Ghana has always been a real important nation in football, especially for European clubs checking the latest African football news looking for young talents. The most followed European championships featured Ghanaian players who often played in different teams within the same foreign country. One of the players who have left their mark in Europe is certainly Kwadwo Asamoah, playing for fifteen years in Italy.
Kwadwo Asamoah can fill different roles within the football pitch, but his best performances are as a defender or midfield winger, thanks also to his strength and massive physique.
The Ghanaian footballer is one of Italy’s most loved African players, having played for world-class teams such as Juventus and Inter Milan.
His national and international experience allows him to be a pillar in all the teams he plays for. It is no coincidence that in the last season he was chosen by Cagliari, a low-ranking team in Italy, in which young players and some veterans of international football such as Radja Nainngolan play. Let’s analyze the most important stages of Kwadwo Asamoah’s career in his career as a professional footballer in Italy.
Kwadwo Asamoah – Udinese and Juventus
In 2008, after a short time in the Turin youth team, Asamoah moved to Udinese, first on loan and then permanently. Udinese in those years was one of the best teams in the Italian Serie A, thanks also to some champions who chose the Friulian club for the tranquility of the environment. In the first year Asamoah struggles to find the right spaces, but from the second year onwards the Ghanaian player becomes a fixed point of the team. In total, Asamoah stayed in Udine for four seasons, between 2008 and 2012, and then moved to Turin, this time playing for one of the most successful clubs in history: Juventus.
His start in Juventus is excellent, also scoring in the Italian Super Cup final against Napoli and winning his first official trophy in Italy. During the first year he doesn’t play often, but every time he is deployed on the pitch he proves to be an excellent player, winning a starting place the following year. In 2014-2015 Asamoah has a serious injury that marks his career, as knee problems and muscle aches will continue to haunt him in the following years. Between 2012 and 2018 he played 116 official matches with Juventus, but it could have been many more without the injury and the consequent role of left-back held by Alex Sandro.
In six years with Juventus Asamoah won the Italian Serie A, 4 Coppa Italia and 3 Super Cups six times, also playing the Champions League final twice and being the “Best Ghanian Football Player” in 2011. In 2018 he did not renew his contract with Juventus and moved to Inter Milan, at the behest of the coach Spalletti.
Up and downs playing for Inter
During the first year with the Nerazzurri, Asamoah has a starting role as a defensive winger, but with the arrival of Antonio Conte, the chances of the Ghanaian player decrease, also due to his physical problems. The Italian manager prefers a more reliable footballer like England’s Ashley Young from Manchester United and Asamoah plays fewer and fewer matches. On 5 October 2020 he decides to end his adventure with Inter to look for a team in which he can find a starting role.
At the moment Asamoah is a Cagliari player, even if he cannot find a starting position due to continuous injuries. Asamoah is still considered important thanks to his experience of him, which he manages to pass on to younger players.
