Ghanaian footballer Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu plays currently for the Serie A club Udinese primarily as a defensive midfielder and secondarily as a central midfielder. Having also represented his nation Ghana in international matches in under-20, under-23 and senior level, he has established himself as a renowned name in the football fraternity.
Badu was born on 2nd December 1990 in Berekum, Brong-Ahafo, Ghana and among his siblings, his brother Nana Agyemang-Badu is also a footballer and plays currently for Asante Kotoko. His club career began at Berlin F.C in his home town on 2006. Later, he signed into Berekum Arsenal on 2007. Badu was then sent into the Ghana Premier League All Star Team on 21st May 2007.
As of July 2008, Badu was loaned into Asante Kotoko for a year and had trials in England with Middleborough in August and at Wolves on November. After his stint with Asante Kotoko with a total of 18 appearances with 2 goals, Badu signed a six months loan contract with the Spanish club Recreativo de Huelva on 16th April 2009. Rumors had it that Recreativo offered about 30 thousand Euros for the transfer while the Associated Press reported that the loan would be effective until the opening of 2009 summer transfer. His contract ended and he returned back to Asante. On the 2007 to 2009 window, he appeared in a total of 19 matches with 7 goals for his club Berlin F.C.
It was announced on 2009 November by the BBC and Sky Sports that Badu would be signed into his current team, the Italian Serie A side Udinese. The deal was finalized in January 2009 and made official by Udinese Calcio on their site. Badu was permanently moved into Udinese from Berlin FC. Despite being called up to play against AC Milan on 12th February, he did not play. He was subsequently called up to matches as substitute but wasn’t used. On 28th March 2010, on a match against Florentina, he replaced Paolo Sammarco and debuted his first play in the club. Badu became a regular player in the 2011-12 season after replacing the departed player Gokhan Inler in a 4-1-4-1 formation against Arsenal. He played as one of the attacking midfielder. As of 2014, Badu has appeared in 61 matches with a total of 2 goals.
Badu’s international career for his nation has been in the under-20, under-23 as well as the senior levels. His first call to the Black Stars was on 22nd May 2008. He debuted internationally on 8th June 2008 against Lesotho national football team. He was named for the Black Satellites on 1st January 2009 for the 2009 African Youth Championship which was held in Rwanda. Badu also played for the Local Black stars at 2009 African Championship of Nations and represented his team at the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt. Badu rose to prominence probably after converting a sudden death penalty into a goal on 16th October 2009, on the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup against Brazil. This goal was what led Ghana to win the FIFA U-20 World Cup, being the first African nation to do so. He joined the U-23 team on 2011. His first senior level goal was on June 2011 against Congo.
Another of Badu’s goal feat was on the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations whereby he flipped up a teammate’s pa s s outside the box, thus launching a mid air volley which converted to a record breaking goal. This goal was nominated into the 2012 FIFA Puskas Award, which is given to the global goal of the year. For the international team, Badu appeared in a total of 48 matches with 7 goals.
Badu has a height of 1.82 meter and a weight of 77 kg. He has a net worth of 3.5 million Euros and as of 2012, his salary was 2.5 million Euros. Very little is known about his personal life and dating. At the young age of 24, Badu has achieved a lot and has made a mark in the football industry due to his skills and perseverance.
by monika, 12 Jun, 2014
