- Date of Birth:
- 1988-12-09
- Place of Birth:
- Accra, Ghana
Kwadwo Asamoah is a Ghanaian professional footballer. He plays for the Ghana national team and the Italian Serie A club Cagliari. He plays the position of the central midfielder, left midfielder/left-back.
Asamoah was born in Accra, Ghana. He was scouted playing for a locally based club, which belongs to Kamara, and was recommended by the scout Mr. Charles Mensah Gipson 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.
He started playing in 2008 with Italian club Udinese professionally and was then transferred to Juventus in 2012 due to his outstanding performances. Although he suffered a series of injuries, he helped the club o six consecutive Serie A titles between 2013 and 2018.
He 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. In 2013, Asamoah was ranked as the 27th best footballer in the world by Bloomberg.
Club career
In June 2008, Asamoah was signed by Serie A club Udinese where he established himself and became a linchpin 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.
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. 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.
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.
On 16 September, he scored his first goal with his new club in a 3–1 away league win over Genoa. Juventus went on to win the Serie A title that season. Asamoah was bought outright by Juventus in June 2013, signing a four-year deal with the club.
On 9 March 2014, Asamoah scored a notable goal in a 1–0 home victory over Fiorentina, as Juventus went on to defend the Serie A title and the Supercoppa Italiana that season.
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.
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. He returned to the pitch on 23 May 2015, in a 3–1 home win over Napoli.
On 23 July 2016, Asamoah started for Juventus as captain on the pitch in the opening game of the 2016 International Champions Cup Australian version, as the club was drawn 1–1 with Melbourne Victory (Melbourne Victory won 4–3 on penalties), at Melbourne's Melbourne Cricket Ground.
On 25 September 2016, it was confirmed that Asamoah would be sidelined for six weeks after limping off the pitch a day before away to Palermo with a sprained right knee; tests at the J-Medical center revealed he suffered a complete tear of his the medial meniscus ligament.
In January 2018, it was reported that Asamoah chose not to renew his contract with Juventus, which was set to expire in June later that year. He made his 150th appearance for Juventus in a 0–0 away draw against S.P.A.L. in Serie A, on 17 March.
In July 2018, Lega Serie A's registration confirmed that Asamoah had agreed to become an Inter player in May 2018; the signing was confirmed officially on 2 July. He made his Inter debut on 19 August, in a 1–0 away defeat to Sassuolo, the first match of the 2018–19 Serie A season.
On 3 February 2021, Asamoah signed with Cagliari a contract until 30 June 2021.
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 the 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.
Personal life
Kofi Asamoah is married to two children Jason and Jada. His wife, Abena, holds an executive MBA from the University of Ghana.
He presented a cheque for $20,000 to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi in 2020, to help the fight against COVID-19.
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