Two Ghanaian players – striker Richmond Boakye Yiadom and center back Abraham Akwasi Frimpong – were in full action on Thursday night in the second leg of the 2017/18 Europa League preliminary round playing for their Serbian side Red Star Belgrade against Maltese opposition Floriana.
Boakye Yiadom, 24 , – a former Ghana U20 atatcker – is currently on fire scoring goals with both feet and the head as coach Vladan Milojević continues to count on his goals for this season.
The strong center forward hit a brace in the first leg game played on 29th June at the Red Star stadium in the city of Belgrade where the Serbian heavyweight won 3-0 and the Ghanaian goal machine followed that with another masterclass in the return leg on Thursday scoring another double in the 13th and 70th minute to take his total senior goals tally to 60 since going abroad in 2008.
In attack Red Star rely on the goals of Yiadom whilst in defence the intelligent Abraham Frimpong provides the team with the solidity , security and protection helping them to the league title last season and starting and completing all two games in the Europa league 1st qualifying round versus the Maltese club.
At age 24, both Frimpong and Yiadom are peaking and understand the game better – and it is only a matter of time that the scouting lenses of Kwesi Appiah and his assistants spot these two Ghanaian players of Red Star once again. Yiadom is not new to Kwesi Appiah who invited him for the 2013 AFCON but only that he did not get the chance to be a first team player as he was always behind Asamoah Gyan whilst Frimpong is yet to receive a first call up in the Black Stars.
In the modern game, few top clubs in Europe entrust key areas of their teams like the attack and defence into the hands of African players – but the quality of Yiadom and Frimpong has forced Red Star coach Vladan Milojević to do so and the duo never disappointed him – delivering the 2016/17 Serbia league title for the club and have started the new 2017/18 season in the best possible way.
Red Star Belgrade will meet Irtysh Pavlodar of Kazakhstan in the 2nd qualifying stage of the Europa league with the first leg scheduled for 13th July.
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