Kwadwo Asamoah

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Kwadwo Asamoah
File:Kwadwo Asamoah 20140816.jpg
Asamoah in 2014
Personal information
Full name Kwadwo Asamoah
Date of birth (1988-12-09) 9 December 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth Kumasi, Ashanti, Ghana
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Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Juventus
Number 22
Youth career
2005–2006 Kaaseman, Kumasi
2006–2007 Liberty Professionals, Accra
2008 Bellinzona
2008 → Torino
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2012 Udinese 114 (8)
2012– Juventus 79 (4)
International career‡
2006– Ghana[2] 66 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 May 2016
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 1 September 2014

Kwadwo "Kojo" Asamoah[3] (Akan: pronunciation: /ˌkwʌˈdʒoʊ/ /æsæˈmoʊˌɑː/, kwu-JOE ə-sah-MOH-ah; born 9 December 1988 in Accra)[4] is a Ghanaian professional footballer, who plays as a left midfielder, left wing-back or as an offensive central midfielder for Italian Serie A club Juventus and the Ghana national football team.[5]

He began his professional career with Italian club Udinese in 2008; his consistent performances earned him a transfer to Juventus in 2012, where, with his energy, versatility, and technical skills, he played a key role in helping the club to four consecutive Serie A titles. At international level, he has represented Ghana in four Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, and two FIFA World Cups.

Asamoah was awarded CAF Most Promising African Player in 2010 and named Ghana Player of the Year twice consecutively for 2012 and 2013.[6][7] In 2013, Asamoah was ranked as the 27th best footballer in the world by Bloomberg.[8]

Club career

Early career

File:Kwadwo Asamoah.jpg
Asamoah playing for Udinese in 2011

Asamoah was scouted playing for a local based club, which belongs to Kamara and was recommended by the scout Mr. Charles Mensah Gapson to the late Alhaji Sly Tetteh, former CEO of Liberty Professionals. He joined Swiss club Bellinzona and was loaned to Italian side Torino in the winter of 2007–08.

Udinese

In June 2008 Asamoah was signed by Serie A club Udinese where he established him self and became a linch pin. He eventually established himself for both club and country. After some good performances at the 2010 World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations, he became a target of top clubs in Europe.[9][10]

Juventus

File:Kwadwo Asamoah'13.JPG
Asamoah playing for Juventus in 2013

Asamoah and Udinese teammate Mauricio Isla both joined Juventus in July 2012 on co-ownership agreements, with Juventus paying €9 million for 50% of Asamoah's contract.[11][12] He made his debut on 11 August 2012 against Napoli in the 2012 Supercoppa Italiana, scoring a goal as Juventus went on to win 4–2 after extra time.[13] Due to his impressive performance against Napoli, Antonio Conte, who was Juventus's coach at the time, decided to start him in the opening league match of the 2012–13 season, against Parma, on 25 August: he made an immediate impact, by setting up Stephan Lichtsteiner's goal in a 2–0 home win.[14] On 16 September, he scored his first goal with his new club in a 3–1 away league win over Genoa.[15] Juventus went on to win the Serie A title that season.[16] Asamoah was bought outright by Juventus in June 2013, signing a four-year deal with the club.[17]

On 9 March 2014, Asamoah scored a notable goal in a 1–0 home victory over Fiorentina,[18] as Juventus went on to defend the Serie A title and the Supercoppa Italiana that season.[19][20]

During the 2014–15 season, Asamoah suffered a severe knee injury in the 10th league match of the season, on 1 November 2014, against Empoli, ruling him out for most of the season.[21] He was only first able to return to the team and resume training towards the end of the season, as Juventus won the Serie A title; he was therefore not able to appear in Juventus's Coppa Italia victory over Lazio in the final.[22] He returned to the pitch on 23 May 2015, in a 3–1 home win over Napoli.[23]

International career

On the international level, Asamoah was given his debut for the Ghana national team, Black Stars, in 2006, under French manager Claude Le Roy. He represented Ghana in 2008 and 2010 editions of the Africa Cup of Nations, winning a bronze and a silver medal in the respective tournaments, and later in the 2012 and 2013 editions. He also appeared for Ghana at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Style of play

A hardworking, energetic and tactically versatile player, Asamoah is primarily known for his pace, strength, stamina, and his outstanding technical, physical, and athletic characteristics; these attributes allow him to be effective both offensively and defensively, and enable him to play in several positions along the pitch, although he primarily serves as a ball-winner. A predominantly left-footed player, he is also very agile, and is a neat passer and a skilful dribbler.[24][25]

Career statistics

Club statistics

As of 8 May 2016.[26]
Team League Season League Cup1 Europe2 Other Cups3 Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Udinese Serie A 2008–09 20 2 2 0 6 0 - - 28 2
2009–10 25 1 2 0 - - - - 27 1
2010–11 38 2 1 0 - - - - 39 2
2011–12 31 3 0 0 9 0 - - 40 3
Udinese Total 114 8 5 0 15 0 – – 134 8
Juventus Serie A 2012–13 27 2 1 0 7 0 1 1 36 3
2013–14 34 2 1 0 11 0 1 0 47 2
2014–15 7 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 10 0
2015–16 11 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 13 0
Juventus Total 79 4 4 0 21 0 2 1 106 5
Career totals 193 12 9 0 36 0 2 1 243 13

1Includes Coppa Italia.

2Includes UEFA Cup, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

3Includes Supercoppa Italiana.

National team

As of September 2014.[2]
Ghana national team
Year Apps Goals
2008 1 0
2009 6 1
2010 18 0
2011 10 0
2012 11 0
2013 14 3
2014 6 0
Total 66 4

Honours

Club

Juventus[27]

International

Ghana[27]

Individual

References

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External links

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