Kwadwo Asamoah

Kwadwo Asamoah (, ; born 9 December 1988) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer. Mainly a left midfielder or left-back, he was also occasionally deployed as a central midfielder. Left-footed midfielder, very tactically flexible, his best qualities are dynamism and physical power; these, combined with good basic technique and excellent insertion times, make him a valid player in both phases of the game. Able to combine quality and quantity, he was born as a midfielder and then established himself as a left winger of a 5-piece midfield, during his time with Juventus, under the guidance of Antonio Conte; his successor on the Juventus bench, Massimiliano Allegri, described him as "one of those horses who stay still for a long time, and as soon as they have the opportunity, they start again at full speed". Nonetheless, an early physical decline combined with a poor adaptability to the role of full-back in a 4-piece defence, heavily undermined his performance in the second part of his career. Widely considered as one of the best Ghanaian midfielders of all time.

Club career
Asamoah was scouted by the Ghanaian Liberty Professionals. He signed a contract with Swiss side AC Bellinzona in 2007 and was loaned out to Italian side Torino FC for six months during the winter transfer window.

In June 2008, Asamoah signed a contract with Udinese. There, he gradually grew into a regular player. In four seasons at Udinese, Asamoah made 134 league appearances, scoring eight goals. During the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, Asamoah made a good impression. That earned him interest from several big clubs.

On 2 July 2012, Asamoah and his teammate Mauricio Isla signed a contract with Juventus. He made his debut in the Supercoppa on 11 August 2012 against SSC Napoli. The Ghanaian celebrated his debut for Juventus with a goal. Juventus won 4–2 after scoring two goals in stoppage time. He also started the first league game of the season against Parma FC and was immediately important in the second goal: he provided an assist on Stephan Lichtsteiner. In his first season, Asamoah scored two goals in 27 league appearances for Juventus. In the 2013/14 season, Asamoah was a starting player, left midfielder, and only missed four league games, including one due to suspension after four yellow cards. After the previous season, they also won the national title. Asamoah scored two goals and provided five assists, including two in the home game against Genoa CFC on 15 October 2013 (2–0 win). Asamoah struggled with hyaline cartilage in the 2014/15 season, which caused him to miss most of the season. He was not part of Juventus' squad in the 2014–15 Coppa Italia, except for the final won (1–2 after extra time); However, he did not come off the substitutes' bench. In the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League, Juventus reached the final, which they lost to FC Barcelona (1–3) on 6 June 2015. Asamoah was not part of the Juventus squad in the knockout stages.

International career
Asamoah made his debut for the Ghana national football team on 11 February 2006, in a friendly match against Egypt (2–2 draw). After 81 minutes of play, he replaced Stephen Appiah. In a World Cup qualifier against the Malian national football team (0–2 win), Asamoah scored his first international goal. In the 66th minute, he opened the scoring; Twelve minutes later, Matthew Amoah decided the game. In 2010, Asamoah was the only Ghanaian to play in all international matches, including all matches at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations (Ghana lost the final 0–1 to Egypt) and all Ghana's matches at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, including the quarter-final lost to Uruguay on penalties. In January 2012, Asamoah played his third African Championship, losing 1–0 to Zambia in the semi-finals. A year later, Asamoah was again present with Ghana at the continental tournament and again the country was eliminated in the semi-finals, this time by Burkina Faso (1–1, 3–2 on penalties). At the tournament, Asamoah scored twice. With Ghana, he secured participation in the 2014 FIFA World Cup at the end of 2013 by beating Egypt in the play-offs of the qualifying tournament. In June 2014, coach Kwesi Appiah included Kwadwo Asamoah in the squad for the tournament in Brazil. At the tournament, he played in all three group matches, including the draw against eventual champions Germany (2–2).

Career statistics
Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCup1Europe2Other3TotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsUdinese2008–09Serie A2022060—2822009–1025120——2712010–1138210——3922011–123130090—403Total114850150—1348Juventus2012–13Serie A2721070113632013–1434210110104722014–15700030001002015–161102000001302016–171803030002402017–18190403000260Total1164110270211565Inter Milan2018–19Serie A3201090—4202019–20800030—110Total40010120—530Cagliari2020–21Serie A90———90Career total279121705402135213

1Includes Coppa Italia
2Includes UEFA Cup/Europa League and UEFA Champions League
3Includes Supercoppa Italiana

International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearGhanaYearAppsGoals20096120101802011100201211020131432014100201810201940Total744

International goals
Scores and results list Ghana's goal tally first.

 No.  Date  Venue  Opponent  Score  Result  Competition 1.  7 June 2009  Stade du 26 Mars, Bamako, Mali    1–0  2–0  2010 FIFA World Cup qualification 2.  20 January 2013  Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth, South Africa    2–0  2–2  2013 Africa Cup of Nations 3.  9 February 2013  Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth, South Africa    1–2  1–3  2013 Africa Cup of Nations 4.  6 September 2013  Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi, Ghana    2–0  2–1  2014 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours
Juventus
Serie A: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
Coppa Italia: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
Supercoppa Italiana: 2012, 2013, 2015
UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2014–15, 2016–17

Inter Milan
UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2019–20

Ghana
 Africa Cup of Nations runner-up: 2010; third place: 2008

Individual
CAF Most Promising African Player: 2010
SWAG Sports Personality of the Year: 2012
Ghana Player of the Year: 2012
CAF Team of the Year: 2014
Serie A Team of the Year: 2013–14
Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2010, 2012

References

 Other websites 


 Profile on Juventus website
 Profile  on Lega Serie A Calcio website


Category:1988 births
Category:Living people
Category:Ghanaian footballers
Category:Ghana at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations
Category:Ghana at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations
Category:Ghana at the 2010 FIFA World Cup
Category:Ghana at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations
Category:Ghana at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations
Category:Ghana at the 2014 FIFA World Cup
Category:Ghana at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations
Category:2019 Africa Cup of Nations players