Christian Atta Gyan (2 November 1978 – 29 December 2021) was a Ghanaian professional footballer who played as a defender. He was known primarily for his time at Feyenoord where he won the 1998–99 Eredivisie and the 2001–02 UEFA Cup.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Christian Atta Gyan | ||
| Date of birth | 2 November 1978 | ||
| Place of birth | Tema, Ghana | ||
| Date of death | 29 December 2021 (aged 43) | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Ghapoha | |||
| Feyenoord | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1997–2007 | Feyenoord | 93 | (3) |
| 1998 | → Excelsior (loan) | 16 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | → Excelsior (loan) | 16 | (0) |
| 2008–2009 | TPS | 16 | (0) |
| 2009 | Wrexham | 0 | (0) |
| 2010 | RoPS | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 131 | (3) | |
| International career | |||
| Ghana U20 | |||
| 1998–2001 | Ghana | 8 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
editGyan was born in Tema, Ghana on 2 November 1978. Playing for Ghapoha, he signed for Feyenoord in 1996. During the following season he moved on loan to Excelsior.[2] After only a couple of months Feyenoord recalled the defender, and he made his debut for Feyenoord that same season. Gyan remained with Feyenoord for the next eight seasons. He was mainly used as a substitute. Gyan did play the 2002 UEFA Cup Final against Borussia Dortmund. He replaced the suspended Brett Emerton in the starting eleven. With Gyan, Feyenoord went on to beat Dortmund 3–2. While at Feyenoord Gyan also won a Dutch League Championship and a Johan Cruijff Schaal. Gyan was one of the most popular players at Feyenoord, always gaining a big applause from the fans when he started his warming-up.
In June 2008 Gyan completed a successful trial for the Finnish club Turun Palloseura, and he signed a six-month deal with TPS on 3 June. In January 2009 Gyan signed for Wrexham until the end of the 2008–09 season,[3] but made only two appearances for the club in the FA Trophy before being released at the end of the season.[4] He signed a contract for RoPS in February 2010. In July, he got released by the club because of knee injury that happened in February. Gyan did not make any appearances for RoPS. He finished his career at amateur side RKSV Leonidas in Rotterdam.
International career
editGyan was part of the Ghana team that won the 1995 FIFA U-17 World Championship.[1]
Gyan played seven games at the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship,[2] where Ghana finished fourth.
His full international debut, incidentally, came against the Netherlands. For the senior side he featured eight times between 1998 and 2001, including at the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations.[5]
Personal life and death
editGyan was diagnosed with terminal cancer in November 2021.[6] He died from the disease a month later on 29 December 2021, at the age of 43.[7]
Honours
editFeyenoord
References
edit- ^ a b "Attah Gyan: Former Ghana and Feyenoord defender passes away | Goal.com Uganda". www.goal.com. 2021.
- ^ a b Christian Gyan at WorldFootball.net
- ^ Gyan Signs On Archived 5 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine wrexhamafc.co.uk 27 January 2009
- ^ "Saunders begins Wrexham revamp". BBC Sport. 28 April 2009. Retrieved 28 April 2008.
- ^ Christian Gyan at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ Feyenoord-cultheld Christian Gyan (43) ongeneeslijk ziek (in Dutch)
- ^ Feyenoord-cultheld Christian Gyan op 43-jarige leeftijd overleden (in Dutch)
- ^ "JOHAN CRUIJFF SCHAAL 1999 - FINAL". footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
External links
edit- Christian Gyan at Soccerbase
- FIFA Player Statistics: Christian Gyan
