Kwadwo Asamoah

Early career

Asamoah was born in Accra, Ghana. He was scouted playing for a local based club, and was recommended to 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.

Udinese

In June 2008, Asamoah was signed by Serie A club Udinese where he established himself and became a linch pin 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.

Juventus

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…

On the international level, Asamoah was given his debut for the Ghana national team, Black Stars, in 2009, 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 also appeared in the 2012 and 2013 editions. He also played for Ghana at the FIFA World Cup in 2010 and 2014, helping them reach the quarter-finals of the former tournament. On 5 October 2022, Kwadwo announced his retirement from professional football.

A dynamic, hardworking, energetic, versatile and tactically intelligent player, Asamoah was primarily known for his pace, strength, stamina, and his outstanding technical characteristics, as well as his ability to read the game; although he primarily served as a ball-winner, these attributes allowed him to be effective both offensively and defensively, and enabled him to play in several positions along the pitch in defence or midfield. A predominantly left-footed player, with Juventus, Asamoah was usually deployed as a full back, wing-back, or wide-midfielder on the left flank, although he had previously also been used in the centre as a defensive, central, box-to-box, or offensive midfielder prior to joining the club, and even in the "mezzala" role. In addition to his physical and athletic attributes, he was a very agile footballer, with good vision and an ability to make attacking runs and get into good offensive positions from which he could create chances for teammates with throughballs or deliveries into the area from the wing; he was also a neat passer, a powerful striker of the ball from distance, and a skilful dribbler. Despite his ability, Asamoah was often sidelined through injury.

Asamoah is married to Abena, who holds an Executive MBA from the University of Ghana. They have a son named Jason and a daughter named Jada. In 2020, he presented a cheque for $20,000 to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi to support the fight against COVID-19.