Gideon Baah

Gideon Baah
Personal information
Full name Gideon Baah
Date of birth (1991-10-01) 1 October 1991
Place of birth Accra, Ghana
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current team
 New York Red Bulls
Number 3
Youth career
2007 Kakyire
2007–2008 Zaytuna
2008–2009 Sporting St. Mirren
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2013 Asante Kotoko 30 (2)
2013–2014 FC Honka 29 (2)
2014–2015 HJK Helsinki 41 (2)
2016– New York Red Bulls 9 (2)
2016 → New York Red Bulls II (loan) 4 (0)
National team‡
2015– Ghana[1] 1 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 01:38, 2 August 2016 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 October 2015

Gideon Baah (born 1 October 1991 in Accra) is a Ghanaian footballer who plays as a defender for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.

Club career

Early career

In 2007, Baah won a football reality show (MTN Soccer Academy) in his home country, Ghana. He received a number of prizes which included cash, car, trip to watch the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and two-week trial at Chelsea FC academy.[2] Chelsea player and Ghanaian international Michael Essien stated that he was very happy with Baah's performance and urged the Club to offer him a contract.[3] Baah later returned to Ghana.

Asante Kotoko

In March 2010, Baah sustained a broken shin in a Premier League match against Hearts of Oak at the Baba Yara Stadium. He underwent surgery at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi. In November 2010, he went to Scotland in order to receive assistance with his rehabilitation at Hearts of Midlothian.[4] On 28 November 2011, Gideon rejoined Asante Kotoko. On 30 November, he played his first match after returning from his long injury layoff for the Asante Kotoko SC Reserves side. On 21 April 2012, Baah played his first league match against Mighty Jets helping Asante Kotoko to a 2-0 victory and scoring in the process. While with Kotoko, Baah captured two Ghana Premier League titles and one Super Cup.[5]

FC Honka

Baah started his spell for FC Honka in a form of a loan from Asante Kotoko FC of the Ghanaian Premier League.[6] On Saturday 13 March 2013, Baah made his Veikkausliiga debut in a 2-0 away loss to 'Turun Palloseura. On 22 March he made his home debut at the Tapiolan Urheilupuisto against local rivals HJK Helsinki. Baah scored the winning goal on 25 March 2013 in a 0-1 victory over FC KooTeePee in the Suomen Cup to take his team through to the next round.[7] Baah was chosen to the Veikkausliiga team of the Month for April, May, June and July.[8] On 3 June 2013 Baah was acknowledged for his performance in the first round of the Veikkausliiga by being named by SuomiFutis website as one of the top 5 best players.[9] He scored his first Veikkausliiga goal on 30 June 2013 against FF Jaro where he scored the opening goal in a 4-2 victory.[10] Baah made his Europa League debut on 18 July 2013 in the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round where they lost 1-3 in the first leg to 2012–13 Ekstraklasa runners up Lech Poznań.[11] On 24 July 2013, Baah signed a 2-year contract with FC Honka.[12] At the end of the 2013 Veikkausliiga season, he was officially selected as the leagues defender of the year and rookie of the year.[13]

Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi

In February 2014 it was announced that Baah had signed a contract to join HJK Helsinki. [14] Upon joining the club he helped HJK qualify for the Europa League group stages in 2014 with a 5-4 aggregate victory over SK Rapid Wien. On 6 November, Baah opened the scoring for HJK in a famous 2-1 victory over Italian side Torino. [15] On the following match day of 27 November Baah once again opened the scoring for HJK in another 2-1 victory over Copenhagen. [16]

New York Red Bulls

On 9 February 2016, it was announced that Baah had signed for American Major League Soccer side, New York Red Bulls.[17] To replace defender Matt Miazga who had recently been transferred to Chelsea F.C.. Baah made his first appearance with the club in 2-0 defeat against Toronto FC on 6 March.[18] Upon recovering from a Week 3 hamstring injury that sidelined him for 6 weeks; Baah was loaned to affiliate club New York Red Bulls II on 1 May.[19] The same day, Baah played 45 minutes for the affiliate side in a 2-0 defeat against Charlotte Independence.[20] He scored his first goal with the club on May 21, 2016 in a 7-0 win over NYCFC.[21]

International career

In 2009, he received a call-up to Ghana U20 national team.[22]

In October 2015, Baah received his first senior call up to the Ghana national team.[23] He made his debut for Ghana in a 13 October friendly against Canada, coming into the match as a substitute in the 87th minute.[24]

Career statistics

As of 22 June 2016
Club Season League League Cup Domestic Cup Continental Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
FC Honka 2013 292202120353
Total 292202120353
HJK Helsinki 2014 252204292406
2015 160612051292
Total 4128161143698
New York Red Bulls 2016 92001000102
Total 92001000102
Career total 7961019216311313

Honours

Club

Ghana Asante Kotoko

Finland HJK Helsinki

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Ghana - G. Baah - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
  2. ↑ "Gideon Baah, Future Chelsea FC Wonderkid". mCalcio.com.
  3. ↑ "Michael Essien urges Chelsea to buy Ghanaian". The Telegraph. 12 December 2007.
  4. ↑ "Gideon Baah set for Heart of Midlothian Visit". Ghanaweb. 24 October 2010.
  5. ↑ "Asante Kotoko season review". westafricanfootball.com. 3 August 2013.
  6. ↑ "Asante Kotoko Players". Asante Kotoko SC Website.
  7. ↑ "FC KooTeePee 0 FC Honka 1". fchonka.fi. 25 March 2013.
  8. ↑ "Baah sees Finland as 'springboard'". supersport.com. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  9. ↑ "Tässä alkukauden Veikkausliigan top 5 -pelaajat!". SuomiFutis.
  10. ↑ "FC Honka Espoo v FF Jaro Pietarsaari - HonkaTV kooste: FC Honka - FF Jaro 4-2 [30.06.2013] - highlights, interviews and reports". footytube.
  11. ↑ "Honka vs. Lech Poznań - 18 July 2013 - Soccerway".
  12. ↑ "Eliittipuolustaja Gideon Baah jatkaa Hongassa". hs.fi. Retrieved 25 July 2013. (Finnish)
  13. ↑ "Gideon Baah wins Best Defender and Rookie Awards in Finland". ghanasoccernet.com. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  14. ↑ "GIDEON BAAH HJK:N RIVEIHIN!". hjk.fi. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  15. ↑ "HJK grasp lifeline at Torino's expense". uefa.com. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  16. ↑ "Kandji leaves it late as HJK beat København". uefa.com. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  17. ↑ "New York Red Bulls Complete Transfer of Defender Gideon Baah". New York Red Bulls. 9 February 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  18. ↑ "New York Red Bulls 0, Toronto FC 2: 2016 MLS Match Recap". MLSSoccer.com.
  19. ↑ "New York Red Bulls Loan Gideon Baah to NYRB II". NewYorkRedBulls.com.
  20. ↑ "Independence End Red Bulls II's Undefeated Start". USLSoccer.com.
  21. ↑ "New York City FC 0, New York Red Bulls 7". MLSSoccer.com.
  22. ↑ "Gideon Baah gets U20 call". Modern Ghana.
  23. ↑ "Gideon Baah Handed Debut Black Stars Call Up". ghanawaves.com. ghanawaves. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  24. ↑ "Canada Soccer". canadasoccer.com. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  25. ↑ "Gideon Baah wins Best Defender and Rookie Awards in Finland". ghanasoccernet.com. Retrieved 12 November 2013.


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