Ghana Premier League giants Asante Kotoko have announced the appointment of former Suriname national team coach Stanley Purl Menzo as the Director of Football.
The appointment, according to a press release by the club, takes effect immediately.
“The appointment forms part of the club’s long-term strategy to strengthen its technical leadership, modernize its football operations, and restore the Porcupine Warriors to the summit of domestic and continental football,” the press release issued by the Board of the club stated.
The 62-year-old Dutchman joins the Porcupine Warriors with one of the most impressive football résumés ever associated with the club.
Himself a distinguished football manager and an accomplished former professional goalkeeper, he spent ten full seasons as a player at AFC Ajax, where he made more than 300 official appearances and won nine major titles.
Mr. Menzo was regarded as one of the first goalkeepers capable of contributing as an outfield player, a forward-thinking, ball-playing philosophy that helped shape the modern game.
He was a full international for the Netherlands at the FIFA World Cup in Italy in 1990 and at the European Championship level. He was a key player in the AFC Ajax team that won the 1986–87 European Cup Winners’ Cup and the UEFA Cup in 1992.
He also played for such great clubs as PSV, Lierse and Bordeaux among others.
The new Director of Football for Asante Kotoko SC went on to build an extensive management career across three continents.
His coaching journey has included FC Volendam, SC Cambuur and Lierse in Europe, Ajax Cape Town in South Africa, Beijing Guoan in China, and the national teams of Aruba and Suriname.
He was in charge of the Suriname national team in their just ended World Cup campaign.
He also served as goalkeeping coach of the Netherlands national team under Marco van Basten in 2004.
In his new role, Mr. Menzo will assume responsibility for the club’s overall football direction, including technical strategy, player recruitment and retention, youth development, and the alignment of the academy and senior structures into a single, coherent football identity.
He will be responsible for all technical matters of the club until the appointment of a substantive head coach for the senior side.