Christian Annan
Christian Kwesi Annan (Chinese: 安基斯; born 3 May 1978) is a former Ghanaian-born Hong Kong professional football player and current player for Hong Kong First Division club Yuen Long.
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Christian Kwesi Annan | ||
| Date of birth | 3 May 1978 | ||
| Place of birth | Accra, Ghana | ||
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||
| Position(s) |
Striker Left-Winger | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Yuen Long | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2006 | Eastern | 11 | (14) |
| 2006–2013 | Tai Po | 124 | (42) |
| 2013–2019 | Kitchee | 36 | (8) |
| 2016–2017 | → Pegasus (loan) | 19 | (2) |
| 2018–2019 | → Hoi King (loan) | 16 | (5) |
| 2019–2020 | Rangers | 9 | (0) |
| 2020– | Yuen Long | 0 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2014 | Hong Kong U-23 | 3 | (1) |
| 2014–2016 | Hong Kong | 13 | (1) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 November 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 1 September 2016 | |||
He is renowned in Hong Kong for his high pace and dribbling skill.
Club career
Eastern
Christian Annan arrived in Hong Kong to continue his football career in 2005. Unfortunately, he arrived at a time when most clubs in the First Division had already finished their foreign player signings, and so he joined Eastern, a Second Division club instead.
With 14 goals in 11 matches, including a hat trick against Tai Po, Annan successfully gained the attention of his then opponent. When Tai Po had successfully obtained their promotion status after the 2005–06 season, they signed Annan immediately.
Tai Po
Although he did not have the same impact in front of goal when compared to his time in the Second Division, Annan bagged 6 goals in 21 matches and became Tai Po's top scorer (along with defender Joel), helping the team to successfully avoid relegation. His performances were also thrown into the limelight with his selection into the Hong Kong League XI for the Lunar New Year Cup 2007. With only a brief appearance in the first match against Jamaica, Annan started the next match against Australia U-23, was fouled in the box, gaining a penalty for his team which ultimately tied the match (penalty scored by Keith Gumbs) in injury time.
His contribution on Tai Po has been further rewarded: he was selected into the 2006–07 Squad of the Year in the Hong Kong Footballer Awards.
In season 2007–2008, Annan kept performing and being selected into the first squad of Hong Kong League XI for the Lunar New Year Cup 2008. He only dropped out of the final selection due to the overload of attacking players. He scored 7 goals in the season, being named the second top league scorer of the team along with striking partner Betine, behind Dega.
In the 2011–12 season, on 18 September 2011, Annan appeared as a second-half substitute and scored twice against Kitchee, but Tai Po still lost the game, 4–2.
Kitchee
On 9 June 2013, Annan joined Kitchee on a free transfer along with his former Tai Po strike partner Alex. On 3 September 2013, Annan made his debut for Kitchee in a 6–2 victory against Sun Hei. On 19 October 2013, Annan scored his first goal for Kitchee by netting the winner in a 1–0 victory against Yokohama FC Hong Kong.
On 12 July 2017, Annan was recalled from loan after he spent the 2016–17 season at Pegasus.[1]
Hong Kong League XI
On 18 July 2010, Annan was selected into Hong Kong League Selection against Birmingham City in the Hong Kong Stadium. He scored a goal in the match and was the MVP of the match. After the match, it was rumoured that the manager of Birmingham City Alex McLeish was interested in signing Annan.[2]
Rangers
On 28 August 2019, Annan joined Rangers.[4] He played 17 matches for Rangers during the 2019–20 season including league and cup games, before the HKPL was suspended from mid of March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
International career
On 12 February 2014, after residing in Hong Kong for more than 7 years, Annan was granted the HKSAR passport, making him eligible for the Hong Kong national football team.
On 6 September 2014, Annan made his international debut for Hong Kong in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers against Vietnam.
Annan scored his first international goal for Hong Kong against Bhutan on 11 June 2015 in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
Honours
Club
- Tai Po
- Kitchee
Individual
Career statistics
Club
- As of 12 July 2017
| Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Hong Kong | League | FA Cup & Shield | LC & Play-offs | Asia | Total | |||||||
| 2005–06 | Eastern | Second Division | 8 | 14 | 3 | 0 | - | - | 11 | 14 | ||
| 2006–07 | Tai Po | First Division | 15 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | - | 21 | 6 | |
| 2007–08 | 18 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | - | 26 | 7 | |||
| 2008–09 | 23 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | 29 | 12 | |||
| 2009–10 | 18 | 3 | 4 | 1 | - | 6 | 1 | 28 | 5 | |||
| 2010–11 | 18 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | 25 | 8 | |||
| 2011–12 | 15 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | 21 | 11 | |||
| 2012–13 | 17 | 7 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 0 | - | 29 | 14 | |||
| 2013–14 | Kitchee | First Division | 18 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 6 |
| 2014–15 | Premier League | 9 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 22 | 3 | |
| 2015–16 | Premier League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
| 2016–17 | Pegasus | Premier League | 19 | 2 | 3 | 0 | - | - | 22 | 2 | ||
| 2017–18 | Kitchee | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Eastern | 8 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 14 | |
| Tai Po | 124 | 42 | 36 | 18 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 179 | 63 | ||
| Kitchee | 32 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 63 | 11 | ||
| Pegasus | 19 | 2 | 3 | 0 | - | - | 22 | 2 | ||||
| Career total | 183 | 65 | 51 | 19 | 19 | 5 | 22 | 1 | 275 | 90 | ||
International
- As of 5 March 2014
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Scored | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 March 2014 | My Dinh National Stadium, Từ Liêm District, Hanoi, Vietnam |  Vietnam |
1–3 | 0 | 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
International goals
- Scores and results list Hong Kong's goal tally first.[5]
| No | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 11 June 2015 | Mong Kok Stadium, Mong Kok, Hong Kong |  Bhutan | 2–0 | 7–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Personal life
Annan's wife, Irene, is a Hong Konger. The couple have a daughter named Precious[6][7][8]。
References
- "傑志望延續本地佳績 誓以認真態度挑戰亞冠盃舞台". Kitchee. Archived from the original on 22 July 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
- McLeish interested in signing Hong Kong League XI player Christian (in Chinese) Archived 9 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine (in Chinese)
- "港超升班馬凱景組青春班 助教黃耀富：協助小將下季獲大球會招手". Ming Pao. Retrieved 20 August 2018. (in Chinese)
- "年齡只是數字！安基斯簽約標準流浪". on.cc. Retrieved 28 August 2019. (in Chinese)
- "Annan, Christian". National Football Teams. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
- Wofoo Tai Po – Football can fulfill dreams (和富大埔—足可圓夢), Wofoo Social Enterprises, 2007，30–37 ISBN 978-988-99851-1-0
- 〈安基斯喜得異地情 Archived 21 September 2008 at Archive.today〉,蘋果日報 , 20 September 2008
- 〈African soccer players flee war and poverty in search of a better life in Hong Kong〉, South China Morning Post, 8 October 2008
External links
- Christian Annan at Soccerway