Gerald Asamoah (born October 3, 1978 in Mampong) is a Ghanaian-German
football player.
Born in Ghana, Asamoah emigrated to Germany in 1990. He played
for Hannover 96 before moving to FC Schalke 04 in 1999. He made
his debut for Germany in 2001, the first black player to ever
play for the side (however, with Erwin Kostedde and Jimmy
Hartwig, there were prior two German internationals who had one
black and one white parent). He scored on his debut, and went on
to play in the 2002 World Cup.
Asamoah suffers from a heart condition. In his case, the flesh
lobe that separates the right and left heart chambers is
extremely thick, which causes an arrhythmic heart beat. Whenever
he participates in sports, he wears a defibrillator.
The supporters of Schalke often call him "Blondi" or "Asa". |
