Joseph Okyere, a former player for Asante Kotoko, is the only player in Ghanaian football history to have participated in three CAF Champions League finals, an impressive feat.
It was a bittersweet victory despite his outstanding achievement because he lost all of the finals.
In Ghanaian football, Okyere is not as well-known as his teammates, Emmanuel Ampiah, Frank Amankwah, Frimpong Manson, and Agyemang Duah. Nonetheless, he became a cult legend at Kotoko when they played in the Champions League in 1993.
Kotoko overcame a first-leg deficit to win the quarterfinal match against Nkana Red Devils in Kumasi thanks to his brace. In the semifinals, he scored as well, helping Kotoko defeat ASEC Mimosas and go to face Zamalek in the championship game.
It was his first Champions League final (1993), which Kotoko lost 5–4 on penalties.
A year after leaving Kotoko, Okyere would go on to play in consecutive championship games. After a productive season at Kotoko, he joined Zamalek and was essential to the team’s 1994 playoff run.
But they fell short against Esperance de Tunis, which was Okyere’s last loss.
It took Joe Okyere three years to make another appearance in the finals. In those three years, he signed for Ashanti Gold Sporting Club, formerly known as Obuasi Gold Fields, in Ghana after leaving Zamalek and spending a brief time in Saudi Arabia.
In 1997, he scored three goals and ended as the team’s second-highest scorer to help lead the team to their first and only CAF Champions League final.
Regretfully, it was not to be as the Moroccan team Raja Casablanca defeated the Miners. The draw ended 1-1 on aggregate, sending the match to penalties. In the second match in Morocco, Raja prevailed 5–4 on penalties when Okyere missed his attempt.
Joe Okyere played football for Asante Kotoko for a brief period before retiring in the early 2000s.
