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Asumah Abubakar

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Asumah Abubakar
Personal information
Full name Asumah Abubakar-Ankrah
Date of birth (1997-05-10) 10 May 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth Kumasi, Ghana
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Grasshoppers
Number 27
Youth career
Corners Babies
2015–2016 Willem II
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2018 Willem II 16 (0)
2018–2019 MVV Maastricht 27 (0)
2019–2021 Kriens 47 (22)
2021–2022 Lugano 37 (5)
2022–2024 Luzern 53 (9)
2024– Grasshoppers 16 (1)
International career
2016 Portugal U19 2 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23 May 2024

Asumah Abubakar-Ankrah (born 10 May 1997) is a footballer who plays as a forward for Swiss club Grasshoppers. Born in Ghana, he is a youth international for Portugal.

Club career

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Born in Kumasi, Ghana, Abubakar had a successful trial with Willem II in the summer of 2015, but he had to wait to the following year to sign a contract due to work permit problems. He eventually received a Portuguese passport as his father had been working in the nation for several years,[1][2] and on 2 March 2016 he committed to the Dutch club on a short-term deal.[3]

On 2 April 2016, whilst still a junior, Abubakar made his senior debut, coming on as a late substitute in a 2–3 Eredivisie home loss against FC Twente.[4] He transferred to MVV Maastricht for the 2018-2019 season on a free transfer.[5] After 27 appearances and another goalless season Abubakar transferred to Swiss club SC Kriens.[6] On 28 July 2019, he would score his first professional goal against FC Aarau after being subbed on in the 71st minute.[7] He ended the season third in the top scorer rankings.[6] In his second season, despite Kriens finishing mid-table, he again finished third in the scoring charts and won the Switzerland Challenge League Best Player Award.[8][9] Abubakar transferred to Swiss Super League club FC Lugano at the start of the 2021-2022 season for 100,000 Euros.[10] He scored his first goal for Lugano on his third appearance in a 1–1 draw with FC Basel.[11]

On 14 January 2022, Abubakar signed a contract with Luzern until 30 June 2024.[12]

On 29 January 2024, he transferred to Grasshoppers for an undisclosed fee.[13] He signed a one-and-a-half-year contract, running until summer 2025, and rejoins his former coach Bruno Berner, whom he had worked with at Kriens. He debuted two days later in a midweek league match against his former club FC Lugano, coming on for the final 30 minutes of the 0–0 draw.[14] After bringing some much needed offensive power in his debut, he was nominated to the starting lineup for the next two games. However, in the second, a Zürich Derby match, he was sent off after pushing over FC Zürich midfielder Bledian Krasniqi during a confrontation after only twelve minutes played.[15] This was his first career sending off. He finally scored his first goal in the Grasshopper dress on 4 May 2024, scoring the team's first goal in 3–2 home win over FC Stade Lausanne Ouchy.[16] In the same game he also scored two disallowed goals from offside positions. On 31 May 2024, he scored the all important winning goal in the 91st minute in the second leg of the relegation play-off against FC Thun, thus securing Grasshoppers's place in the Swiss Super League[17]

International career

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Having acquired Portuguese citizenship, Abubakar chose to represent that country.[18] On 16 June 2016, he was selected for a 23-man preliminary list for the 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship[19] and also made the final squad, scoring in a 4–3 group stage win over the hosts Germany.[20] Shortly after, however, after doubts arose regarding his eligibility, the Portuguese Football Federation opted to immediately remove him from the competition pending further approval.[21]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of 31 May 2024[22]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Willem II 2015–16 Eredivisie 1 0 0 0 — — 1 0
2016–17 15 0 1 0 — — 16 0
2017–18 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
Total 16 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 17 0
MVV 2018–19 Eerste Divisie 27 0 1 0 — — 28 0
Kriens 2019–20 Challenge League 36 15 1 0 — — 37 15
2020–21 11 7 1 0 — — 12 7
Total 47 22 2 0 0 0 0 0 49 22
Lugano 2020–21 Super League 20 2 2 0 — — 22 2
2021–22 16 3 2 1 — — 18 4
Total 36 5 4 1 0 0 0 0 40 6
Luzern 2021–22 Super League 18 5 2 1 — 2[a] 0 22 6
2022–23 28 3 3 0 — — 31 3
2023–24 7 1 1 0 1[b] 0 — 9 1
Total 53 8 6 1 1 0 2 0 62 10
Grasshopper 2023–24 Super League 16 1 — — 2[c] 1 18 2
Career total 195 37 14 2 1 0 4 1 214 41
  1. ^ Matches in the relegation play-off.
  2. ^ Matches in 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying.
  3. ^ Matches in the relegation play-off.

References

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  1. ^ "Asumah: o luso-ganês que entusiama na Holanda e vem à seleção" [Asumah: the Portuguese-Ghanaian who thrills in the Netherlands and comes to the national team] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 3 June 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  2. ^ "Asumah: do Gana ao Europeu sub-19, via Ermesinde" [Asumah: from Ghana to the under-19 European Championship, via Ermesinde] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 8 July 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  3. ^ "Ghanaian teenager Asumah Abubakar signs for Dutch Eredivise [sic] Willem II Tilburg". Ghana Soccernet. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  4. ^ "FC Twente vecht zich terug en wint in Tilburg" [FC Twente fight back and win in Tilburg] (in Dutch). FC Twente. 2 April 2016. Archived from the original on 20 April 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  5. ^ "MVV Maastricht sign Asumah in a two-year deal | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  6. ^ a b admin. "Big blow for SC Kriens: top striker Asumah Abubakar is storming for Lugano with immediate effect". Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  7. ^ LiveScore, SofaScore com. "SC Kriens FC Aarau live score, video stream and H2H results - SofaScore". www.sofascore.com. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  8. ^ "SFL-Awards bleiben in YB-Hand". Bote der Urschweiz (in German). 21 January 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  9. ^ "Ghanaian youngster Asumah Abubakar wins Swiss Challenge League Best Player award for 2020". GhanaSoccernet. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  10. ^ "Ghanaian striker Asumah Abubakar completes move to Swiss top-tier side Lugano". GhanaSoccernet. 11 January 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  11. ^ "Asumah Abubakar-Ankrah nets debut Swiss Super League goal to help Lugano draw at FC Basel". GhanaSoccernet. 31 January 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  12. ^ "WILLKOMMEN, ASUMAH!" (Press release) (in German). Luzern. 14 January 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  13. ^ "GC Zurich signs Asumah Abubakar". Grasshopper Club Zürich. 29 January 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  14. ^ "Torloses Unentschieden gegen Lugano". Grasshopper Club Zürich. 31 January 2024. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  15. ^ "Vier Spiele für Crivelli, drei für Abubakar". sfl.ch. 12 February 2024.
  16. ^ "Sieg in letzter Minute". Grasshopper Club Zürich. 4 May 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  17. ^ "GC hält sich gegen starkes Thun in extremis in der Super League" (in Swiss High German). SRF. 31 May 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  18. ^ "Asumah delighted with Portugal chance". Goal. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  19. ^ "Convocatória pré-Europeu com 23 jogadores" [Preliminary European Championship call-up with 23 players] (in Portuguese). Portuguese Football Federation. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  20. ^ "Portugal put paid to Germany hopes". UEFA. 14 July 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  21. ^ "Asumah retirado da convocatória" [Asumah removed from selection]. Record (in Portuguese). 16 July 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  22. ^ Asumah Abubakar at Soccerway
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