Gideon Baah
Full name: Gideon BaahDate of Birth: 1st October 1991
Place of Birth: Accra
Height: 6ft 1in (1.85 metres)
Playing Position: Left Back, Central , Offensive and Defensive midfield
Current Club: Asante Kotoko SC, Ghana (FC Honka, Finland on Loan)
Previous Clubs: Sporting Mirren, Ghana
Jersey Number: 3
Background
Gideon Baah, who currently plays for Asante Kotoko Sporting Club was born in Accra, Ghana in 1991 to Silas and Sabina Baah. He is married to Henrietta (Herty) Gustav-Baah who is also from Accra.
Gideon always dreamed of a successful career in football and that dream started to transform into reality when in 2007 he beat off 32,000 other applicants to win a televised football competition (MTN Soccer Academy) in his home country, Ghana. This competition, which was the first of a now yearly competition, organised and sponsored by MTN/Metro TV, saw 14 young footballers move into a house (big brother style!!) where they had to undergo skills and personality tests. Gideon received a number of prizes which included cash, a car and a trip to the UK to train with the Chelsea FC academy. As part of the prizes, Gideon also won a trip to South Africa to watch the quarter finals of the World Cup in July 2010 which coincidentally was a match between Ghana and Uruguay.
In 2009, Gideon signed a three year contract with his favourite team Kumasi Asante Kotoko SC whose home ground is the Baba Yara stadium in Kumasi. After just 6 months, Gideon's dreams came crashing down when in March 2010, he sustained a broken shin in a premier league match against Hearts of Oak at the Baba Yara Stadium. He underwent emergency surgery at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, which left him in crutches for close to 6 months.
In November 2010, Gideon travelled to Scotland to receive assistance with his rehabilitation at Hearts of Midlothian FC. He spent 2 months in Edinburgh receiving expert advise from the club's physiotherapists and medical team. On his return back to Ghana, he continued his rehabilitation under the very capable watch of Dr Angel Chambers (Deyale Sports Centre, Accra) who on the 28 November 2011 deemed Gideon fit to join his teammates at Asante Kotoko.
On the advice of the club's medical team, the executive chairman Dr K K Sarpong decided that Gideon would be gradually introduced back into the game (after a 20 month absence) by playing and captaining the Kotoko reserves side. On 21 April 2012, Gideon played his first league match (with the first team) against Mighty Jets FC; a match he consummated with a goal which helped Kotoko to a 2-0 win. After this and subsequent performances, Gideon started to receive a lot of attention from scouts in Europe, US and Africa.
In February 2013, Gideon signed a season long loan deal with Finnish Veikkusliiga side FC Honka.
