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It doesn’t matter whether it’s at age 14, when Gyan confronted the no-nonsense father of his first love for trying to stop his daughter from dating him; or at 24, when he summoned the courage to take Ghana’s first penalty in the shootout against Uruguay after earlier missing one with the last kick of the game during the World Cup quarterfinals; or even at 38, when he publicly renounced Ghana’s ruling party, the NPP, and resigned from his role as Chairman of the sub-committee on youth and sports after disagreements with the hierarchy of the political party; Gyan has never been the type to stay down after suffering a setback.
But even after moving on from those early setbacks to achieve so much – Ghana’s all-time top-scorer and second most-capped player, Africa’s highest scorer at the World Cup, the first footballer to score in nine consecutive major international tournaments (a record only equalled by Cristiano Ronaldo at Euro 2020 and ultimately overtaken by the Portuguese star at Qatar 2022) – there are those who believe Gyan could’ve done even more for his country.
Typical of the Jekyll and Hyde anecdote that Gyan’s whole career became known for, he scored Ghana’s first-ever World Cup goal, became his country’s first player to miss a penalty in the tournament and was also the first Ghanaian player to be sent off at the Mundial.
It was a jarring way for Ghana’s tournament to come to an end and Gyan’s missed penalty, rather than his, and his country’s, amazing run in the tournament, seized the front pages of the local and global press.
But it wasn’t Asamoah’s that they were accustomed to, it was Baffour’s, his senior brother, who was already a regular with the national team.
Paired in a tough group alongside Germany, Serbia and Australia, the 24-year-old’s winner against Serbia got Ghanaians believing, his equaliser in a 1-1 draw against Australia – a goal that ultimately sealed the Black Stars’ place in the knockout stages – also pulled the rest of Africa along.
He was also stripped of the captaincy, which he didn’t take lightly and responded by retiring from the national team for the second time, only to make a U-turn after yet another intervention by Ghana’s head of state.
That the team’s best penalty taker and captain watched on as they suffered heartbreak didn’t sit well with some fans.
Chelsea’s Michael Essien came along for that trip to Angola, only to be ruled out for the rest of the tournament by a serious knee injury suffered in Ghana’s opening group game against Ivory Coast.
The final, too, was decided by a lone goal, this time scored by an Egypt side that jetted off to Cairo with a third successive title, rendering Ghana’s smash-and-grab tactics and Gyan’s one-man heroics inadequate for once.
That purple patch saw him scoop the BBC African Footballer of the Year award, also landing a Ballon d’Or nomination that eventually saw him finish ahead of the treble-winning Julio Cesar, World Cup-winning Cesc Fabregas, German duo Philipp Lahm and Miroslav Klose, and Brazil’s Daniel Alves in the final ranking.
Until that moment of individual magic, England had seemed destined for victory after Andy Carroll’s brutish first-half finish gave them a prized lead, and they probably would’ve won against any other team.
In his autobiography,LeGyanDary, he wrote:“Whenever my friends and I watched a football game and the national team came up in conversation, I’d often prophesy that I would play in the national team one day.
He would go on to create an indelible celebration by displaying a flamboyant dance that enticed teammate Boudewijn Zenden into becoming a highlight reel following the poor Dutchman’s hilarious attempt to imitate the striker’s moves.
The year ended with several apotheosies but Gyan’s penalty miss against Uruguay wouldn’t be forgotten so easily.
He’s one of few who can hit their chest and say they battled life – both literally and figuratively – and won, as he did when he accepted loan spells to lower-division sides to start from scratch and as was the case when he survived being born prematurely after his mother was forced into induced labour to save both of their lives.
It didn’t even matter which side those supporters had come to see; when Gyan dazzled his way past a sea of English bodies, leaving James Milner static at the edge of the box and bamboozling Joleon Lescott twice – first with a feint and again with his quick feet – the entire stadium froze, anticipation briskly replacing mystification.
A wobbly Gyan then shrugged off Bocanegra’s shove to chest the ball away from his markers and, even without regaining his bearing, fired a left-footed shot past Tim Howard to give his country a 2-1 victory that made Ghana, at the time, only the third African team to stand among the last eight teams of any edition of the World Cup (Morocco have since reached the semi-finals).
UK Babies (they have no connection to the United Kingdom) – an Under-10 colts team – were Gyan’s first club.
His first goal in that tournament came against Niger in Ghana’s final group game but his decision to stay off penalties came back to haunt him and the Black Stars.
Perhaps it wouldn't have been so difficult for Gyan to be accorded his rightful place in Ghana’s football history – the greatest ever to do it, arguably – if his highs and lows weren't so often mentioned in the same breath.
However, it was his iconic strike against the USA in the last 16 that converted the rest of the world into Ghana fans, making the Black Stars the team of the neutrals and everyone else’s second-favourite team at the World Cup.
It was a low point in the striker’s fledgling football métier, bringing back memories from two years prior when Gyan nearly walked away from the national team at the young age of 22.
“My comments usually sparked more laughter because even Ghana’s best international players had tried so hard and failed to achieve that feat.” Gyan would, however, go on to prove his incredulous and amused classmates and friends wrong in some style.
A few chose banking and even fewer – to the teacher’s chagrin – ticked teaching.
When Kwasi Appiah’s side faced Burkina Faso in the semi-finals, the Ghana boss needed his best shooters around when the game stretched into penalties after a pulsating 1-1 draw in regulation and extra time.
Making his way into Wembley, the Ghana striker carried on his shoulder a ghetto blaster that filled the area around the visiting team’s dressing room withAfrobeatmusic.
No longer as athletic and without the needed fuel,Baby Jetdid not start any game in Egypt and was completely left out of Ghana’s squad for the 2021 edition of the tournament in Cameroon.
With the game extending to extra time after Landon Donovan had cancelled out Kevin-Prince Boateng’s early opener, both sets of fans desperately cried out for a hero.
By the time Ghana graced AFCON 2019, Gyan was 33 and usurped by Jordan Ayew as the team’s main striker.
The other pupils burst into laughter, unable to reconcile their mate’s dreams with the fluorescent career of O Fenomeno, who, only a few years earlier, had been named FIFA World Player of the Year at the age of 20.
Gyan’s move to Serie A may have come at the right time but, at 18 and being separated from his family, adapting to the weather and culture of another country was always going to be challenging.
Gyan’s leadership qualities would also be questioned when, as captain, Ghana was exposed to international ridicule following a player mutiny at the 2014 World Cup which saw them boycott training over delayed payment of bonuses.
Ghana never scored more than one goal in any of their matches en route to making the final – the 'one-goal project', it was called – and much of that game plan hinged on the presence of Gyan, a striker adept at adapting to adversity.
The one thing the coaches there failed to properly spot, though, was his eye for goal and, it wasn’t until he swapped the club for another called Mighty Victory, that he was fully converted into a striker.
Once he managed to cut those excesses out of his game and his personality, however, with the help of Sarpong’s tough love, Gyan blossomed into the best version of himself and was well on his way to the top.
And Gyan, despite his heroics all tournament, would assume the role of malefactor after missing a crucial penalty that would’ve seen Ghana make unprecedented history for an African side by advancing to the semis.
And once he did, he never looked back, rising to become Ghana’s captain and all-time top scorer… “Aaaah, not him!”A frustrated Fabio Capello soliloquised as he turned to his bench.
Born to a mother who was an educationist, Gyan’s eagerness to lecture his colleagues about new skills was unmistakable; fathered by a businessman, making the most of opportunities came naturally to him.
The Black Stars were notoriously stingy in defence but smart enough to hurt their opponents at the other end, thanks to Gyan’s prolificacy, with any chance that came their way.
“I feel like if I was not substituted, I could’ve helped in the penalty shootout.
Gyan had finally realised his childhood dream of playing in a World Cup with Ghana but that was not without entering his name into his country’s folklore for mixed reasons, with a number of firsts.
To Asamoah’s own credit, he has had many such memorable moments in his illustrious career; moments that leave the opponent stupefied and fans awe-struck.
It took the intervention of Ghana’s head of state at the time, John Agyekum Kufuor, to get the duo to rescind their collective decision.
In the end, Gyan wasn’t always the exemplary role model off the pitch, but, on it, he was dedicated and committed to a fault, especially to his country.
Trusted by Giovanni Galeone in a two-top system, Asamoah repaid his manager’s faith with eight goals and three assists in his first full Serie A season.
Although Asamoah demonstrated remarkable mental fortitude by picking himself up to score Ghana’s first in the ensuing shootout, the Black Stars were ultimately beaten 4-2 on penalties by the South Americans.
Coming on as a second-half substitute for Bruce’s side against Wigan Athletic on his Premier League debut, Gyan immediately introduced himself to the Black Cats faithful with a trademark goal.
And throughout my life, I would not require anybody’s permission to be myself or to be great.” That defiant spirit has always stayed with him in his personal and professional life.
“It was at this critical point that I began to learn the ropes of football team culture: how to be a team player, leadership skills, respect for teammates and officials, conflict resolution, how to respond to coaches, comportment on and off the field… the whole nine yards,”Gyan wrote in his autobiography,LeGyanDary.
Even as a kid growing up in the suburbs of Ghana’s capital, Accra, Gyan puzzled his teachers as much as he would opposition defenders later in life.
In the quarterfinals against hosts Angola, with chances at a premium and Ghana largely playing on the back foot, it was Asamoah’s 15th-minute strike that ultimately separated the two teams.
As her son suffered on the pitch, Gyan’s mother was also being subjected to threats and her home was even besieged by an unruly few.
He would also take his form into that summer’s World Cup in Germany, helping Ghana to reach the round of 16 in their debut appearance.
With the criticisms and insults rolling in from all angles, Gyan’s endearment began to wane a bit among some of the fans.
That decision, despite being unpopular and interpreted as a sign of weakness, was, according to Gyan, his mother’s last wish.
Throughout Gyan's career, it was in such moments of despair that he often channelled his inner ‘Avenger’ hegemon to inspire belief among his compatriots.
At the start of the AFCON, he – scorer of Ghana's first goal in the opening game – had been the toast of the nation, accustomed mainly to receiving cheers.
It’s a decision that would turn out to cost his country, and himself, dearly..
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