Former Black Stars coach, James Kwasi Appiah has stated that the late Christian Atsu was one of the players who always made him proud.

Kwasi Appiah handed Christian Atsu his Black Stars debut at age 20 when Ghana faced Lesotho in 2012.

Atsu scored in the game that Ghana won 7-0 at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium.

Reacting to the player passing, dispirited Kwesi Appiah showered praises on Atsu for repaying his trust.

"It's really, really sad that Atsu is no more. May his soul rest in peace and my condolence also goes to the family as well as all of us, Ghanaians. When he heard that there's been an earthquake in Turkey we were all praying that he would be found but God knows best. He is someone who when you give him a role on the field, will do his best to make you the coach proud...I use to tell my players to go onto the field and show that they deserve to be on the team. Atsu is one of the players who did not grace me. Of the pitch, he was humble and always laughing. The old and new players used to play with him every time. Apart from that, in his social life, we all knew how he helped the less privileged. That is all I can say about Atsu," he told Oman FM.

A high-magnitude earthquake struck in Hatay, Turkey on February 6, 2023, which led to Atsu being trapped in his destroyed apartment for over a week.

His body was discovered lifeless on February 18 and was added to the death toll of over 40,000 after the earthquake.

The deceased winger, who made 60 appearances for Ghana, scored 10 goals in his 11-year international career.

His last appearance came in 2019 when he played in the 2019 African Cup of Nations.

Christian Atsu is the only Ghanaian to win the best player and best goal at AFCON, a feat he achieved in 2015.


EE/KPE