Razak signs with BBC

African football legend Abdul Razak of Ghana will be joining the BBC team for their coverage of the African Cup of Nations. Razak is a man who really knows the African game and is a winner.

In 1978, he was voted African Footballer of the Year. Earlier in the year, he helped Ghana's Black Stars on home soil lift the African Nations Cup for a third time

BBC Sport Online's Eniwoke Ibagere said: "My abiding memory of that final was Abdul Razak at the end of the game.

"He was holding the Cup and a helicopter landed in the centre of the pitch to whisk the players away to State House. I recall Razak beaming with delight as he turned to board the chopper"

"I'm delighted to get the opportunity to work with him."

Razak will be an expert summariser during the Nations Cup in Mali.

Divided loyalties

Now though, he is not stuck in his past glories, as he is currently based in Mali as coach of Stade Malian.

He made a huge impression in his first season there as he led the club to a league and Cup double.

In the course of the league win, his team made history by going unbeaten.

Several of Razak's players are expected to be in the Mali squad in the finals in January.

He is also no stranger to the current crop of Ghanaian players, as he was assistant coach to the Black Stars, when his country co-hosted the 2000 edition with Nigeria.

At the time of the 2002 finals draw, Razak told BBC Sport Online that he would have divided loyalties if his adopted nation came up against the nation he represented so proudly in the past.

And during this year's Christmas holiday, his two worlds will come together when Mali face the Black Stars in a friendly on 26 December in the Malian city of Mopti