Joseph-Claude Agyeman Gyau (born September 16, 1992) is an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who plays as a winger for

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football lea ...

club

Degerfors IF Degerfors IF is a Swedish football club located in Degerfors. The club, formed 13 January 1907, is currently playing in the highest tier in Swedish football, Allsvenskan. Background Degerfors IF first played in the Allsvenskan in 1939 maki ...

. From 2014 through 2019, Gyau represented the

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

and earned three caps.

Early life

Born in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, he grew up in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially unincorporated, in practice it is an edge city, with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 censu ...

, where he played youth soccer for the nearby Bethesda Roadrunners before joining the

IMG Soccer Academy IMG Academy is a preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. IMG Academy is set across over 600 acres and features programs consisting of sport camps for youth athletes, adult camps, a board ...

in 2009. Gyau is of third-generation pedigree of professional footballers, being the son of former U.S. international Phillip Gyau and the grandson of Joseph "Nana" Gyau, a former Ghanaian international.

Club career

Gyau Signed for Hoffenheim with fellow teammate Charles Renken in 2009. The two were under the age of 18 and could not participate in any matches and were loaned to the Vancouver Whitecaps where they were apart of a residency program from 2009-2010. After the season in Canada It was agreed upon that the two would start out playing for Hoffenheims U19 squad. Shortly after arriving and leading the team in minutes Gyau was moved up to Hoffenheims U23 in 2011. Gyau, only 18, made numerous appearances catching the eye of the first team and was soon moved up once again. Gyau made his Debut for the first team in a DFB pokal match against Greuther Furth in 2011 at the young age of 19. In April 2012 Gyau would sign His first team contract and In August 2012, Gyau was loaned to 2. Bundesliga side

FC St. Pauli Fußball-Club St Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St Pauli (), is a German professional football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga. The football department is part of a larger sp ...

from

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim e.V., or simply TSG 1899 Hoffenheim or just Hoffenheim () is a German professional football club based in Hoffenheim, a village of Sinsheim municipality, Baden-Württemberg. Originally founded in 1899 ...

for the entire season, with an option for another season. He made his League debut for Hoffenheim in April 2014, coming on in the final 21 minutes of a 0–0 draw against

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...

. In June 2014, Gyau joined

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...

. Initially this would only be for the U23 but shortly after he was moved up to the first team to participate in their preseason. Gyau scored a last minute game winner in a friendly match against Heidenheim. Post preseason Gyau remained with the first team and was a regular in the 18 man roster. On September 24, 2014, he made his first team debut for

against

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB Stu ...

, coming on in the 74th minute of the match which ended in a 2–2 draw. After being out with injuries for nearly two years, he made his return with Borussia Dortmund II as a substitute on October 29, 2016. Following Gyau's return to match fitness in January 2017, Gyau moved to 3. Liga side

SG Sonnenhof Großaspach SG Sonnenhof Großaspach (german: Sportgemeinschaft Sonnenhof Großaspach e.V.), commonly known as Sonnenhof Großaspach, is a German professional football club based in Aspach, Baden-Württemberg. The club play in the Regionalliga Südwest, whi ...

on an 18-month deal. During those 18 months Gyau was able to return to form scoring 6 goals and adding 4 assists, earning himself a summer transfer Gyau moved to

MSV Duisburg Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jers ...

for their 2018–19 season in Germany's 2nd Bundesliga, tallying 2 goals and 1 assist during the campaign. On August 8, 2019, it was announced that Gyau had signed for

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

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The ...

. Gyau went on to make 51 total appearances for the club.

International career

Gyau has been capped for the United States at the U-15, U-17, U-20, and U-23 levels. In March 2012, Gyau was called into the US U-23 team for Olympic qualifying matches. The team did not qualify for that year's

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

. In November 2012, Gyau was called up to the

. His first start for the US was on September 3, 2014, against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

in a friendly match. Gyau made his second start for the national team on October 10, 2014, in a friendly match against

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

. After playing less than 15 minutes, he came off the pitch with a suspected sprained left knee and was replaced by

Bobby Wood Bobby Shou Wood (born November 15, 1992) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club New England Revolution. Youth and early career Wood was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to a mother with partial ...

. On October 12, it was announced that Gyau had torn his lateral meniscus and suffered a bone bruise. In June 2019, Gyau made his first United States national team appearance since 2014 in a friendly match against

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gyau, Joe Living people 1992 births Men's association football wingers American soccer players American expatriate soccer players in Germany Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players 3. Liga players TSG 1899 Hoffenheim II players TSG 1899 Hoffenheim players FC St. Pauli players FC St. Pauli II players Borussia Dortmund players Borussia Dortmund II players SG Sonnenhof Großaspach players MSV Duisburg players FC Cincinnati players American sportspeople of Ghanaian descent Soccer players from Florida United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players United States men's international soccer players Major League Soccer players American expatriate soccer players