Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu
Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu (born 2 December 1990), known mononymously as Badu (/bɑːˈduː/ bah-DOO), is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. He has earned 78 caps for the Ghana national team.[3] Midfielder capable of playing multiple roles, but performs best playing centrally in front of the defence. Competitiveness, physicality and resistance are his predominant characteristics, with which he masks less than excellent technical skills. He is gifted with great explosive strength and speed with the ball at his feet, although his ball control is not excellent. He is the typical midfielder capable of providing a lot of substance but little quality to the maneuver. He is considered to be one of the best Ghanaian midfielders of his generation.
 Badu with Ghana in 2015 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 2 December 1990 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Berekum, Ghana | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2006 | Berlin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | Berekum Arsenal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2009 | Berekum Arsenal | 19 | (7) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | → Asante Kotoko (loan) | 18 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009 | → Recreativo (loan) | 22 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2020 | Udinese | 170 | (10) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | → Bursaspor (loan) | 18 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | → Verona (loan) | 10 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Verona | 17 | (9) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Qingdao | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Accra Great Olympics | 11 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 289 | (34) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009 | Ghana U-20 | 7 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2017 | Ghana | 78 | (11) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Honours
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* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 9 December 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 30 December 2017 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club career change
Badu played domestically for Berlin, Berekum Arsenal and Asante Kotoko. On April 16, 2009, Spanish side Recreativo Huelva took him over on loan from Berekum Arsenal. He returned to Ghana in September 2009. In November 2009, BBC and Sky Sports announced that Udinese would sign the Ghanaian in the upcoming January transfer window. On January 28, 2010, Udinese confirmed the news. On February 12, 2010, he was on the bench against AC Milan. On March 28, 2010, Badu made his debut for Udinese in a league match against ACF Fiorentina. During the 2011-2012 season he forced a place in the starting team as a replacement for Gökhan Inler who left for Napoli. Together with compatriot Kwadwo Asamoah, he formed a central midfield duo for the defense. During the 2013/14 season, Badu – as a defensive midfielder – scored five goals in Serie A. In August 2017 he joined Turkish Süper Lig club Bursaspor on loan for the 2017–18 season. He was injured whilst on loan, and returned to first-team action with Udinese in March 2019, after 11 months out.On 13 July 2019, Badu signed to Hellas Verona on loan with an obligation to buy. He was hospitalised in August with blood clots on his lungs, but was cleared to play in December 2019. He featured in 10 matches on loan at the club.
After the 2019–20 season Hellas Verona activated their obligation to sign him on a two-year deal from Udinese after playing for the Udine-based club for 10 years and playing in 193 matches in all competitions, scoring 10 times and making 11 assists. He was not included in Verona's 2020–21 Serie A squad. On 2 January 2021, he announced that he terminated his Verona contract and retired from playing. In July 2022, 13 years after playing in the Ghana Premier League, Badu made a return to the league and signed for Nungua-based club Accra Great Olympics as a free agent. He signed a one-year deal with the club ahead of the 2022–23 season. He made his debut on 17 August 2022 against Bechem United, in a 5–4 penalties loss after a goalless draw in regulation time in the 2022 GHALCA G6.
He played in all matches as the Olympics went on to win the GHALCA G6 at the end of the tournament after defeating Bechem United by 2–0 in the final. On 9 September 2022, a day to the commencement of the league, he was officially unveiled by the club. After a remarkable five-month tenure, during which he participated in 11 league games and earned the prestigious Man of the Match award twice, he bid farewell to the Olympics.
International career change
On May 22, 2008, Agyemang Badu was selected for the training list of the Ghana national football team for the first time. He played in the match between Ghana and Lesotho on June 8, 2008, making his adult national team debut. Agyemang Badu subsequently participated in the 2010, 2012 and 2013 African Cup of Nations. His goal against Guinea in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations group stage was selected as a candidate for the 2012 FIFA Puskas Award. He scored a goal against DR Congo during the AFCON 2013.
Honours change
Asante Kotoko
- Ghana Premier League: 2007–2008
Great Olympics
Ghana U-20
Ghana
- Africa Cup of Nations Silver Medal: 2010,[9] 2015[9]
References change
- ↑ "FIFA U-20 World Cup Egypt 2009™: List of Players: Ghana" (PDF). FIFA. 6 October 2009. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 October 2009.
- ↑ "Emmanuel Agyemang Badu - Player Profile - Football". Eurosport Asia. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014.
- ↑ "Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu quits Great Olympics after 5 months". GhanaWeb. 2023-02-17. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
- ↑ "Ex-Udinese star Emmanuel Agyeman-Badu wins first title with Great Olympics". GhanaSoccernet. 2022-08-30. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
- ↑ Nartey, Luis Siaw (30 August 2022). "Oly win GHALCA G6 tournament". Ghanaian Times. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
- ↑ Swiss club moves for Kotoko's Samuel Inkoom on www.modernghana.com
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 FC Basel 1893 (2009). "FCB verpflichtet Nationalspieler aus Ghana" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ Ghana beat Cameroon to win U-20 title[permanent dead link] www.http://sports.thinkghana.com
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "A. Ayew". Soccerway. Retrieved 11 February 2015.