Oduro's Magic to Propel Kotoko

Kumasi Asante Kotoko has a new football star; Stephen Oduro. He is only twenty but has already carved an image of a goal scorer and defence breaker for himself.

Stephen Oduro kisses the ball, smiles and stretches his arms to the sky, his way of celebrating goals. Thanks to his incredible ball control, he seems to be able to find a way through even the defence and dodges goalkeepers with long volleys. That is why he has earned the nickname "The Conqueror". In Kotoko, the supporters are already beginning to call him "The Bomber".

Settling in Kotoko does not seem to have been a problem. Club president Herbert Mensah has implicit faith in the young star. No wonder he spent quite a fortune to whisk him from the clutches of Hearts of Oak and Obuasi Goldfields. Speaking to a colleague, Herbert Mensah had this to say of Stephen Oduro, "He does not just control the midfield and hang around the goal area, he does a lot of running. He is strong in the air as well as the ground and also has an eye for a team mate in a good position."

Stephen Oduro is one of Real Tamale United's players earning a living as a professional footballer in Kotoko. But none of the others is playing the kind of spectacular and successful football that Stephen Oduro provides. Away from the game, he enjoys music and going to the cinema.

Maybe the road out of the valley of tears for Kotoko will soon open up with Stephen Oduro leading the way. He has become used to being the centre of attraction and is well aware of the expectations that are being built around him. So far he has been able to deliver what is wanted of him - controlling the midfield, open up defences, lay passes for teammates to score and score goals himself.

His aim is to continue making progress towards the top in football. While he is clearly ambitious, he is an open, unassuming and friendly person, and extremely popular with Kotoko fans. His main target and objective is to help Kotoko win the ABC League and take part in the CAF Championship League.