Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer: Who is Hamburg’s Ghana international winger?
An explosive young winger with an eye for goal and seemingly limitless potential, there’s plenty to like about Hamburg winger Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer, who is part of Ghana’s squad at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
bundesliga.com has all you need to know about the pacy 22-year-old…
*stats correct as of 4 January 2024
Age: 22 (born 13 September 2001)
Club: Hamburg
Position: Winger
Country: Ghana (two caps) / Germany (one U21 cap)
Key stats
Born and raised in Berlin to a Ghanaian father and a German mother, “Ransi” cut his teeth in the game at local club Charlottenburg until the age of 13, at which point the city’s top dogs – Hertha – snapped him up for their youth academy.
While the 6’0” attacker shares a name with Ghana legend Tony Yeboah, he is no relation to the former Eintracht Frankfurt forward – although he has a similar flair for the spectacular.
After being released by Hertha in summer 2019, Königsdörffer seemed determined to show the Old Lady what they were missing and registered an astonishing 17 goals and eight assists in 19 games for Dynamo Dresden’s U19 side in the 2019/20 season.
He was understandably fast-tracked into the first team and made his professional debut in December 2019 in a 2-0 defeat by Nuremberg in Bundesliga 2. He spent the next two seasons at the club, helping them regain promotion back to the second division, before Hamburg secured his signature in summer 2022, where he hit 10 goals in 35 outings in his maiden campaign at the club.
The winger, who had represented Germany at U21 level in September 2021, made his senior international debut for Ghana in September 2022 in a friendly against Liberia, following that up with a second cap a few days later against Nicaragua.
He was named in coach Chris Hughton's final squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast in January-February 2024.
Watch: Königsdörffer announced himself on the Bundesliga 2 stage with a brace for Dresden against Karlsruhe in 2021
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Plays a bit like: Kingsley Coman
Comfortable on either wing, with pace to burn and a love of running at – and breezing past - opposition defenders, there’s more than a hint of Bayern Munich winger Kingsley Coman in Königsdörffer’s style of play.
Did you know
Königsdörffer very nearly didn’t make it as a professional after suffering two serious knee injuries – one on the left, one on the right - in the space of a year at the age of just 17, tearing the meniscus on each occasion.
“I didn’t really believe that I’d make it as a professional this early, or even at all,” he later said, reflecting on that difficult period.
What they’re saying
“When I got the call, I made up my mind very quickly to play for Ghana. My dad is very proud that I’m playing for his homeland. I’m very grateful to have this opportunity.” – Königsdörffer on his decision to represent Ghana
“He’s quick and in terms of technique, a superbly cultured player who can play in a number of positions in attack.” – HSV CEO Jonas Boldt
“I’m satisfied with his development but he needs to be more consistent. As a young player you have to push yourself to your limit every day in training. That’s how you improve.” – Hamburg coach Tim Walter
“My impressions of Ransford’s training were good. He did it properly. He's still very young. But it was our intention to bring young players into our squad. We want to build up a strong squad for the future.” - Former Ghana head coach Otto Addo
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