Gerald Asamoah

The last years as a player

St. Pauli On 1 June 2010, Asamoah signed a two-year contract with the then Bundesliga-promoted club FC St. Pauli. During his time with the Kiezkicker, he played regularly and scored six goals in the league, including a winner that allowed his team to obtain their first away victory against cross-city rivals, Hamburger SV, since 1977. However, St. Pauli didn't manage to avoid relegation to the 2. Bundesliga, having finished last in the league, and the striker eventually decided to terminate this contract in June 2011. Come during the second half of the season, Asamoah mainly acted as a reserve of Christopher Nöthe and Olivier Occéan, but still helped the team win the 2. Bundesliga title, as Greuther Fürth achieved their historical first promotion to the Bundesliga.

However, the following year turned out to be more difficult than expected: Asamoah went goalless during the entire season, while the Kleeblätter finished at the bottom of the table, having won only four of their 34 league games, none of which were at home soil.

This was also Asamoah's last season in the Bundesliga, as he amassed the third highest number of substitutions ever in the league (139 times).

Managerial career

Having previously served as a supervisor for the marketing area at Schalke while he was still playing for their reserve team, Asamoah was offered a role as an assistant coach for the Royal Blues' U-15 squad immediately after his retirement, in July 2015. In October of the same year, he obtained his UEFA A coaching licence. In November 2016, he was appointed as head coach of Schalke's U23 squad, a role he maintained until February 2021. Meanwhile, he served as the team manager for the senior team between March and June 2019, as he was temporarily promoted by interim head coach Huub Stevens. In February 2021, following internal turbulence within the club due to the extreme lack of results throughout the season, Asamoah was appointed as a coordinator for the first team, acting as a link between the players, the coaching team and the board.

In May 2021, the new-established sporting director Rouven Schröder decided to appoint Asamoah as Schalke's first-team manager for the following season, in collaboration with head coach Dimitrios Grammozis.

He suffers from a heart condition, named non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. In his case, the flesh lobe that separates the right and left heart chambers is extremely thick, which can cause an arrhythmic heartbeat. While this condition didn't hold him back entirely from playing, it was one of the main reasons behind his frequent struggles with fitness.

On 13 January 2016, Asamoah accepted the 2015 FIFA Fair Play Award on behalf of football organizations and clubs around the world, as he worked to support refugees in the face of conflict.

He has also been leading educational campaigns in public schools and speaking out against racism in several occasions. In August 2019, he openly criticized Schalke's chairman of the supervisory board, Clemens Tönnies, due to his controversial claims against African people during a convention on climate change and the future of the food industry in Paderborn: Tönnies eventually maintained his role within the club's board until his own resignment, almost a year after. In February 2020, Asamoah firmly condemned the racist insults directed towards opponent defender Jordan Torunarigha by Schalke supporters during a home cup match against Hertha BSC. In June 2020, Asamoah joined the group of players and board members across Bundesliga who reacted and manifested support to the protests across the United States and the world following the murder of George Floyd, saying quote: "If you have never experienced racism, you'll never find out what that truly means. It's a pain you carry inside yourself and you can't swallow it. I'll work even harder to visit schools and teach young people that we're all the same."

Career statistics Club

Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Asamoah goal. 2006