Christian Atta Gyan (2 November 1978 – 29 December 2021) was 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 played as a
defender. He was known primarily for his time at Feyenoord where he won the
1998–99 Eredivisie and the
2001–02 UEFA Cup.
Club career
Gyan was born in
Tema
Tema is a city on the Bight of Benin and Atlantic coast of Ghana. It is located east of the capital city; Accra, in the region of Greater Accra, and is the capital of the Tema Metropolitan District. As of 2013, Tema is the eleventh most populo ...
, Ghana on 2 November 1978. Playing for
Ghapoha, he signed for
Feyenoord
Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...
in 1996. During the following season he moved on loan to Excelsior.
After only a couple of months Feyenoord recalled the defender, and he made his debut for Feyenoord that same season. Gyan remained with Feyenoord for the next eight seasons. He was mainly used as a substitute. Gyan did play the
2002 UEFA Cup Final against Borussia Dortmund. He replaced the suspended
Brett Emerton
Brett Michael Emerton (born 22 February 1979) is an Australian former professional footballer who played for Sydney Olympic, Sydney FC, Feyenoord Rotterdam, Blackburn Rovers and the Australia national team. Able to play as a wide midfielder or ...
in the starting eleven. With Gyan, Feyenoord went on to beat Dortmund 3–2. While at Feyenoord Gyan also won a Dutch League Championship and a
Johan Cruijff Schaal
The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footbal ...
. Gyan was one of the most popular players at Feyenoord, always gaining a big applause from the fans when he started his warming-up.
In June 2008 Gyan completed a successful trial for the Finnish club
Turun Palloseura
Turun Palloseura, commonly known as TPS, is a professional football club based in Turku, Finland. During the 2022 season, the men's first team of the club competes in Ykkönen, the second highest tier of men's football, and the women's repr ...
, and he signed a six-month deal with TPS on 3 June. In January 2009 Gyan signed for
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
until the end of the 2008–09 season, but made only two appearances for the club in the
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...
before being released at the end of the season.
He signed a contract for
RoPS
Rops may refer to:
People
* Daniel-Rops (1901–1965), French writer and historian
* Félicien Rops (1833–1898), Belgian artist
Places
* Rops (peak), a mountain in Kosovo
Sports
* Rovaniemen Palloseura (RoPS), a Finnish football club
Tech ...
in February 2010. In July, he got released by the club because of knee injury that happened in February. Gyan did not make any appearances for
RoPS
Rops may refer to:
People
* Daniel-Rops (1901–1965), French writer and historian
* Félicien Rops (1833–1898), Belgian artist
Places
* Rops (peak), a mountain in Kosovo
Sports
* Rovaniemen Palloseura (RoPS), a Finnish football club
Tech ...
.
He finished his career at amateur side
RKSV Leonidas in Rotterdam.
International career
Gyan was part of the Ghana team that won the
1995 FIFA U-17 World Championship
The FIFA U-17 World Championship 1995, the sixth edition of the tournament, was held in the cities of Guayaquil, Portoviejo, Quito, Ibarra, Ecuador, Ibarra, Cuenca, Ecuador, Cuenca, and Riobamba in Ecuador between 3 and 20 August 1995. Players bo ...
.
Gyan played seven games at the
1997 FIFA World Youth Championship,
where Ghana finished fourth.
His full international debut, incidentally, came against the Netherlands. For the senior side he featured eight times between 1998 and 2001, including at the
2000 Africa Cup of Nations
The 2000 African Cup of Nations was the 22nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa (Confederation of African Football, CAF). It was co-hosted by Ghana and Nigeria, who jointly replaced Zimbabwe as ho ...
.
Personal life and death
Gyan was diagnosed with terminal cancer in November 2021. He died from the disease a month later on 29 December 2021, at the age of 43.
Honours
Feyenoord
*
UEFA 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 Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
:
2001–02
*
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...
:
1998-99
*
Johan Cruyff Shield:
1999
References
External links
*
FIFA Player Statistics: Christian Gyan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gyan, Christian
1978 births
2021 deaths
People from Tema
Men's association football defenders
Ghanaian footballers
Ghana men's under-20 international footballers
Ghana men's international footballers
2000 African Cup of Nations players
Great Mariners F.C. players
Excelsior Rotterdam players
Feyenoord players
Turun Palloseura footballers
Rovaniemen Palloseura players
UEFA Cup winning players
Eredivisie players
Eerste Divisie players
Veikkausliiga players
Wrexham A.F.C. players
RKSV Leonidas players
Ghanaian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands
Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands
Expatriate footballers in Finland
Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Finland
Expatriate footballers in Wales
Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Wales