Franck Fiawoo

Franck Fiawoo (born June 6, 1942 in Lomé , † June 27, 2008 in Marseille ) was a Togolese football player .

Player career

The striker Fiawoo began playing football at the Danger Star district club in the Togolese capital Lomé. From there he moved to the Étoile Filante de Lomé , with whom he won national titles both in the cup and in the championship. He was one of the key players in the early 1960s, which also earned him appointments to the national team. With this he took part in the soccer tournament of the Africa Games in 1965 . Thus, he had become one of the most important players in his West African homeland when he was signed by the French second division Olympique Marseille in the run-up to the 1965/66 season at the age of 23 . With Jean Robin it was a long-time Olympiques player who was Togo's national coach at the time and who initiated the change of players.

For Marseille Fiawoo came on October 16, 1965 in a 2-2 win against Racing Besançon for his debut in France's second-highest division. Towards the end of the season he was called up more and more frequently and achieved promotion to the top class with his team. As a result, he made his debut on September 3, 1966 in a 1-0 win against FC Sochaux in this league. Although he did not have a permanent place, he regularly formed a duo with the Cameroonian Joseph Yegba Maya , who, like him, was very robust and agile. At the beginning of 1968 Fiawoo was awarded to the second division club SEC Bastia . For the club from the island of Corsica he was able to meet eleven times by the following summer break and thus make an important contribution to the promotion to the top French league. After his return he was regularly used in Marseille, although with the Swede Roger Magnusson another competitor was added on the offensive. However, the competition in the storm prevented him from playing the French Cup final in 1969 . In this, the team moved in next to a mediocre performance in the league and was able to prevail 2-0 against Girondins Bordeaux without his participation .

For the season 1969/70 the Togoer moved from Marseille to the second division Avignon Football , where he took a regular place and in 1970 reached the promotion round to the first division. However, the team failed to qualify for the top division. For the 1970/71 season he joined the second division newcomer ESCN La Ciotat , but suffered a serious car accident on the motorway near Avignon before the start of the season. Among other things, he suffered a fracture of his tibia and fibula and as a result there were problems with treatment, which necessitated several operations. As a result, he was never used for La Ciotat and had to end his professional career.

Trainer career and further life

After retiring, he first returned to his homeland in Togo, where he worked for an electricity supplier and also worked as a football coach. Among other things, he held this position in the 1980s at Entente II Lome and reached the quarter-finals of the African Cup Winners' Cup with the team . He then took over the coaching position at his former club Étoile Filante. Fiawoo also devoted himself to youth work and opened a football school together with a former teammate in Tsévié , although this project was unsuccessful due to lack of money. As a result of the serious traffic accident, among other things, he suffered from increasing health problems and went back to France for better treatment options, where he lived again in Marseille from 2001 onwards. He died there in 2008 at the age of 66.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Franck Fiawoo: Etoile Filante de Lomé à l'Olympique de Marseille , letogolais.com
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Franck Fiawoo, le bulldozer africain , om4ever.com
3. ↑ Franck Fiawoo dit "Franckie ou le bulldozer Africain" , om1899.com
4. ↑ Football: Franck Fiawoo , footballdatabase.eu