Afriyie Acquah ( ; born 5 January 1992) is a Ghanaian 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 ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for Iraqi club

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya ( ar, نادي القوة الجوية الرياضي, lit=Air Force Club) is an Iraqi sports club based in Rusafa District, Baghdad that competes in the Iraqi Premier League, the top-flight of Iraqi football. Founded in 193 ...

and the Ghana national team.

Early life

He speaks Italian, having learnt from his private tutor since he moved to Italy in 2010 and has a brother. Acquah said he had chosen shirt 94 in dedication of his mother, who was involved a car accident and survived that year.

Club career

Early career

Born in Accra, Greater Accra,

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 ...

, Acquah began his career in Glentoran Football Academy in

Sunyani Sunyani is a city and the capital town of the Bono Region and the Sunyani Municipal of Ghana. Sunyani had a population of 74,24at the 2010 population and housing census. The city consists mainly of the Bonos by tribe. History Sunyani is surr ...

, Ghana, which established by Christopher Forsythe an Irish National from Sunyani. During his Glentoran's career, Acquah was awarded as "Best Ghanaian midfielder's Under-14". He later transferred to Bechem United as the Northern Irish club unable to sign him, due to work permit issues, despite travelling with Christopher Forsythe to Belfast to train with the first team. In April 2009, he played for Bechem United against Italian club Empoli.

Palermo

On 1 February 2010, Palermo signed Acquah from Ghanaian club D.C. United Agogo for free, but €500,000 agent fee went to SCMG Sport Consulting & Management GmbH. Palermo was fined by

FIGC The Italian Football Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio; FIGC), known colloquially as ''Federcalcio'', is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence. It ...

as it violated the third-party ownership rule in April 2012. FIGC found that Acquah had signed a contract with the agent in June 2009 as he was unable to join any club aboard until he turned 18. After choosing number 94 shirt, Acquah made his Palermo debut, coming on as a substitute for

Giulio Migliaccio Giulio Migliaccio (; born 23 June 1981) is an Italian retired football midfielder. He started at lower league sides Savoia, Puteolana, Bari, Giugliano, and Ternana before later featuring for Atalanta, Palermo, and Fiorentina in the Serie A. C ...

in the 32nd minute, in 4–2 loss against

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...

on 13 February 2011. After making four appearances by the start of April, Acquah signed a five-year contract, keeping him until 2016.

Parma (loan)

On 16 July 2012, Palermo announced to have loaned Acquah to Serie A rivals

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

for €100,000;U.S. Città di Palermo S.p.A. ''bilancio'' (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2013 (in Italian)
PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
/ref> the agreement also includes an option for Parma to acquire half of the player's transfer rights by the end of the season.

Hoffenheim

In January 2013 moved to German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

club

Hoffenheim Hoffenheim () is a village in Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It belongs to the municipality of Sinsheim and, as of 2020, it has a population of 3,191. History The village, settled since prehistoric times, and first mentione ...

for €2.5 million fee on a four-year deal but he was not given any opportunity to play a single match until the end of the 2012–13 season.

Return to Parma (loan)

In July 2013, he returned to Parma on a season-long loan deal and won his place back, finishing 27 league appearances in the 2013–14 season. During the season, Acquah scored his first professional goal of his career, in a 4–2 loss against Roma on 2 April 2014. Subsequently, the loan was extended for another year.

Sampdoria (loan)

In February 2015, his loan spell at Parma was terminated early and he moved to fellow Serie A side Sampdoria, again on loan. He made his Sampdoria debut, playing 90 minutes, in a 2–1 loss against

Chievo Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige. It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona, which competes in the second ...

Torino

On 19 June 2015, he was signed by

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

on a four-year contract.

Empoli

On 17 August 2018, Acquah signed with

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

team Empoli.

Yeni Malatyaspor

On 23 August 2019, after his contract with Empoli ended, Acquah joined Turkish club

Yeni Malatyaspor Yeni Malatyaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club based in Malatya, Turkey. The club plays in the TFF First League, which is the second tier of football in the country. History Founded in 1986 as Malatya Belediyespor. Its prim ...

on a two-year contract with the option to extend for an extra year. After playing for a year, he was appointed as the deputy captain of the club and given his favourite number 6 jersey.

Al Batin

On 22 June 2021, Acquah signed a two-year deal with

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

n club

Al Batin FC Al Batin Football Club ( ar, نادي الباطن لكرة القدم) is a Saudi Arabian professional football club based in Hafar al-Batin, Eastern Province, that competes in the Saudi Professional League. The club was founded in 1979. Al-Ba ...

as a free agent after his contract with

expired. He was released on 1 January 2022.

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya

On 1 February 2023, Acquah joined Iraqi club

International career

On 26 February 2012, Acquah was called up to the

squad to face

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. Acquah made his senior Ghana debut against Chile on 29 February 2012 at the

PPL Park Subaru Park (formerly known as PPL Park and Talen Energy Stadium) is a soccer-specific stadium located in Chester, Pennsylvania, located next to the Commodore Barry Bridge on the waterfront along the Delaware River. The venue is home to the Ph ...

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester i ...

, USA. On 13 October 2012, in Civo Stadium, Lilongwe he scored a goal for Ghana against Malawi. In May 2014, Acquah was named in a provisional 26-man squad in the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

by Ghana manager

James Kwesi Appiah James Kwesi Appiah (born 30 June 1960), also known as Akwasi Appiah, is a Ghanaian football coach and former player who played as a left back. He is currently the head coach of Kenpong Football Academy. Early life and education Appiah was born ...

. On 2 June 2014, Acquah was selected in Ghana's squad for the 2014 tournament. Acquah made his World Cup debut, coming on as a substitute for

Mohammed Rabiu Mohammed Rabiu Al-Hassan ( ar, محمد رابيو الحسن; born 31 December 1989), simply known as Mohammed Rabiu ( ), is a Ghanaian professional association football, footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder. He has earned over 30 ca ...

in the 76th minute, in a 2–1 loss against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

Style of play

A strong, talented and tenacious player, Acquah usually plays as a

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundari ...

in front of the defence, due to his pace, physicality, stamina and abilities as a ball-winner. Although he is primarily known for his defensive coverage, he is a versatile player, who can play anywhere in

midfield Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...

; he has also been used in more advanced roles, or as a

central midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, where he is capable of helping his team both offensively and defensively due to his work-rate, composure, temperament, consistency, and ability to make attacking runs into the opposition's penalty area. Despite his lack of particularly notable technical skills, he has also been used as a

deep-lying playmaker A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

on occasion, due to his solid first touch, ability to set the tempo of his team's play and subsequently start attacking plays with long balls after winning back possession. Although naturally right-footed, he is capable of striking or passing the ball well with either foot. His precocious performances as youngster and energetic playing style in midfield have drawn comparisons with compatriot Michael Essien.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honors

Ghana * Africa Cup of Nations runner-up: 2015

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Acquah, Afriyie 1992 births Living people Ghanaian footballers Ghana international footballers Association football utility players Association football defenders Association football midfielders Palermo F.C. players Parma Calcio 1913 players TSG 1899 Hoffenheim players U.C. Sampdoria players Torino F.C. players Empoli F.C. players Yeni Malatyaspor footballers Al Batin FC players Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya players Serie A players Süper Lig players Saudi Professional League players Iraqi Premier League players Ghanaian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Saudi Arabia Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Iraq 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players 2017 Africa Cup of Nations players 2019 Africa Cup of Nations players