As Ghanaians come to the shocking reality that the star-studded Gyan, who has been a prominent figure with the Black Stars, has retired, it is time to reflect on some of his most prolific achievements.
Gyan first started his epic career in 2003 while playing for local Liberty Professionals. At the time, Gyan was only 18 years, but proved himself an invaluable player by scoring an impressive ten goals in his first sixteen matches.
Gyan spent a few more months at Liberty Professionals, being their frontman in attack and ensuring that the goals were in plentiful.
He soon caught the attention of Serie A club Udinese, who were quick to snatch the scintillating wonderkid where he spent 3 seasons before being loaned to Modena.
Indeed, so goes the story for Gyan, who managed to score an impressive 13 goals with in 53 matches at Modena.
Gyan then returned to Udinese where he impressed and dazzled Udinese fans by scoring 11 times in 39 matches.
In 2008, Gyan then moved to Rennes in the French Ligue 1, wherein a span of two seasons, he managed to score 14 times in 48 matches.
Gyan then moved to Sunderland where he managed 10 goals in thirty-four matches. He is still playing for Kayserispor as per club level.
International Career
Nevertheless, Gyan will be fondly remembered as the top scorer for the Black Stars.
Gyan made his international debut at the age of 17. Gyan scored on his senior International debut[33] for Ghana against Somalia on 19 November 2003 in the 90th minute.
He came on for Isaac Boakye in the 62nd minute in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier, three days before he turned 18 years; helping Ghana to win that game, and making him the youngest ever player to score for Ghana.
He scored four times in seven matches during that successful World Cup qualifying campaign. He was part of the 2004 Ghana Olympic squad, who exited in the first round, having finished in third place in Group B.
He also scored the fastest goal of the tournament after 68 seconds. The strike was also Ghana’s first ever goal in the FIFA World Cup, coming in the game against the Czech Republic on 17 June at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne, Germany, which set the Black Stars on their way to a 2–0 victory.
He missed a penalty later in the game, and received a yellow card ruling him out of the final group game for trying to take the penalty too early. In Ghana’s defeat[34] to Brazil in the round of 16, he was sent off in the 81st minute after collecting his second booking of the match (for diving).