Ghana Football Association has made a revamp of the technical staff of the Black Stars after a very embarrassing performances in 2024 leading the team to miss the 2025 AFCON. 2024 could probably go down as the worst year in the history of the Black Stars, unquestionably.
Many changes have been made in the Black Stars’ coaching department with the biggest one being the appointment of German tactician Winnie Schafer as the Technical Director and advisor to Otto Addo.
Here Sportsworldghana informs you on what you need to know about the newly appointed veteran Ghana’s Technical Director and Advisor.
- Anton Schafer played as a midfielder for 18 years
As a professional player, Anton Schafer played for five different clubs in his 18-year career as a midfielder. In the 1967-68 season, he played for TuS Mayern U19. He joined Borussia Dortmund on July 1st 1968 where he played 43 games scoring four goals and 43 appearances helping the club win the 1969-70 Bundesliga title. In 1970, Schafer joined Kickers Offenbach for a fee of 88k euros and spent 5 years. He played 160 games scoring 37 goals lifting the 1969-70 DFB Pokal title before Karlsruher paid 250k euros for his signature. His darling Borussia Monchengladbach resigned him after two years with Karhsruher with a whooping 375k euros and went ahead to enjoy 58 years before retiring. His return to Monchengladbach was a successful one because he helped the club to win the 1978-79 UEFA Cup defeating Red Star Belgrade 2-1 0n aggregate. In total, Schafer played 438 Bundesliga games for three different clubs and scored 62 goals in West Germany’s top division making him one of the most experienced players ever in the history of German football.
- Winfried Schafer has been appointed 15 times as a manager/ head coach
A football globetrotter, Schafer has experienced different cultures as a manager after spending all his club career in his native Germany. The experienced gaffer got his 16th appointment when Ghana on 30th January 2025 confirmed him as the new technical director and technical advisor. The German got his first coaching job in July 1982 as the manager of Monchengladbach II. He was upgraded to scout in 1985 before a year later Karlsruher made him the main manager of the club. After managing 519 games in 12 years for the club where he played in the semi-finals of the 1993-94 UEFA Cup, he joined Stuttgart. Between 1999 and 2001, Schafer managed Borussia Berlin before moving away from Europe. In November 2001, the German was announced as the new head coach of Cameroon replacing Jean-Paul Akono. He won the Country’s 4th AFCON in Mali in 2002. Schafer left Cameroon in 2004 after the 2-1 quarter-final defeat against Nigeria, things became sour for Schafer with the Cameroonian FA and he eventually left. Stints with Al-Ahli and Al-Ain in the UAE followed between 2005 and 2009. He returned to Europe and managed FC Baku in Azerbaijan. Thailand and Jamaican National teams followed before a trip to Iran to coach the oldest Iranian club, Esteghlal between 2017 and 2019. Schafer in the 2019-20 season coached Baniyas and in 2021 managed Al-Khor of Qatar – his last job before being appointed as the Technical Advisor of the Black Stars. The German football brain in his coaching career has managed 948 games with 400 wins recorded, drawing 257 and losing 291 which represents a 42.19% win rate.
- Schafer, the first coach to Beat Brazil’s National Team for Africa in a competitive game
The Samba Boys who were the defending champions of the FIFA World Cup 2002 were the overwhelming favourites to lift the 2003 FIFA Confederation Cup albeit Ronaldo, Cafu, Roberto Carlos and Rivaldo were missing in Carlos Alberto Pereira’s team yet it had Ronaldinho, Lucio, Kleberson, Belletti, Ricardinho and Dida who were all part of the Japan/Korea 2002 World Cup winning squad. Youngsters like Adriano, Juan, Luis Fabiano and Dudu Caerense were included. Brazil is Brazil regardless of whoever wears the famous yellow and blue jersey. Brazil had since 2003 not lost to any African opponent in a senior competition. The Selecao in their opening game in Group B lost to Samuel Eto’s unforgettable strike in the 83rd minute. History was made by Africa and it was Winfried Schafer who tactically plotted Carlos Alberto Pereira’s downfall. The Indomitable Lions had won the 2000 and 2002 AFCONs and were in the forms of their lives. Kameni Carlos, Rigobert Song, Geremi Njetap, Marc-Vivien Foe, Eric Djemba Djemba and Samuel Et’o were in the starting lineup for Winfried Schafer’s Cameroon. Brazil has since then been beaten by Cameroon (2022 World Cup, 1-0), Morocco (2-1 Brazil, friendly in 2023) and Senegal (4-2 Brazil, friendly in 2023).
- Winfried Schafer won AFCON 2002 with Cameroon without conceding a single goal
The 23rd edition of the beautiful Africa Cup of Nations was hosted by Mali between 19th January and 10th February across 5 cities in 2002. Top coaches like Shaibu Amodu (Nigeria), Rabah Majer (Algeria), Carlos Queiroz (South Africa), Fred Osam Duodu (Ghana), Bruno Metsu (Senegal), Mahmoud El Gohary (Egypt) and Henri Michel (Tunisia) among so many fantastic tacticians were in Mali for the ultimate. Winfried Schafer’s tactical nous defeated every opponent that came his way including the final victory over Bruno Metsu’s incredible Senegal. Cameroon commenced the title defence with a superb 1-0 win over DR Congo and followed it with another slim 1-0 over Ivory Coast and ended the group stage with an emphatic 3-0 massacring of Togo. Patrick M’boma’s 62nd-minute strike ensured a 1-0 success for Schafer’s Cameroon in the quarter-finals over Egypt. Salomon Olembe’s quick double on the stroke of halftime put Mali, the host nation into trouble. In the second half, the late Marc-Vivien Foe rounded up the evening for Cameroon with a third goal to condemn Mali to an embarrassing 3-0 defeat. One of the tightest finals in the history of the competition ended with a goalless draw after an energy-sapping 120 minutes of intense action. The Central Africans won 3-2 on penalties with Suffo, Lauren and Geremi scoring their penalties while Wome and Song both missed. Cameroon lifted their 4th title without conceding a single goal in six games. The Indomitable Lions scored 9 goals. One of the best team performances by any country in the tournament history was masterminded by Winfried Schafer.
- The big boss has over 321K followers on Instagram
Born Winfried Anton Schafer in Mayern, a district in the north of Rhineland-Palatinat in West Germany on January 10th, 1950 to German parents. The West German has lived with his family (wife and two kids) in Ettlingen for nearly 30 years near Karlsruhe. The 75-year-old has over 320,000 followers on Instagram. The old man is so popular that he is a star on one of the biggest Social Media platforms. The German is a very famous figure after working in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. He has competed in big club competitions and major international tournaments including the FIFA World Cup, Confederations Cup and AFCON. These tournaments have made him so famous that every football purist knows Winfried Schafer.
