Anthony Annan

Anthony Annan

Personal information
Full name	Anthony Gildas Kofi Annan
Date of birth	21 July 1986 (1986-07-21)
Place of birth	Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana
Height	1.71 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Vitesse (on loan from Schalke 04)
Number	20
Youth career
1998–2000	Super Rainbow Stars
2000–2001	Venomous Vipers
2002	S.C. Adelaide
2003	Sekondi Wise Fighters
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2003–2005	Sekondi Hasaacas
2005–2007	Hearts of Oak
2007–2008	Start	11	(0)
2008	→ Stabæk (loan)	12	(0)
2008–2011	Rosenborg	57	(0)
2011–	Schalke 04	9	(0)
2011–	→ Vitesse (loan)	10	(0)
National team‡
2007–	Ghana	56	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 September 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 1 March 2012

Anthony Gildas Kofi Annan (born 21 July 1986 in Accra) is a Ghanaian international footballer, who currently plays as a central midfielder for Vitesse in the Dutch Eredivisie (on loan from German club Schalke 04) of the Fußball-Bundesliga.

Club career

Playing in Ghana

Anthony Annan began playing football with a local colts Super Rainbow Stars in Cape Coast, Ghana. He also played for Cape Coast Venomous Vipers in the Ghanaian Division one league before joined Sekondi Hasaacas in 2003 and later moved to Accra Hearts of oak in 2005. At Accra Hearts of Oak, Annan was regarded as the best young midfielder in Ghana. He combined midfield artistry with some goal scoring skills, and endeared himself to many football fans in Ghana. Anthony Annan joined Accra Hearts of Oak from Sekondi Hasaacas FC in the 2005–06 league season.

Transfer to Norway

He signed for the Norwegian club I.K. Start in January 2007, after a very promising career in Ghana with his local club Accra Hearts of Oak. He quickly established himself as a first team regular during I.K. Start's preseason games, and showed skills both on and off the ball. Unfortunately he was plagued by injury and illness during the first part of the 2007 season, and did not gain trust from then head coach Benny Lennartson in the important final games to avoid relegation.

After Start got relegated during the 2007 season, he joined Stabæk on loan until August 2008. He had been playing well in the heart of midfield as Stabæk went unbeaten in an impressive opening half of the season. Stabæk hinted that they want to buy him from Start, but Start stated that they would have to pay a "European transfer-fee". Instead, Annan claimed that several "big" clubs had approached his agent and that he would leave Norway during the summer.

On 1 August 2008, it was revealed that Annan would be travelling to England for a trial with Blackburn Rovers. After impressing Paul Ince and the Blackburn coaching staff immensely, while on trial, he was sent back to his club to play in one more competitive game where the Blackburn Rovers scouts were to watch and report back on whether or not to complete the signing.

On 31 August 2008, he was presented for the audience on Lerkendal as a Rosenborg player before the match against Vålerenga. Rosenborg paid £1.2 million to get him from Start. (Rosenborg won the game against Vålerenga 2–1). He made his league debut for Rosenborg on 14 September 2008 against Fredrikstad, with the game ending 1–1.

After four years in Norway, Annan left Rosenborg to join FC Schalke 04.

International career

Anthony Annan playing for Ghana at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final victory match against Nigeria.

A Junior and Olympic International for Ghana, Annan received his first senior call up for the national team on 20 March 2007 as a direct injury replacement for Essien for Ghana's FIFA International friendlies against Austria and Brazil in 2007. His first cap came against Brazil on 27 March 2007 at the Råsunda Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden when Ghana lost 0–1. He made his first goal for the national team in the 2–2 draw against Mali 15 November 2009. He played for Ghana at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	15 November 2009	Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi	Mali	2 – 2	2–2	2010 World Cup qualification

Personal life

Family

Annan's mother, Sophia Sampson died at Cape Coast on Thursday 2 February 2012 after a short illness. This was while he was playing for Ghana in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.

Honours

Club

Stabæk

• Norwegian Premier League Championship: 2008

Rosenborg BK

• Norwegian Premier League Championship: 2009, 2010
• Superfinalen: 2010

Schalke 04

• DFB-Pokal: 2010–11

International

Ghana

• Africa Cup of Nations Silver Medal: 2010

• Africa Cup of Nations Bronze Medal: 2008

• FIFA World Cup Quarterfinal: 2010

External links

• Anthony Annan at RBK.no (Norwegian)
• Anthony Annan at fussballdaten.de (German)