Adambathia Larsen "Adam" Kwarasey (born 12 December 1987) is a retired professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. Born in Norway, Kwarasey represents

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

at international level.

Early and personal life

Kwarasey was born in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, Norway to a father from Ghana and a mother from Norway. He holds both Ghanaian and

Norwegian passport A Norwegian passport ( no, norsk pass, se, norgga pássa) is the passport issued to nationals of Norway for the purpose of international travel. Beside serving as proof of Norwegian citizenship, they facilitate the process of securing assistance ...

Club career

Strømsgodset

Kwarasey played youth football with

Trosterud Trosterud is a neighborhood in Alna borough in Oslo, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandin ...

and

Vålerenga Vålerenga () is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo. Vålerenga is located between the neighbourhoods of Gamlebyen, Jordal, Ensjø, Etterstad and Lodalen. Vålerenga is in particular known for it ...

. After moving to

Strømsgodset Strømsgodset is a former municipality in Vestfold county (from 1964 Buskerud county), Norway, today a part of the city of Drammen. History Strømsgodset was originally a small rural annex to the city parish of Bragernes (Drammen). But since th ...

, he made his debut on 6 May 2007. He scored his first senior goal in 2010, converting a penalty kick in the

cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

against

Modum Modum is a municipality in Buskerud in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Vikersund. The municipality of Modum was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The area has a long tr ...

. Kwarasey was the captain of the club in 2013 when Strømsgodset won Tippeligaen for the first time since

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

. He also won the Kniksen Award as the best goalkeeper in the 2013 season. Kwarasey announced on 31 October 2014 that he would leave Strømsgodset after the 2014 season, when his contract expired.

Portland Timbers

Kwarasey signed for the

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

in December 2014. In the one-game knockout round of the MLS Cup 2015 playoffs against

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and t ...

, the game went to a penalty-kick shootout. The shootout was tied after all 10 field players had taken their shots, so the goalkeepers went next; Kwarasey scored his shot, then saved his opposite number Jon Kempin's shot, winning his team the shootout and enabling it to advance to the next round. The Timbers won the next two rounds and then the

2015 MLS Cup MLS Cup 2015 was the 20th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS). The association football, soccer match was to determine the champion of MLS' 2015 Major League Soccer season, 2015 season. The championship wa ...

, the league championship. During the match against

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

on 16 April 2016, Kwarasey suffered a finger injury, which turned out to be a torn ligament that would rule him out for a month.

Rosenborg

Kwarasey returned to Norwegian football in July 2016 after signing a three-and-a-half year contract with Rosenborg. The Timbers stated that this move "helps free up cap space" and "made sense for Kwarasey and his family." The lanky Ghanaian international won the Tippeligaen and the

Norwegian Football Cup The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football ...

in his only season with the Norwegian football giants. This was his fourth time of winning a medal in the Norway, after captaining Strømsgodset to their first league title since 1970. He left Rosenborg in 2017 for Brøndby in Denmark.

Brøndby

On 9 January 2017, it was confirmed by Brøndby that Kwarasey had signed a four-year contract with the club.

Vålerenga

On 6 June 2017, Kwarasey Larsen agreed a three-year contract with former youth club

. Due to the Norwegian transfer window which opens on 21 July, he will not be available to play competitively for Vålerenga until that date, although he will be able to train with the team. He left the club in August 2020.

International career

In November 2007, Kwarasey declared that he would play international football for

. However, he played a friendly match for Norway under-21 in 2008.Adam Larsen Kwarasey
on

Playerhistory.com Playerhistory.com is an internet association football statistics database, founded in April 2002 by former footballer Håkon André Winther (born 15 September 1969 in Tromsø). Maintained by a team of volunteers from all over the world, it is on ...

In October 2010, Kwarasey received his Ghanaian passport and became eligible to play for Ghana. On 30 July 2011, Kwarasey was called up to the Ghana national team for a match against

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. That match was postponed due to security reasons, although Kwarasey confirmed his intention to become Ghana's first-choice goalkeeper. He made his international debut for Ghana on 2 September 2011 in an 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against

Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

, before playing in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football ground in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 22,384; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game against M ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

three days later. Kwarasey was named to Ghana's 23-man squad for the

2012 Africa Cup of Nations The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football ( ...

. He was the team's first choice goalkeeper throughout the tournament, as the Black Stars finished in fourth place. Kwarasey made two appearances for the Black Stars during their successful 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, serving as understudy to

Fatau Dauda Abdul Fatawu Dauda ( ar, عبد ال فاتو داودا; born 6 April 1985), known as Fatau Dauda, is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Legon Cities FC. Club career Dauda began his football career in 2004 with G ...

. On 2 June 2014, Kwarasey was named in Ghana's squad for the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

. He started in goal for the Black Stars in the team's opening match, a 2–1 defeat against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in Natal. After his team defeat, he planned to quit playing with Black Stars. In August 2014, he was dropped from the national team.

Career statistics

International

Honours

Strømsgodset * Tippeligaen: 2013 *

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Portland Timbers *

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

* Western Conference (Playoffs): 2015 Rosenborg * Tippeligaen:

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Individual *Best Goalkeeper in Tippeligaen: 2013 *MLS Save of the Year: 2015

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kwarasey, Adam Larsen 1987 births Living people Footballers from Oslo Citizens of Ghana through descent Ghanaian people of Norwegian descent Ghanaian footballers Ghanaian expatriate footballers Ghana international footballers Association football goalkeepers Vålerenga Fotball players Strømsgodset Toppfotball players Portland Timbers players Rosenborg BK players Brøndby IF players Norwegian footballers Norwegian expatriate footballers Norway under-21 international footballers Norwegian people of Ghanaian descent 2012 Africa Cup of Nations players 2013 Africa Cup of Nations players 2014 FIFA World Cup players Eliteserien players Major League Soccer players Norwegian Second Division players Danish Superliga players Expatriate soccer players in the United States Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate footballers in Denmark