Matthew Amoah

Matthew Amoah

Personal information
Full name	Matthew Amoah
Date of birth	24 October 1980 (1980-10-24) (age 31)
Place of birth	Tema, Ghana
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Mersin İdmanyurdu SK
Number	14
Youth career
1996–1998	The Great Ambassadors
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1998–2005	Vitesse	174	(62)
2000	→ Fortuna Sittard (loan)	15	(10)
2005–2007	Borussia Dortmund	17	(0)
2007–2011	NAC Breda	101	(42)
2011–	Mersin İdmanyurdu SK	0	(0)
National team‡
2002–	Ghana	40	(13)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15 May 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:27, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

Mathew Amoah (born 24 October 1980 in Tema) is a Ghanaian international striker who plays for Turkish Süper Lig side Mersin İdmanyurdu SK. He formerly played for Vitesse, starting as a youngster in 1998 until 2005.

Club career

Vitesse and Fortuna

Amoah moved at the age of 16 to the Netherlands, where he linked with Vitesse Arnhem, spending eight seasons at the football club. His early departure from his homeland has led to an almost anonymous profile there because he never played any top level club football in Ghana, although in Amoah’s home town of Tema his achievements in Europe have not gone unnoticed. With three brothers, Amoah learned his craft on the streets of the Ghanaian town and at the age of 15, he was spotted by scouts from the Dutch club while playing in an international youth tournament for his club Great Ambassadors.

After Amoah moved to Vitesse, he did not play regularly. So in other to get regular playing action, Amoah needed a loan spell at Fortuna Sittard to find his feet in Dutch football before going back at Arnhem where coach Ronald Koeman gave him a chance. And the move paid off as the club’s supporters named him their best player after the 2002/03 season, in which he scored 15 goals for the club and also competed in European club competition. Amoah played his heart out at Vitesse where he developed into a good striker. It was his great performances at Vitesse which gained him a call up to his homeland Ghana's national team. In Vitesse he scored 62 goals in 174 appearances for the club.

Borussia Dortmund

Amoah signed with Borussia Dortmund in December 2005, during the winter transfer window,^[1] rejoining coach Bert van Marwijk, who managed him during the 1999/00 season at another Dutch side, Fortuna Sittard. Amoah signed a two-year contract, but could only manage seventeen first-team appearances (going scoreless in the process) in one-and-a-half seasons. "There was a number of options but Amoah was the one the manager wanted", Hans-Joachim Watzke, Dortmund's finance director, told the Westfälische Rundschau at the time.

NAC Breda

The 26-year-old Amoah signed a three-year deal with Eredivisie's NAC Breda on 3 July 2007, after a medical. The former Vitesse forward returned to Holland after a lack of first-team opportunities at Dortmund. "We have been working on this deal for months", NAC technical director Earnie Stewart said. "First it looked like it was impossible for the player to sign, but this week negotiations went quicker."^[2] Mattew Amoah has been instrumental in the attack of NAC Breda since his arrival in July 2007. He has scored more than 8 goals in every season at the club. He scored 11 goals in his first season, 12 in his second season and then nine in his third season. As of 1 September 2010, he has scored four goals in four matches in the Eredivisie. He is the topscorer of NAC Breda and he is loved by the supporters for his spectacular goals which has helped the club the club a lot. The 29-year-old Ghanaian has played 77 matches for NAC Breda.

Mersin İdmanyurdu

Amoah signed 2 years contract with Mersin İdmanyurdu SK, the newly promoted Turkish club.

International career

Ghana first selected Amoah ahead of the 2002 CAF Africa Cup of Nations and it was in the tournament in Mali where he made his debut. But after the Black Stars were eliminated in the quarter-finals, Amoah only ever received one more call-up before the appointment of coach Ratomir Dujkovic in December 2004. The Serb brought Amoah back for his first game in charge, and Amoah has been in the squad ever since.

An international since 2002 he made his debut on 21 January 2002, Segou in a Ghana, Morocco encounter at the Africa Cup of Nations: 2002, Amoah was an instrumental figure in Ghana's first ever qualification for the World Cup, scoring three goals in three consecutive and important qualifying matches. Matthew Amoah finished as Ghana’s leading scorer in the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ qualifiers, his five strikes proving pivotal in the Black Stars’ march to a second successive tournament. His tally added to the three goals he scored in the 2006 qualifiers that also made a major contribution to Ghana’s march to their first-ever FIFA World Cup finals appearance. He also played in their World cup debut even though he did not score in any of the matches he played, his ability, runs and passes helped the team to the group of 16.

In 2010, he helped his nation qualify for another world cup. He played in two matches, which he was brought in as a substitute. He is a member of the Ghanaian Golden Era of footballers including Fulham right back John Paintsil and Chelsea versatile midfielder Michael Essien and former captain Steven Appiah who now plays for Italian Club Cesena and formerly Fenerbahçe SK and Juventus player. Amoah has scored 13 times in 40 appearances for Ghana.

Statistics

Season	Club	League	Games	Goals
1998–99	Vitesse	Eredivisie	17	3
1999–00	Vitesse	Eredivisie	7	1
1999–00	Fortuna Sittard	Eredivisie	15	10
2000–01	Vitesse	Eredivisie	33	11
2001–02	Vitesse	Eredivisie	24	6
2002–03	Vitesse	Eredivisie	30	15
2003–04	Vitesse	Eredivisie	11	4
2004–05	Vitesse	Eredivisie	34	13
2005–06	Borussia Dortmund	Bundesliga	8	0
2005–06	Vitesse	Eredivisie	18	9
2006–07	Borussia Dortmund	Bundesliga	9	0
2007–08	NAC Breda	Eredivisie	25	11
2008–09	NAC Breda	Eredivisie	22	12
2009–10	NAC Breda	Eredivisie	26	9
2010–11	NAC Breda	Eredivisie	4	4
As of 1 September 2010		Totaal	283	108

Honours

International

Ghana

• Africa Cup of Nations Silver Medal: 2010

• FIFA World Cup Round of 16: 2006
• FIFA World Cup Quarter Final: 2010

References

1. ^ "Amoah joins Borussia Dortmund". BBC. 15 December 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/4532298.stm. Retrieved 28 June 2006. 
2. ^ "Amoah to return to Holland". BBC. 28 June 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/6253784.stm. Retrieved 28 June 2007. 

External links

• Matthew Amoah – FIFA competition record

Persondata
Name	Amoah, Mathew
Alternative names
Short description	footballer
Date of birth	24 October 1980
Place of birth	Tema, Ghana
Date of death
Place of death