Felix Afena-Gyan

Felix Afena Ohene-Gyan (born 19 January 2003) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie B club Cremonese and the Ghana national team.

Felix Afena Ohene-Gyan
Personal information
Full name Felix Afena Ohene-Gyan
Date of birth (2003-01-19) 19 January 2003
Place of birth Sunyani, Ghana
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Cremonese
Number 11
Youth career
2018–2021 EurAfrica FC
2021 Roma
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2022 Roma 17 (2)
2022– Cremonese 25 (0)
International career‡
2022– Ghana 7 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:59, 26 August 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:20, 23 September 2022 (UTC)

Club career

Youth squad

Born in Sunyani, Ghana,[1] Afena-Gyan moved to Serie A side Roma's youth team on 13 March 2021, from EurAfrica FC.[2][3] Just a day after being unveiled on March 13, he made an impressive debut for AS Roma's under-18 team, scoring and assisting in a 5–0 thrashing of Genoa.[4] He then scored in his next two games for the under-18 and due to his immediate impact he was quickly promoted to Roma's Primavera under-19 squad managed by Alberto De Rossi, where he scored four and assisted two in 15 appearances to finish the season.[5][4]

Starting the 2021–22 campaign well, he scored six goals in just five Primavera games to capture Mourinho's attention and earn a first-team call to train with the first team in mid-October.[5]

First team

Afena-Gyan was first called up to the senior team on 24 October, in Roma's Serie A game against Napoli.[6] He made his professional debut on 27 October, against Cagliari.[7][8][9] On 21 November, he came off the bench to score two late goals against Genoa, to give Roma a 2–0 win.[10][11][12] The brace made him the first player born in 2003 to score in the Serie A.[13]José Mourinho, AS Roma's manager promised to buy Afena-Gyan a pair of shoes that cost €800 if he scored a goal. After scoring, he ran to Mourinho's bench to remind him of his promise.[13] The next morning Mourinho bought the shoes and presented it to him.[5]

At the end of his first professional season, the Ghanaian striker played a total amount of 22 games for the Italian side, having also contributed (with three appearances) to their final victory in the opening edition of the UEFA Europa Conference League.[14]

On 6 July 2022, he officially renewed his contract with Roma until 2026.[15]

Cremonese

On 29 August 2022, Afena-Gyan was signed by newly-promoted Serie A club Cremonese on a permanent deal.[16] On 20 October, he scored his first goal for the club in a 4–2 Coppa Italia win over Modena after the extra time.[17]

On 17 January 2023, during the match of the cup's round of 16 against Napoli, the forward scored the equalizer (2–2) for Cremonese at the 87th minute, taking the game to the extra time.[18] The match ended up in a penalty shoot-out, with Afena-Gyan himself scoring the last attempt of his side and allowing Cremonese to qualify for the quarter-finals of the tournament.[18]

International career

On 4 November 2021, Afena-Gyan received his first call-up by the Ghana national team.[19] However, he turned down the invitation for the Black Stars for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Ethiopia and South Africa.[20] He revealed in an interview with Italian journalist, Gianluca Di Marzio that he felt the call-up was too early and that he wanted to concentrate on developing under José Mourinho at club level before accepting a call-up.[21][22]

He debuted with Ghana in a 0–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification tie with Nigeria on 25 March 2022.[23]

On 1 June 2022, Afena-Gyan scored his first international goal, as he contributed to the Black Stars' 3–0 win against Madagascar in the first match of the qualifiers to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations: in the same occasion, he also provided the assist for Mohammed Kudus' opening goal.[24]

Style of play

Afena-Gyan is a quick striker who is able to play in different attacking positions.[1][25] His pace is attributed to his involvement in athletics and being a 100m sprinter whilst in high school.[5]

Personal life

In February 2022, Afena-Gyan signed a sponsorship deal with German sportswear and equipment supplier Puma.[26]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 26 August 2023[27]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Coppa Italia Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Roma 2021–22 Serie A 172203[lower-alpha 1]0222
Cremonese 2022–23 Serie A 23052—282
2023–24 Serie B 2 0 1 1 — 3 1
Career total 4228330535
  1. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International
As of match played 23 September 2022[28]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Ghana 202271
Total71
Scores and results list Ghana's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Afena-Gyan goal.[28]
List of international goals scored by Felix Afena-Gyan
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
11 June 2022Cape Coast Sports Stadium, Cape Coast, Ghana Madagascar2–03–02023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Honours

Roma

Individual

References
  1. "Chi è Afena-Gyan, l'attaccante della Roma che ha incantato contro il Genoa". Goal. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  2. "AS Roma sign Ghanaian youngster Felix Afena-Gyan". My Joy Online. 13 March 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  3. "EurAfrica Academy FC hire 'former Serie A coach' Renzo Gobbo". GhanaSoccernet. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  4. Asante, Ibrahim Ridwan (8 April 2021). "'I play for the team I fell in love with on TV'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  5. Conflitti, Gabriele (24 November 2021). "Felix Afena-Gyan: Roma wonderkid earning himself new €800 trainers from Mourinho". Goal. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  6. "Roma coach Mourinho names Ghana's Felix Afena-Gyan in squad for Napoli clash". GhanaWeb. 24 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  7. "Cagliari vs. Roma". Soccerway. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  8. "Fast-rising Ghanaian teen Felix Afena-Gyan marks Serie A debut as Roma beat Cagliari". GhanaSoccernet. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  9. "Afena-Gyan makes debut in win over Cagliari". AS Roma. 27 October 2021. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  10. Tahiru, Fentuo (21 November 2021). "Serie A: Afena-Gyan's incredible brace to seal AS Roma win [Video]". Citi Sports Online. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  11. "Afena-Gyan goals leave Mourinho out of pocket". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 22 November 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  12. "10 grandi foto Felix in Genoa-Roma!". AS Roma. 21 November 2022. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  13. Mabuka, Dennis (22 November 2021). "Afena-Gyan reveals 'great' Mourinho motivation after firing AS Roma past Genoa". Goal.com. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  14. "Roma-Feyenoord 1-0: Zaniolo illumina Tirana, la coppa è giallorossa". UEFA.com (in Italian). 25 May 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  15. "Felix Afena-Gyan rinnova fino al 2026". AS Roma (in Italian). 6 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  16. "Felix Nuovo Caliatore Della Cremonese" (in Italian). U.S. Cremonese. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  17. Pierelli, Matteo (20 October 2022). "Cremonese, che fatica! Elimina 4-2 ai supplementari il Modena in 10". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  18. Monti, Gianluca (17 January 2023). "Clamoroso al Maradona: il Napoli piange, Cremonese avanti ai rigori. Ballardini, che prima!". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  19. "Afena Gyan, Boakye-Yiadom, Edmund Addo make Ghana squad for Ethiopia and South Africa World Cup qualifiers". Ghana Football Association. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  20. "AS Roma youngster Felix Afena -Gyan REJECTS Black Stars call-up, youngster won't be available for Ethiopia and South Africa matches". GhanaSoccernet. 9 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  21. Juric, Marco (19 November 2021). "Felix racconta il rapporto speciale con Mou: "Do tutto in allenamento". E sul no al Ghana: "Era prematuro"". Gianluca Di Marzio. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  22. Lawrence, Kweku (19 November 2021). "'It was premature for me to play for Ghana' - Afena-Gyan on saying no to the Black Stars". My Joy Online. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  23. "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™".
  24. Omotto, Joel (1 June 2022). "Kudus, Afena-Gyan and Bukari on target as Ghana thrash Madagascar in Afcon qualifier". Goal.com. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  25. "Felix Afena Gyan: The story of AS Roma's latest gladiator from Ghana". GhanaSoccernet. 14 March 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  26. Osei, Bernard Esar Ebo (17 February 2022). "Felix Afena-Gyan signs deal with Puma". Citi Sports Online. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  27. Felix Afena-Gyan at Soccerway. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  28. "Felix Afena-Gyan". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  29. Honeyman, Sam (25 May 2022). "Roma 1–0 Feyenoord: Zaniolo strike wins the first Europa Conference League final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  30. Danquah, Chris (4 July 2022). "Full List: Winners of the 4th edition of the 2022 Ghana Football Awards". Max TV. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  31. Sekyere, Eddie K. (30 June 2022). "Andre Ayew, Afena-Gyan and others win Calcio Trade Ball 2022 awards". MX24. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
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