The name Kwadwo Asamoah is synonymous with sensation. The former Ghana and Juventus star was so terrific as a footballer. His quality was beyond belief, and he was a sensational footballer.
Asamoah’s vision, passing, versatility, intelligence, teamwork, humility and finesse separated him from his peers.
It took the tactically blessed ones to identify him as a Grade A footballer. He played so many roles: number 6, 8, and 10. He played as a left-forward winger, left wing-back and left-back in his career for club and country- tactically, he was flexible.
Kwadwo Asamoah has known Asamoah Gyan since the 2008 AFCON as both players were part of the Black Stars squad under French tactician Claude Le Roy. They quickly became friends and played together for Ghana for a very long time.
Asamoah Gyan restored parity for Ghana in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Ghana’s 2-1 defeat in the 57th minute after John Boye in the first half had scored an own goal for Portugal to take a lead.
An outside of the foot cross by Asamoah was beautifully headed in by Gyan. Ghana lost the game to Cristiano Ronaldo’s 80th-minute strike, but Asamoah’s sumptuous cross stole the show.
FIFA considers it one of the best assists ever in the history of the illustrious competition. That beautiful assist explains how gifted Kwadwo Asamoah was as a footballer.
Asamoah Gyan, in an interview on TV3, praised his former teammate and revealed that he (Kwadwo) never got the praise he deserved.
“Kwadwo Asamoah had a great career. Just look at the clubs he played for: Juventus, Udinese, and Inter Milan. I think people really slept on him. He’s easily the most underrated Ghanaian player I’ve played with,” Baby Jet said.
Asamoah Gyan has played with many superstars, including Micheal Essien, Sulley Muntari, Stephen Appiah, Kevin Prince-Boateng, Boudewijn Zenden and Jordan Henderson, among so many top players, but he believes Kwadwo Asamoah is the most underrated among them.
Nicknamed Dada Kwadwo, Asamoah was a very quiet fella and chose to keep it cool as a professional footballer.
The bona fide midfielder won six Serie A, four Coppa Italia and three Supercoppa Italiana titles with Juventus and finished as a runner-up for Juventus on two occasions in the UEFA Champions League.
He was a runner-up with Ghana in the 2010 AFCON and also in the 2019-20 season with Inter
Milan in the UEFA Europa League.
Asamoah is one of the most successful Ghanaian players to have ever played in Europe. Domestically, no Ghanaian except Kuffuor has won more trophies (16) in the top 5 leagues than him (13).
Arguably, Dada Kwadwo Asamoah could be regarded as the most successful African footballer to have played in the Italian top flight. He played for Udinese, Juventus, Inter Milan and Cagliari between 2008 and 2021.
Kwadwo Asamoah is certainly underrated and no one can argue with Gyan. The respect and admiration he deserves have never been shown to him even though CAF crowned him the Most Promising African Player in 2010.
Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) named him Sports Personality of the Year in 2012. In the 2013-14 season, Kwadwo was part of the Serie A Team of the Year.
