Ibrahim Tanko

Ibrahim Tanko

Tanko in 2011
Personal information
Full name Ibrahim Tanko
Date of birth (1977-07-25) July 25, 1977
Place of birth Kumasi, Ghana
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position Forward
Club information
Current team
 Cameroon (Assistant coach)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1994 King Faisal Babes 103 (12)
1994–2000 Borussia Dortmund 52 (3)
2001–2007 SC Freiburg 106 (5)
Total 261 (20)
National team
1996–2004 Ghana 10 (0)
Teams managed
2007–2008 SC Freiburg (Assistant coach)
2009–2010 Urawa Red Diamonds (Assistant coach)
2011 1. FC Köln (Head scout)
2011–2012 1. FC Köln (Assistant coach)
2012–2013 Ghana (Head scout)
2013– Cameroon (Assistant coach)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Ibrahim Tanko (born 25 July 1977) is a scout and football manager, and a retired Ghana international footballer who played mostly as a forward.

He played most of his 15-year professional career - blighted by injuries - in Germany, with Borussia Dortmund and Freiburg.

Club career

Born in Kumasi, Tanko joined German side BV Borussia Dortmund from King Faisal Babes at age 17, making him the third youngest player to appear professionally for the team, behind Nuri Şahin and Lars Ricken. He made his Bundesliga debut on 24 September 1994, in a 5–0 home win against VfB Stuttgart, and finished his debut season with 14 games and one goal.

Injuries and loss of form led to an eventual release from the club (he did participate in three contests, all as a late substitute, in Borussia's 1996–97 UEFA Champions League victorious run) as he amassed no more than three league appearances in three different seasons, also being suspended and eventually released after testing positive for cannabis.[1]

In January 2001, Tanko joined fellow league side SC Freiburg, scoring in his fourth game, a 3–1 win at VfL Bochum, but also missing a great part of the following campaign due to a severe knee injury,[2] as the Black Forest team dropped down to the second division.

At Freiburg, Tanko's output improved slightly, and he played a career-high 27 matches (with two goals) in 2005–06's second level. However, he only appeared once the following season, and retired at 30.

In January 2012, Tanko was appointed as the head scout of the Ghana national football team and prior to the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.[3]

On 1 July 2007, Tanko was named assistant coach for Freiburg's reserves, leaving after 18 months, together with Karsten Neitzel, to J. League's Urawa Red Diamonds, in the same capacity, as he rejoined former Freiburg boss Volker Finke. On 4 June 2013, they continued their partnership as Tanko joined the coaching staff of Cameroon national team, headed by Finke.[4]

International career

Tanko gained ten caps for Ghana, the last coming on 10 October 2004 - after an absence of eight years - in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier against the Democratic Republic of Congo.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Africans abroad". BBC Sport. 28 May 2001.
  2. ↑ "Injury setback hits Freiburg". UEFA.com. 12 March 2002.
  3. ↑ "Ghana Fa To Announce Scouts For Nations Cup". spyghana.com. 6 December 2012. Retrieved September 2013. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  4. ↑ "Meet Tanko, Finke's new assistant". StarAfrica.com. 5 June 2013.
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