Facts about Emmanuel Briandts (July 1929 to October 2008)

EMMANUEL CHRISTIAN BRIANDT(5 July 1929-18 October 2008)

Born in Accra,Gold Coast(Ghana).Chris enrolled at the Government Junior Boys School in 1936 and moved on to Kinbu Government Senior Boys School in 1940. In 1945, he passed out with the Standard Seven Certificate.

At school,Chris played football regularly and was a cut above the others in skill, agility, dedication and discipline.Soon after completing school, Chris got employed as a Pupil Teacher at the Osu Christianborg Progress School.

 Whiles coping with the demands of his new job,he got interested in riding horses and became a jockey of the Accra Turf Club, his ability to predict the correct winners of most of the races endeared him to the management of Accra Ice Company, a subsidiary of the United African Company(UAC) whose members were regular punters at the races and they soon offered Chris a job that terminated his teaching duties,on 31 January 1949, Chris became a staff of the UAC and in the same year, he made his first major breakthrough in soccer by getting snapped up by Accra Hearts of Oak,having caught the eyes of the selectors earlier on by his exploits at Osu Diegos and Accra Rolands(the nursery team of Hearts of Oak) only 19 years old at that time, Chris established himself at the heart of the Accra Hearts of Oak defense and played so well that he became the captain of the club a year later.

It was a matter of course that he merited selection into the Gold Coast XI that toured the United Kingdom in August 1951.

The team was made up of 22 of the country’s most talented footballers,all technically amateurs and all without boots.After four matches on the tour in Belfast(Northern Ireland), Dublin(Republic of Ireland) and Cardiff (Wales), Tim Darbar who was the substantive captain of the team lost his position in the starting line up and Chris(then Accra Hearts of Oak skipper) was given the responsibility to lead the team on the field.At the age of 22 the first match under his captainship, Gold Coast XI beat Artena League 4-3 and it was a big surprise because they had lost the previous match in Wales by an incredible 1-10 score line. 

In 1951,Chris and C.K Gyamfi were the first Gold Coasters(Ghanaians) to play soccer wearing soccer boots.Chris led the Gold coast XI to win the Jalco Cup in 1953,1955 beating Nigeria by 7-0 in Accra and 1957,Chris was named Gold Coast's(Ghana) Sportsman of the Year in 1956. Emmanuel Chris Briandt and James Adjaye were the only footballers selected to undergo coaching course at Cologne Sports Academy,Germany in 1958,returning home two weeks before Adjaye, Chris became Ghana’s first professionally certified coach.

The first match under Chris’ technical tutelage, Sekondi Hasaacas drew 3-3 against Fortuna Dusseldorf(Germany) in Sekondi,Ghana. The rest of the teams struggled: Accra Hearts of Oak were beaten 3-2. Kumasi Asante Kotoko lost 4-3. Southern Ghana got hammered 6-1.

Chris played a few more matches for Accra Hearts of Oak before he finally retired at the age of 30, in 1959. 

He continued with his work at the UAC until February, 1981 when he retired at the age of 52.Feeling very strong and healthy and not willing to waste his energy, Chris secured a job with the Office of the Revenue Commission as an Assistant Transport Officer.

 Emmanuel Christian Briandt:Ghana’s greatest ever football captain,a distinguished footballer by all standards,his Soft spoken, well-mannered, well-dressed, well-to-do lifestyle earned him the nickname "Gentleman Player". 

In 2004 Chris was named the winner of FIFA's Centenary Award in Ghana.