Daniel Afriyie Barnieh has moved from a rejected stone to a star in the making by helping 2000 CAF Champions League winners Accra Hearts of Oak SC to lift their first trophy in the club’s history since winning the Ghana Premier League in 2009.
Barnieh, this season played better than all the strikers of a team that rejected him, Kumasi Asante Kotoko and also helped their arch-rivals Accra Hearts of Oak SC to beat them to the Ghana Premier League trophy this season with four points.
The 20-year-old Ghanaian prodigy was rejected by Kumasi Asante Kotoko SC as he was seen to be not good enough for the Red and Whites outfit and was subsequently released by the club as they opted not to offer him a contract at the Kumasi-based club.
He later joined rivals Accra Hearts of Oak SC after he was painfully rejected by Asante Kotoko with the hope of making it work at the Rainbow Club after getting a second chance to play for a big in the country and beyond.
Barnieh’s life at Hearts did not start with promise neither did he gain the trust of the media and football enthusiasts and his abilities was doubted by the fans of the club due to constant below average performances from the youngster.
In the truncated league in Ghana due to the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic, the young lad managed just a goal in ten games which made many supporters of Asante Kotoko praising their leaders for allowing him to join their rivals instead of ‘wasting’ their money on him.
Fast-forward to late 2020, Barnieh was named the captain of Ghana’s U20 team,Black Satellites to the surprise of many football fans but the determined young attacker would lead Ghana to lift its first West African Football Union (WAFU) tournament triumph.
In early 2021, the Hearts of Oak man was leading Ghana to lift its fourth (4th) Africa Youth Championship against all odds when he scored a brace for the Black Satellites in the final against Uganda in Mauritania to bring the trophy home and win his second trophy for the country.
Soon, the 2020-21 Ghana Premier League was in full flight and Barnieh continued to divide opinions among Hearts of Oak SC fans and Ghanaian football lovers who still didn’t believe in the young man and as the season began.
Afriyie started the 2020-21 Ghana Premier League on a low level but gradually warned himself into the season as he became untouched in the team’s selection under coach Nii Noi and Samuel Boadu in the second half of the season.
With his work rate and ‘dying for the team’ attitude, he gradually found his way into the hearts of many fans of the Phobians as he started giving the a consistent superlative performances.
One can arguably say that, the 20-year-old won the league trophy for the Rainbow Boys and would not be far from right for having such an opinion.
Barnieh scored the most important goal of the season for Hearts of Oak SC against their arch-rivals Kumasi Asante Kotoko SC, a club that rejected him in the Super Clash in Accra with a sumptuous strike to put the Phobians three points ahead of the Porcupine Warriors which led to their league triumph this year and the first time in 12 years.
Barnieh performed better than any Asante Kotoko SC strikers this term, scoring seven (7) goals and providing four (4) assists outwitting Kwame Opoku who scored seven goals without providing assists as many as what Afriyie Barnieh has to his name in the 2020-21 Ghana Premier League season.
With his seven goals, four assists and four Man-Of-The-Match awards this campaign, the rejected Kotoko one has become a cornerstone for the Phobians outshining the Porcupine Warriors attackers and clinching the 2020-21 Ghana Premier League title at the expense of the Red and Whites outfit.
