Gerald Asamoah

Even as a small boy, his passion was football. His talent was already evident in his African homeland, but it was only in Germany that he played in a club. When he was twelve years old he came to the Federal Republic. Asamoah played here for "BV Hannover" from 1990 to 1994, then for the time league team "Hannover 96". He was able to quickly attract attention and several clubs showed interest in the attacking player. But even before he could start a professional career, his success seemed to be over at the age of just 19 when Gerald Asamoah collapsed after a game. The medical examination diagnosed a congenital heart defect, which results in chronic thickening of the cardiac septum. This was followed by an extensive examination by a specialist in America, who allowed Asamoah to continue playing at his own risk - since then, a defibrillator and a ventilator have been available for every game.

Since then, nothing has stood in the way of his success as a professional footballer and Asamoah has become a top player. In 1999 he moved to the first division club "FC Schalke 04", where he is still under contract. With Schalke he has already celebrated the German Cup triumph twice in 2001 and 2002, and in 2005 they were runner-up cup winners. Gerald Asamoah made his debut for the German national team in May 2001 in Bremen. National coach Rudi Völler nominated the native Ghanaian, who had accepted German citizenship a few months earlier, and thus brought the first player of African descent into the national team. He scored a goal in the first game. As a national player, he took part in the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea and won the title of runner-up.

The strong attacker also represented part of the World Cup hopes in the DFB squad under national coach Jürgen Klinsmann and with a view to the 2006 World Cup in Germany. After the German national team won the World Cup on June 30, 2006 with a 5-3 victory. After reaching the semi-finals against Argentina, the team under captain Michael Ballack lost 0-2 goals in extra time against Italy on July 4, 2006. In the game for third place on July 8th in Stuttgart, the German team won 3-1 against Portugal. The triumph of the 2006 World Cup title went to Italy in the final on July 9th, to which France lost on penalties. In August 2006, Federal President Horst Köhler awarded the German national team the "Silver Laurel Leaf", the highest award that Germany can give to athletes.

On September 28, 2006, Asamoah broke his left tibia and fibula after a serious foul in FC Schalke 04's UEFA Cup game against AS Nancy. After six months, Asamoah celebrated his comeback in the game against VfB Stuttgart on March 17, 2007. In January 2008 he extended his contract with Schalke by three years until June 30, 2011. Gerald Asamoah then moved to SpVgg Greuther Fürth, with whom he was promoted to the Bundesliga in 2012.

In his private life, Asamoah is married and has been the father of twins since February 26, 2007.