Meet Kwesi Donsu: Ghana’s free-kick expert

Published on: 26 October 2016
Meet Kwesi Donsu: Ghana’s free-kick expert
Akwesi Dousu of Medeama SC during the CAF Confederation Cup between Medeama SC and Young Africans 26 july 2016 playing in Sekondi Ghana © Christian Thompson/BackpagePix

When you spend time with Medeama midfield star Kwesi Donsu, it doesn’t take long to understand why he idolises Cristiano Ronaldo.

The self consciousness is deep. He says ‘Me, Kwesi Donsu’ about a million times after every sentence, has great belief in himself, and has no doubt he is destined for the top.

The self-belief is not the only lesson Donsu has picked from his Portuguese idol. He is superb at free-kicks. And his numbers from last season suggests maybe he is even better at it than the ‘CR7’.

Over the course of the season, Donsu scored 10 free-kicks in 25 games. 10. From his midfield position he contributed 15 goals in all. And there is a great variety in the free-kicks. He can bend them, he can curl them, and he is capable of hitting it from distance.

Donsu’s free-kick expertise is rare in a country and league where the conventional wisdom is that the players are just awful from dead-ball situations. The belief has always been that players here just don’t practice enough and are not technical enough to punish opponents for fouls around the 18-yard box.

Donsu’s skills ensured Medeama were different. In their league and CAF Confederation Cup campaign, his colleagues actively sought fouls in prime areas. For Medeama, free-kicks became like penalties because of Donsu.

So just how did he become so good at it? One name explains it: Cristiano Ronaldo.

“I really like Cristiano Ronaldo and the way he plays,” Kwesi Donsu tells KweséSports. “I spend a lot of time watching him and I fell in love with his free-kicks. So I watch a lot of them and practice. It has paid off.

“The first thing I do is to pick my spot. My belief with free-kicks is that if you hit it well with pace and as far from the goalkeeper as possible, he has no chance.”

Credit: Michael Oti Adjei (www.kwesesports.com)

 

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