Bennard Yao Kumordzi

Bennard Kumordzi
	Kumordzi in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Bennard Yao Kumordzi
Date of birth	21 March 1985 (age 39)
Place of birth	Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
	Klagon Youth Academy
	Supreme FC
Senior career*
Years	Team
2005	FC Norrköping
2005–2006	IFK Norrköping
2006–2007	Egaleo
2007–2012	Panionios
2012	Dijon
2012–2017	Genk
2017–2019	KV Kortrijk
Total
International career
2007–2011	Ghana
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Bennard Yao Kumordzi (born 21 March 1985) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He mostly played for Panionios and more recently Genk and Kortijk.

Club career

Early career in Ghana and Sweden

Kumordzi started his career playing street football at Klagon FC Youth before signing for lower-league side Supreme FC. After playing three league matches in the 3rd Division he trialled with a number of clubs in Europe, finally joining a Swedish amateur club called FC Norrköping.^[1] During a cup match in July 2005 between FCN amateurs and IK Sleipner, a Second Division club, Kumordzi performed magnificently to win the match for his amateur club.^{[citation needed]}^[2] Stefan Hellberg, the then-coach of Swedish Superettan side IFK Norrköping, who was at the game, told journalists that he had just discovered a gem. He gave him a trial with his club and Kumordzi jumped six tiers in the football league pyramid from the sixth Division amateurs to the Superettan. However, he never became a regular starter in the team. His stay there was ended after Kumordzi going on a strike on contractual disputes with his former club FC Norrköping.^[3]

Greece

During the strike he had gone to Greece to practice with Greek Super League side Egaleo FC. He signed a five-year contract with the Greek outfit.

In January 2007, the Hellenic Football Federation awarded Kumordzi the Most Valuable Player award for the first half of the 2006–07 Super League Greece season.^[4]^[5]

Among clubs scouting Kumordzi was German Bundesliga side Bayer 04 Leverkusen.^[6]^[7]

His excellent performances were the reason that he gained a transfer to a bigger team. He signed a contract with Panionios on 23 May 2007.^[8]

France and Dijon

His performances in the Greek Super League earned Kumordzi a move to Ligue 1 club Dijon FCO in January 2012 .

International career

On 20 January 2007, Kumordzi was called up by Ghana's Olympic Team known as the Black Meteors for the 2008 Olympic Games Qualifier against Burkina Faso Olympic Team.^[9] He also played the two-legged tie of the 2007 All-African Games qualifying match against Nigeria U-23, which Ghana won.

On his 22nd Birthday, Kumordzi received his first senior call up for Ghana, as a direct injury replacement for captain Stephen Appiah for Ghana's international friendlies against Austria and Brazil on 24 and 27 March 2007.^[10] His international debut was against Brazil on 27 March 2007 at the Råsunda Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden when Ghana lost 1–0.^[11]

He scored his first goal for Ghana against Iran 28 June 2007, at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran.

Style of play

In 2005, Swedish newspaper Folkbladet compared Kumordzi to Nigeria international Nwankwo Kanu.^[7] Kumordzi stated he admired Patrick Vieira who played for Arsenal.^[12]^[13]

Honours

Genk

Belgian Cup: 2012–13

References

^ "Bennard Kumordzi: A Rising Star". ghanaweb.com. 13 January 2007. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
^ "WATCH OUT FOR BERNARD KUMORDZI". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
^ "Fotbollsspelare strejkar". realtid.se. 26 June 2006. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2007.
^ "Κουμορτζί για "άσπρες" μέρες". sport24.gr (in Greek). 18 January 2007. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
^ "Bennard Yao Kumordzi -MVP". GhanaWeb. 18 January 2007. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
^ "Leverkusen vill ha Bennard". nt.se. 13 December 2006. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 13 December 2006.
^ ^a ^b "Λεβερκούζεν για Κουμορτζί! – Νέα, Ομάδες, Πρόγραμμα, Αποτελέσματα, Βαθμολογίες, Στατιστικά – SPORT 24" (in Greek). Sport24.gr. Archived from the original on 27 January 2008. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
^ "Kumordzi opts for Panionios". bbc.co.uk. 23 May 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2007.
^ "28 called up for Black Meteors". ghanaweb.com. 20 January 2007. Retrieved 20 January 2007.
^ "Fresh call-ups for Ghana". Ghana Football Association. 21 March 2007. Retrieved 21 March 2007.
^ "Stars fall to Love strike". Official Website. Ghana Football Association. 29 March 2007. Retrieved 29 March 2007. Bernard Yao Kumordzi, Alfred Arthur and Ekow Benson – both locally-based players, all uncapped were given run outs by Claude Le Roy in the later stages of the game as Michael Helegbe enjoyed his second cap coming on as a substitute.
^ "Kumordzi Dreams of playing for Arsenal FC". goal.com. 24 April 2007. Retrieved 24 April 2007.
^ "Kumordzi dreams of Viera role". ghanafa.org. 14 April 2007. Retrieved 14 April 2007.