Asamoah Gyan - TheSportsDB.com

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Name
Asamoah Gyan

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Born
1985 (38 years old)

Birth Place

Accra, Ghana

Position
Centre-Forward

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Height
180 cm

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Sport

Soccer

Team
_Retired Soccer

2nd Team

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_No League Soccer

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Asamoah Gyan (/ˌæsəˈmoʊə ˈdʒɑːn/ ASS-ə-MOH-ə JAHN; born 22 November 1985) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is a former captain of the Ghana national team.

Gyan began his career in 2003 with Ghana Premier League club Liberty Professionals scoring ten goals in sixteen matches then spent three seasons with Serie A club Udinese via two seasons loan at Modena netting on fifteen occasions in 53 league matches and at Udinese where he scored 11 times in 39 league matches. In 2008, Gyan joined Ligue 1 club Rennes, netting fourteen times in forty-eight league matches during two seasons. In 2010, Gyan joined Premier League club Sunderland, breaking the club's transfer record and netting on ten occasions in thirty-four Premier League matches during two seasons.

In 2011, Gyan joined Al Ain of the UAE Pro League on loan and became the league's top goalscorer, scoring 22 times in 18 matches. In the following season, Gyan permanently joined Al Ain and helped them retain the Pro League title, once again finishing as the league's top goalscorer with an impressive 31 goals in 22 matches. In the 2013–14 league season, Gyan finished top scorer for a record third time, with 29 goals in 26 matches.

Gyan is the all-time leading goalscorer of the Ghana national team, with 51 goals. He represented Ghana at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups. With 6 goals, he is the top African goalscorer in the history of the World Cup. Gyan has also represented Ghana at the 2004 Summer Olympics and in seven Africa Cup of Nations in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019, helping them finish in third-place in 2008 and runner-up in 2010 and 2015. He launched his memoir, titled "LeGYANdry" at the Kempinski Gold Coast Hotel in Accra. On 20 June 2023, Gyan announced his retirement from active football.

Gyan is the last born of his parents, Baffour Gyan Mensah (Father) and the late Madam Cecilia Amoako (Mother). His senior brother Baffour Gyan is also a former professional footballer. Gyan was married to Gifty Sandra Dzamesi and together, they had three children, namely, Rafael Gyan, Frederick Gyan, Floyd Gyan.

Gyan made his international debut at the age of 17, three days before his 18th birthday. Gyan scored on his senior International debut for Ghana against Somalia on 19 November 2003, in the 90th minute. He came on for Nana Arhin Duah in the 77th minute in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier, three days before he turned 18 years; helping Ghana to win that game, and making him the youngest ever player to score for Ghana.

He scored four times in seven matches during that successful World Cup qualifying campaign, helping Ghana to qualify for their first world cup in history. He was part of the 2004 Ghana Olympic squad, who exited in the first round, having finished in third place in Group B.

He also scored the fastest goal of the tournament after 68 seconds. The strike was also Ghana's first ever goal in the FIFA World Cup, coming in the game against the Czech Republic on 17 June at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne, Germany, which set the Black Stars on their way to a 2–0 victory. He missed a penalty later in the game, and received a yellow card ruling him out of the final group game for trying to take the penalty too early. In Ghana's defeat to Brazil in the round of 16, he was sent off in the 81st minute after collecting his second booking of the match (for diving).

On 24 January 2008, during the Africa Cup of Nations, Gyan and his brother Baffour decided to walk out on the Black Stars following criticism after their unconvincing 1–0 win over Namibia. The media learnt the brothers had packed their bags and were ready to leave the team hotel but were persuaded to stay by teammates. In the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, Asamoah Gyan helped a Ghana team, ravaged by injuries to the finals. Gyan scored three out of the four Ghana goals during the tournament.

Gyan scored with a penalty in the 85th minute of Ghana's first match of the 2010 World Cup against Serbia, in a 1–0 win. He hit the goalpost in the 92nd minute before being substituted to a standing ovation just before the final whistle. In Ghana's second game, he scored a penalty in the 26th minute to level the scores and earn his team a 1–1 draw against Australia.

In the round of 16 match against the United States, he scored a goal in extra time allowing Ghana to win 2–1 and hence become the third African team in history to qualify to the tournament's quarter final, after Cameroon and Senegal. In the quarter final tie against Uruguay, following Luis Suárez's handling of the ball on the goal-line, he missed a penalty kick with no time remaining at end of extra time, hitting the crossbar and necessitating a penalty shootout to decide the game. He converted his kick in the subsequent penalty shootout, but Uruguay went on to win the shootout 4–2.

For the second time in his career, Gyan missed a crucial penalty kick in a major tournament when he missed a penalty kick in the 2012 African Cup of Nations semi-final. Ghana went on to lose 1–0. After missing that penalty kick, Gyan decided to take an "indefinite break" from international football. On 8 May 2012, he announced his return to the Black Stars team.

On 7 June 2013, he scored 2 goals in a 3–1 win over Sudan in a World Cup qualifier to make him the country's leading goalscorer, surpassing Abedi Pele's 33 goals.

On 2 June 2014, Gyan was named in Ghana's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In the team's opening match, he captained the Black Stars against the United States in a 2–1 defeat. He scored his first goal of the tournament in a 2–2 draw with Germany, equaling Roger Milla's record of five FIFA World Cup goals. In the final group match, he became the top African goalscorer in World Cup finals history by scoring the Black Stars' goal as they were defeated 2–1 by Portugal.

At the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, Gyan missed Ghana's opening match, a 2–1 loss to Senegal, with a "mild bout" of malaria. He returned for the second match, scoring a last minute winning goal against the tournament favourite Algeria in a 1–0 win for the Black Stars.

An international exile lasting over a year was ended in October 2018 when Gyan was called up to the Ghanaian squad for a pair of 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches versus Sierra Leone.

He announced his retirement from international football on 20 May 2019, a month to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. However, a day later Gyan reversed his decision following a discussion with the president of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. In early August 2022 Gyan released a statement that he was training to get back to full fitness to play in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Gyan was not part of the 26 man squad selected to represent Ghana in the World Cup 2022 and since then has been an ample supporter of the Black Stars and has been leading fan festivals and ceremonies. Gyan retired as Ghana's all-time leading goal scorer, amassing a total of 51 goals in 109 appearances for his country. He also retires holding the record for the highest number of goals scored by any African player in the history of the World Cup, with a tally of six goals.