Gideon Baah (born 1 October 1991) is a

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 ...

ian football coach and former player who played as a defender. He coaches

FC Motown FC Motown is an American soccer club based in Morristown, New Jersey. Founded in 2012, the team currently plays in both the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) and USL League Two. In 2020, the team joined the newly formed Northeast Elite Soccer ...

in the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially ...

Club career

Early career

In 2007, Baah won a football

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(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 , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

, and two-week trial at

Chelsea FC Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. Th ...

academy. Chelsea player and Ghanaian international

Michael Essien Michael Kojo Essien (born 3 December 1982) is a Ghanaian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder and is currently a member of Danish Superliga club FC Nordsjælland, Nordsjælland's coaching staff. He was ...

stated that he was very happy with Baah's performance and urged the club to offer him a contract. Baah later returned to Ghana.

Asante Kotoko

In March 2010, Baah sustained a broken shin in a

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

match against

Hearts of Oak Hearts most commonly refers to: * Hearts (card game), a trick-taking game * Hearts (suit), one of the standard four suits of cards * Heart, an organ Hearts may also refer to: Music * The Hearts, an American girl group closely related to the Jay ...

at the

Baba Yara Stadium Baba Yara Sports Stadium (also Kumasi Sports Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Kumasi, Ashanti. It is Ghana's largest stadium, with a seating capacity of 40,528. The Kumasi Stadium is used mostly for football matches, although it is also us ...

. 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. 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 Mighty Jets International FC is a Nigerian football club from Jos, playing in the Nigeria National League. They play at the Jos International Stadium, which has a capacity of 45,000. History They are one of only a half dozen active 'privately ...

helping Asante Kotoko to a 2–0 victory and scoring in the process. While with Kotoko, Baah captured two

Ghana Premier League The is the top professional association football division of the football league system in Ghana. Officially formed in 1956 to replace a previous league incarnation, the Gold Coast Club Competition (which began in 1933 and ended in 1953–54), t ...

titles and one Super Cup.

FC Honka

Baah started his spell for

FC Honka FC Honka is a Finnish football club based in Espoo. It was founded in 1957 as Tapion Honka, and changed its name to FC Honka in 1975. The club currently play in the Finnish premier division (''Veikkausliiga''), having been promoted for the fir ...

in a form of a loan from Asante Kotoko FC of the

Ghanaian Premier League The is the top professional association football division of the football league system in Ghana. Officially formed in 1956 to replace a previous league incarnation, the Gold Coast Club Competition (which began in 1933 and ended in 1953–54), t ...

. On Saturday 13 March 2013, Baah made his

Veikkausliiga Veikkausliiga (; sv, Tipsligan) is the premier division of Finnish football, the highest tier of the Finnish football league structure, comprising the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikkau ...

debut in a 2–0 away loss to '

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 ...

. On 22 March he made his home debut at the Tapiolan Urheilupuisto against local rivals

HJK Helsinki Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi (), commonly known as HJK Helsinki, or simply as HJK, is a professional football club based in Helsinki, Finland. The club competes in the Finnish Veikkausliiga. Founded in 1907, the club has spent most of its history ...

. Baah scored the winning goal on 25 March 2013 in a 0–1 victory over

FC KooTeePee FC KooTeePee was a Finnish football club. History Originally FC KooTeePee was founded as a reserve team of Kotkan Työväen Palloilijat (founded 1927). In the year 2000, it became an independent club. At that time Kotkan Työväen Palloilijat ...

in the

Suomen Cup The Finnish Cup ( fi, Suomen cup; sv, Finlands cup) is Finland's main national cup competition in football. This yearly competition is open for all member clubs of the FA of Finland and has been played since 1955. The winner qualifies for the ...

to take his team through to the next round. Baah was chosen to the Veikkausliiga team of the Month for April, May, June and July. 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. He scored his first Veikkausliiga goal on 30 June 2013 against

FF Jaro FF Jaro is a Finnish football club, based in the bilingual town of Jakobstad. It currently plays in ''Ykkönen''. Home matches are played at the Jakobstads Centralplan. Current squad ''Updated 7 March, 2022.'' Managem ...

where he scored the opening goal in a 4–2 victory. Baah made his

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

debut on 18 July 2013 in the

2013–14 UEFA Europa League The 2013–14 UEFA Europa League was the 43rd season of Europe's secondary club association football, football tournament organised by UEFA, and the fifth season under its current title. The 2014 UEFA Europa League Final was played between Sevil ...

second qualifying round where they lost 1–3 in the first leg to

2012–13 Ekstraklasa The 2012–13 Ekstraklasa or T-Mobile Ekstraklasa for sponsorship reasons, was the 79th season of the highest level of football leagues in Poland since its establishment in 1927. It began on 17 August 2012 and concluded on 2 June 2013. A total of ...

runners up

Lech Poznań Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań S.A., commonly referred to as KKS Lech Poznań or simply Lech Poznań (), is a Polish professional association football, football club based in Poznań and currently competing in the Ekstraklasa, the nation' ...

. On 24 July 2013, Baah signed a 2-year contract with FC Honka. At the end of the

2013 Veikkausliiga The 2013 Veikkausliiga was the 83rd season of top-tier football in Finland. The season began on 13 April 2013 and ended on 26 October 2013. HJK Helsinki are the defending champions. Teams FC Haka were relegated to Ykkönen after finishing at the b ...

season, he was officially selected as the leagues defender of the year and rookie of the year.

Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi

In February 2014 it was announced that Baah had signed a contract to join

. 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 Sportklub Rapid Wien (), commonly known as Rapid Vienna, is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian championship titles (32), including the first title in the season 1911–12, ...

. On 6 November, Baah opened the scoring for HJK in a famous 2–1 victory over Italian side

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 the following match day of 27 November Baah once again opened the scoring for HJK in another 2–1 victory over

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

New York Red Bulls

On 9 February 2016, it was announced that Baah had signed for American

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 ...

side,

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

. To replace defender

Matt Miazga Matthew Miazga (born July 19, 1995) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center-back for Major League Soccer club FC Cincinnati and the United States national team. Having come through the academy system of the New York Red ...

who had recently been transferred to

Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. Th ...

Baah made his first appearance with the club in 2–0 defeat against

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

on 6 March. 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 New York Red Bulls II is an American professional soccer team based in Montclair, New Jersey. They are the reserve team of the New York Red Bulls and play in MLS Next Pro, the third tier in the American soccer pyramid. History Red Bull New Yo ...

on 1 May. The same day, Baah played 45 minutes for the affiliate side in a 2–0 defeat against

Charlotte Independence Charlotte Independence is an American soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina that plays in the USL League One, the third tier of the American soccer pyramid. The Independence currently play their home games at American Legion Memorial ...

. He scored his first goal with the club on 21 May 2016 in a 7–0 win over

NYCFC New York City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in New York City that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of American soccer, as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The club is co-owned b ...

. Baah suffered a broken leg in a July match against

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 ...

, sidelining him for the remainder of 2016. Baah missed the entire 2017 season due to complications during his injury recovery, playing only a few matches late in the year with Red Bulls II.

Kairat-A

On 1 February 2018, Baah went on trial with

Kazakhstan Premier League The Kazakhstan Professional Football League ( kk, Қазақстан Премьер Лигасы, ''Qazaqstan Premer Ligasy''), commonly referred to as Kazakh Premier League or simply Premier League, is the top division of football in Kazakhstan ...

side

FC Kairat Football Club Kairat ( kk, Qaırat Fýtbol Klýby) is a professional association football, football club based in Almaty, which plays in the Kazakhstan Premier League, the highest level of Football in Kazakhstan, Kazakh football. Founded in 1954 ...

. On 4 April 2018, Kairat announced that Baah had signed for their second team Kairat-A. Baah left Kairat-A on 20 May 2018 by mutual consent having scored once for the club.

FC Honka

On 3 January 2019 it was announced Baah would return to

Shakhter Karagandy

On 24 January 2020, Baah signed for

Shakhter Karagandy Football Club Shakhter ( kk, "Шахтер" футбол клубы, Shakhter fýtbol klýby), commonly referred to as FC Shakhter Karagandy ( kk, Қарағанды/Qarağandı ;Russian: Караганда/Karaganda), is a professional footbal ...

. On 14 February 2021, Baah signed a new one-year contract with Shakhter Karagandy.

FC Motown

Baah returned to the United States in 2022, joining

of the

International career

In 2009, he received a call-up to Ghana U20 national team. In October 2015, Baah received his first senior call up to the Ghana national team. He made his debut for Ghana in a 13 October friendly against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, coming into the match as a substitute in the 87th minute.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Club

Asante Kotoko *

(2): 2011–12,

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Ghana Super Cup The Ghana Super Cup is a football competition involving a match played between the champion of the Ghana Premier League and the winner of the Ghanaian FA Cup in Ghana. The first Ghana Super Cup competition took place in the 1996–1997 season, af ...

: 2012 HJK Helsinki *

Finnish Championship Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Finnish Cup The Finnish Cup ( fi, Suomen cup; sv, Finlands cup) is Finland's main national cup competition in football. This yearly competition is open for all member clubs of the FA of Finland and has been played since 1955. The winner qualifies for the ...

Finnish League Cup The Finnish League Cup was a knock-out association football, football competition contested annually during the pre-season in winter by teams from Veikkausliiga. The league cup was abolished after the 2016 tournament and replaced with the Finnish C ...

: 2015 New York Red Bulls II *

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

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

Rookie of the Year: 2013 *

Defender of the Year:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

References

External links

* *
westafricanfootball.com

veikkausliiga.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baah, Gideon 1991 births Living people Footballers from Accra Ghanaian men's footballers Men's association football defenders Ghana men's international footballers Ghanaian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Finland Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in Kazakhstan Expatriate men's footballers in Belarus Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Finland Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Ghana Premier League players Veikkausliiga players Major League Soccer players Belarusian Premier League players Asante Kotoko S.C. players FC Honka players Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi players New York Red Bulls II players FC Kairat players FC Gomel players FC Shakhter Karagandy players Accra City Stars F.C. players Ghanaian football managers