost every professional player, is regarded as a prerogative duty of strikers, whose efficiency is measured against the number of goals they score in a season. This expectation was hugely fulfilled by the former Asante Kotoko goal poacher, Eric Kwabena Bekoe, who carved the slogan, “goal is my business” for himself whiled playing for the Porcupine Warriors.
In the 2007/2008 Ghana Premier League (GPL) season, Bekoe finished the league as the top scorer, scoring 17 goals in 22 league matches for the club, the highest the club has ever seen from its player in the last 13 years. Interestingly, only two players have managed to win the golden boot for Asante Kotoko in the premier league since the stated period (2007-2020) – Erick Kwabena Bekoe and Alex Asamoah.
Bekoe emerged the goal king in the GPL during the 2007/2008 season after finding the net 17 times in 22 league appearances. The Porcupine Warriors have won the premier league title three times (2011/2012, 2012/2013, 2013/2014) since Bekoe won the goal king and the ultimate with them in 2007, but no player has been able to either equal or smash Bekoe’s tally of 17 league goals in a single season for Asante Kotoko.
The former Egyptian side Petrojet striker’s record came under great shiver when ex Kotoko talisman Alex Asamoah came so close in the 2008/2009 league season where he finished as the top scorer of the league. However, Bekoe’s record remained unmoved after Alex Asamoah finished the season with a total of 16 goals, still with Bekoe on top of the chart.
On Thursday, Asante Kotoko to social media to celebrate Bekoe for the feat he achieved with the club, thirteen years after winning the goal king in grand style. “17 goals in 22 games. Throwback to 2007 when Eric Bekoe took the Premier League by storm”, the club wrote on Twitter.
The “goal is my business” man proved very prolific in front of goal for Asante Kotoko not only in the domestic league, but also left an indelible mark in the club’s participation in the CAF inter club competitions the club played in with him leading the attack.
It is worth mentioning, that Eric Bekoe’s record has however been dwarfed by other players who won the goal king afterwards, such as Emmanuel Baffour, who scored 21 goals in the 2011/2012 league season while playing for New Edubiase United. Moreover, former Berekum Chelsea striker Kofi Owusu also finished the 2015 league season with 15 goals to win the goal king. The last player to win the goal king in a fully completed league season in Ghana was Hans Kwofie who finished the 2017 league season as top scorer with 17 goals for Ashantigold SC, equaling Bekoe’s tally in 2007.
