Ragnar Prince Friedel Ache (born 28 July 1998) is a German professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for club

1. FC Köln 1. Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V., better known as simply 1. FC Köln () or FC Cologne in English language, English, is a German professional association football, football club based in Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 ...

Career

Born in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, Germany, Ache started his career in the youth ranks of Dutch side

Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands. Sparta currently competes in the Eredivisie, the top flig ...

. He made his debut for the club's reserve side, Jong Sparta, in the

Tweede Divisie Tweede Divisie (; ) is the highest amateur (and historically the lowest professional) football league in the Netherlands. It was established in 1956, together with the Eredivisie and the Eerste Divisie. Between 1956 and 1960 and between 1962 and 19 ...

on 20 August 2016 against TEC. He came on as a 66th-minute substitute for Ugur Altintas and scored a goal in the 66th minute as Jong Sparta drew the match 2–2. He would go on to score seven goals in 17 appearances for the Sparta Rotterdam reserve side for the 2016–17 season. On 4 April 2017, after good performances for Jong Sparta, Ache made his debut for the senior side in the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

against

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, ) is a town and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the m ...

. He came on as substitute for

Ilias Alhaft Ilias Alhaft (born 23 February 1997) is a Dutch professional association football, footballer who plays as a Winger (association football), winger for club SC Cambuur, Cambuur. Career Sparta Rotterdam Alhaft was born in on 23 February 1997 in R ...

in the 80th minute as Sparta Rotterdam lost 3–0. That would be his only appearance with the senior side that season. At the start of the 2017–18 season, Ache was put into the first-team and came on as a substitute for

Craig Goodwin Craig Alexander Goodwin (born 16 December 1991) is an Australian professional soccer player as a left winger for Adelaide United and the Australian national team. Known for his agility, crossing and shot placement, he is Adelaide United's all- ...

in Sparta Rotterdam's 3–0 defeat at

VVV-Venlo VVV-Venlo (, ''VVV'' stands for ''Venlose Voetbal Vereniging'' meaning "Venlo Football Club") is a Dutch association football, football club from Venlo, a city on the border with Germany. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutc ...

in the opening game of the season. On 25 August 2017, Ache scored his first two professional goals for Sparta Rotterdam, grabbing a brace in the club's 2–2 draw away at

NAC Breda NAC Breda (), often simply known as NAC, is a Dutch professional football club, based in Breda, Netherlands. NAC Breda play in the Rat Verlegh Stadium, named after their most important player, Antoon 'Rat' Verlegh. They play in the Eredivisi ...

. Ache came onto the pitch in the 52nd minute with Sparta Rotterdam down 2–0 and scored in the 70th and 84th minutes of the match.

Eintracht Frankfurt

On 3 January 2020, Ache signed a five-year contract with German club

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...

. He made his first appearance for the club on 25 September 2020 against

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...

, coming on as a 66th-minute substitute as Eintracht Frankfurt won 3–1. On 14 June 2022, Ache was loaned to Greuther Fürth for the season.

Kaiserslautern

On 25 July 2023, 2. Bundesliga side

1. FC Kaiserslautern 1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern e. V., also known as 1. FCK, FCK (), FC Kaiserslautern (), K'lautern or colloquially Lautern (), is a German sports club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition to Association football, football ...

announced the signing of Ache for a reported fee of €1 million.

FC Köln

On 27 May 2025, Ache signed a contract with

until 2029.

International career

Born in Germany, Ache is of Ghanaian descent. He is a youth international for Germany. On 9 July 2021, Ache and

Keven Schlotterbeck Keven Matteo Schlotterbeck (born 28 April 1997) is a German professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club FC Augsburg. Career Schlotterbeck made his professional debut for SC Freiburg in the Bundesliga on 3 February 2019, coming ...

were nominated to join the German Olympic team for the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

, after

Josha Vagnoman Josha Mamadou Karaboue Vagnoman (born 11 December 2000) is a German professional footballer who plays as a defender for Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart and the Germany national team. He developed through the academy of Hamburger SV and has repres ...

and

Niklas Dorsch Niklas Bernd Dorsch (born 15 January 1998) is a German professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Bundesliga club 1. FC Heidenheim. Club career Bayern Munich On 2 September 2015, Dorsch signed a one-year apprentice contrac ...

withdrew. In the opening game of Group D of the competition on 22 July, coming on as a substitute in the second half, Ache scored the second of Germany's two goals in a 4–2 loss to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. He would score again in the second match, giving Germany a 2–1 lead in an eventual 3–2 win over

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

Career statistics

Honours

Eintracht Frankfurt *

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

: 2021–22 1. FC Kaiserslautern *

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

runner-up: 2023–24

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ache, Ragnar 1998 births Living people Footballers from Frankfurt Men's association football forwards German men's footballers German sportspeople of Ghanaian descent German expatriate men's footballers Sparta Rotterdam players Eintracht Frankfurt players SpVgg Greuther Fürth players 1. FC Kaiserslautern players 1. FC Köln players Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players Tweede Divisie players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Germany men's under-21 international footballers German expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Germany UEFA Europa League–winning players 21st-century German sportsmen Jong Sparta players