Harrison Afful
Harrison Afful is a Ghanaian former footballer who played as a fullback. He appeared previously for Feyenoord Academy, Espérance de Tunis, and Columbus Crew and spent time on loan at Asante Kotoko.
Afful came through the youth setup at the Feyenoord Academy, spending his first two professional seasons with the academy's senior team. He then moved on loan to Asante Kotoko, spending two seasons with the Porcupines and winning the Ghana Premier League in 2007–08. After four years of professional football, Afful left Ghana for the first time to join Espérance de Tunis of the Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1. He played the next six seasons with Tunis, appearing for the club more than 180 times. Tunis won four league titles during Afful's time there, appeared in three CAF Champions League finals, and won the 2011 CAF Champions League Final; Afful scored the only goal over the two legs. In the summer of 2015, Afful moved to the United States and signed for Columbus, helping the club reach MLS Cup 2015 in his first season.
At the international level, Afful made his Ghanaian debut at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, helping Ghana to a third-place finish at that tournament. He appeared for the Black Stars at four more AFCON tournaments, finishing as runners-up in 2010 and 2015. He was called up to Ghana's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, appearing twice during the tournament. Afful captained his nation for the first time in a friendly against Congo on 1 September 2015.
Early life
Born in Tema, Ghana, Afful grew up away in Nungua. He used to watch the Ghana national team on television before becoming a professional footballer.Club career
Feyenoord Academy
Afful joined the Feyenoord Academy after being discovered as a youth by Sam Arday. He rose through the youth ranks to the first team, appearing 148 times and scoring 11 goals in all competitions for the academy. Afful underwent a trial with Feyenoord, the parent club of the academy, in 2008. However, after four weeks, he was released without a contract and was informed that he was deemed too small. He also spent time training with Stabæk, Helsingborgs IF, and Mamelodi Sundowns but returned to Ghana after failing to land a contract.Loan to Asante Kotoko
Following the Feyenoord Academy's relegation to the Division One League, Afful returned to the Ghana Premier League with a loan to Asante Kotoko. The move was made possible through a clause in Jordan Opoku's contract. He had been bought by Kotoko the year before, and his contract allowed Asante Kotoko to choose one player to bring in on loan from the academy. They exercised it by choosing Afful.Afful impressed Kotoko head coach Bashir Hayford with his performance during a 10-minute cameo in a friendly match, allowing him to break into the first team after initially appearing to be outside Hayford's plans. He made his league debut for the club and scored in a 3–0 victory against All Blacks on 2 December 2007. Afful was named as the league's Player of the Year as Asante Kotoko won the Ghana Premier League title in 2007–08. Upon the expiration of his initial one-year loan, he returned to the Feyenoord Academy and undertook multiple trials in Europe and elsewhere in Africa. Those trials proved unsuccessful, and Afful returned to Asante Kotoko on loan for the second half of the 2008–09 season. He finished his time on loan with five goals from 68 appearances in all competitions. Upon the expiration of his loan deal, Kotoko reportedly opened talks for a permanent transfer, but were unable to reach a deal with the academy.
Espérance de Tunis
2009–2010: Early career in Tunisia
On 25 August 2009, Afful officially signed a three-year contract with Tunisian club Espérance de Tunis. He had trained with the club prior to the announcement and had scored a goal in a friendly match, helping convince Tunis to complete the signing. He made his debut for EST on 12 September, playing the full 90 minutes in a 4–0 victory over CS Sfaxien. Afful scored his first two goals for the club in a three-match span in the spring of 2010, tallying against CA Bizertin on 28 April and ES Hammam-Sousse on 15 May. He finished the season with two goals from 23 appearances in all competitions as Tunis claimed their second consecutive Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 title.2010–2013: Champions League success
In his second season at Espérance de Tunis, Afful did not play a large role in league play. He appeared 17 times without a goal as the Blood and Gold claimed their third consecutive league title, but did start in the Tunisian Cup final as Tunis defeated Étoile du Sahel. Instead, he became a fixture in the Tunis squad in 2010 CAF Champions League play. Afful made his debut in the tournament on 16 July 2010, appearing in Group A play against ES Sétif. He went on to appear in every game of the tournament from the group stage on, helping lead EST to the 2010 CAF Champions League Final against TP Mazembe. Afful played 90 minutes in the first leg in a 5–0 defeat for Tunis. He scored in the 24th minute of the second leg, his first-ever goal in the competition, but Tunis could only manage a 1–1 draw and were defeated on aggregate. On the season, Afful appeared 31 times in all competitions and scored once.Just as in the prior season, Afful played sparingly in the CLP-1: he appeared in 16 league matches without scoring as Tunis rolled to a fourth consecutive league crown. In 2011 CAF Champions League play, Afful again played a headlining role as Tunis advanced to the continental final for the second consecutive year. He came off the bench in the first leg of the 2011 CAF Champions League Final, replacing Wajdi Bouazzi in the 90th minute of a draw with Wydad Casablanca. Afful started in the second leg, playing at right back at the Stade 7 November. In the 22nd minute, he placed a left-footed, curling shot into the upper corner, a goal that gave Tunis a 1–0 victory and the second Champions League title in club history. By virtue of winning the Champions League, Tunis qualified for the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup. Afful appeared off the bench in the quarterfinals against Al Sadd and started the fifth place match against Monterrey. He played 31 times in all competitions, scoring once, during the course of the season.
Although Afful's contract with Espérance de Tunis expired at the end of June, he signed a three-year contract extension on 2 July 2012. With his contract situation resolved, he found his scoring boots in CLP-1 play, scoring goals against ES Zarzis on 21 November, JS Kairouan on 8 December, and Club Africain on 31 March 2013. Afful again played a vital role for EST in the Champions League, helping the Blood and Gold advance to their third consecutive final to take on Al Ahly. He played 73 minutes in the first leg of the 2012 CAF Champions League Final, helping Tunis earn a 1–1 draw but was suspended for the second leg due to yellow card accumulation. With Afful watching from the stands, Tunis lost the second leg by a 2–1 scoreline. He appeared 28 times in all competitions on the campaign, scoring three goals.
2013–2015: Final seasons at EST
was the busiest season of Afful's career to date: he appeared in a career-high 38 matches in all competitions and scored six goals. In CLP-1 play, he scored twice before the turn of the year, tallying against Stade Tunisien on 3 November and LPS Tozeur on 25 December. He continued his form after new head coach Ruud Krol was hired, scoring in the return fixture against Tunisien on 15 February. Afful then tallied the game-winning goal against Sfaxien on 2 April, helping Tunis claim their fourth league title in his five seasons at the club. He added ten more appearances in the 2013 CAF Champions League, but EST were defeated by Orlando Pirates in the semifinals and denied a fourth consecutive trip to the final. Afful then began the 2014 CAF Champions League by scoring in both the first and second qualifying rounds, helping Tunis advance over Gor Mahia and Real Bamako, respectively.In April 2014, Afful was the subject of transfer interest, with reports from his native Ghana claiming that he was the subject of an offer from Olympique de Marseille. The French club were reportedly looking to sign Afful before the 2014 FIFA World Cup began, in an effort to keep his price down. Following the domestic season, however, ES Tunis announced that Afful would not leave the club until after the World Cup at the earliest. He continued to attract interest after the World Cup, with a reported 13 European clubs battling for his signature; however, it was Al Wahda, of the United Arab Emirates, who reportedly won the race for his services. He underwent a medical, but the club canceled the deal after ES Tunis broke off communication and he thus returned to Tunisia.
After any potential move in the summer fell through, Afful returned to Tunis to begin the 2014–15 season. On 31 August, in a match away to Bizertin, he scored two goals to help EST claim a 3–1 victory. Afful would not score again for the remainder of the league season as Espérance placed third in the CLP-1, their lowest league finish during Afful's time at the club. With his contract set to expire at the end of June 2015, he was rumored to be re-signing a two-year deal with the Blood and Gold. In the final month of his contract, he appeared twice in the 2015 CAF Confederation Cup. However, Afful and the club could not agree on a new contract, and he departed after six seasons, 183 appearances, and 17 goals with Tunis.