Gerald Asamoah (; born 3 October 1978) is a German football manager and former professional player who works as the first-team manager of Schalke 04.
During his playing career, Asamoah played as a forward, and he was mainly known for his pace, his physical strength and his hard-working approach. He has bonded the most part of his career to Schalke, where he has been widely appreciated not only for his accomplishments as a player, but also for his relaxed and positive attitude and his role as a community leader off the pitch.
Asamoah kept working in Gelsenkirchen after his retirement, too, as he was offered several administrative and managerial roles throughout the years.
Early life
Born in Mampong, Ghana, Asamoah and his family emigrated to Germany in 1990.
He immediately started playing football in several local teams, and entered the youth academy of Hannover 96 at the age of 16.
Club career
Hannover 96
Coming through the youth ranks of Hannover, Asamoah started his professional career with the club from Lower Saxony, scoring five goals in his debut season. He first came to prominence the following year, as he scored 19 goals in 33 games (including a decisive winner in the final match against Eintracht Braunschweig) to help Hannover reach the play-off for the promotion in 2. Bundesliga. Although Die Roten lost the first leg 2–0 against TeBe Berlin, in the second leg Asamoah netted the opener, as his side tied the aggregate and eventually gained promotion after the penalty shoot-outs. Adding his final season in Hannover, Asamoah played 79 games and scored 28 goals for the club.
Schalke 04
In the summer transfer window of 1999, Asamoah moved to Schalke 04 for a reported cost of €1.35 million. Despite having rarely hit double figures again during his prolonged time in Gelsenkirchen, the forward instantaneously became a favorite of supporters, thanks to his qualities both on and off the pitch, his good relationship with team-mates and coaches (especially Huub Stevens, who managed Asamoah for three years at Schalke) and his contributions to the club's successes during the first half of the 2000s.
With Die Knappen, the Ghanaian-German striker reached the qualification to the UEFA Champions League at the end of the 2000-01 season, before winning two consecutive German Cups (in 2001 and 2002), two UEFA Intertoto Cups (in 2003 and 2004) and a German League Cup (in 2005).
Asamoah left Schalke at the end of the 2009-10 season, having registered a total of 381 games, 64 goals and 45 assists (between the national league, national cups and continental competitions) for the club over eleven years.
The last years as a player
St. Pauli
On 1 June 2010, Asamoah signed a two-year contract with the then Bundesliga-promoted club FC St. Pauli. During his time with the Kiezkicker, he played regularly and scored six goals in the league, including a winner that allowed his team to obtain their first away victory against cross-city rivals, Hamburger SV, since 1977. However, St. Pauli didn't manage to avoid relegation to the 2. Bundesliga, having finished last in the league, and the striker eventually decided to terminate this contract in June 2011.
Greuther Fürth
After spending six months without a club and training with the non-professional side VfB Hüls to keep himself fit, Asamoah signed for Greuther Fürth on 10 January 2012. Come during the second half of the season, Asamoah mainly acted as a reserve of Christopher Nöthe and Olivier Occéan, but still helped the team win the 2. Bundesliga title, as Greuther Fürth achieved their historical first promotion to the Bundesliga.
However, the following year turned out to be more difficult than expected: Asamoah went goalless during the entire season, while the Kleeblätter finished at the bottom of the table, having won only four of their 34 league games, none of which were at home soil.
This was also Asamoah's last season in the Bundesliga, as he amassed the third highest number of substitutions ever in the league (139 times).
Return to Schalke and retirement
On 15 July 2013, it was announced that Asamoah would return to Schalke 04 as a player-coach for their reserve team.
Having taken part in one more game for the senior side during a DFB Pokal match in 2013, the striker played regularly in the Regionalliga West, before ultimately announcing his retirement in 2015.