Joseph Aidoo (Ghanaian footballer)

Joseph Aidoo

Personal information
Full name	Joseph Aidoo [1]
Date of birth	(1995-09-29) 29 September 1995 (age 28)
Place of birth	Tema, Ghana [2]
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) [2]
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Celta
Number	15
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2015	Inter Allies	17	(0)
2015	→ Hammarby IF (loan)	1	(0)
2016–2017	Hammarby IF	26	(1)
2017–2019	Genk	65	(4)
2019–	Celta	118	(2)
International career‡
2015	Ghana U-20	10	(0)
2019–	Ghana	11	(0)
Medal record Men's football Representing   Ghana African U-20 Championship 2015 Senegal
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 September 2023 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 December 2022 (UTC)

Joseph Aidoo (born 29 September 1995) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Spanish club Celta Vigo and the Ghana national team.

Club career

Inter Allies

He started his professional football career at Inter Allies in the First Capital Plus Premier League. In 2013–14, Aidoo was nominated in the category Defender of the year in the domestic top tier, but eventually missed out on the award. Aidoo was the club captain during the season of 2014–15. ^[3]

Hammarby IF

In August 2015, Swedish club Hammarby IF in Allsvenskan signed Aidoo on a six-month loan deal. ^[4] He made his debut, and his only appearance during the 2015 season, against then reigning champions Malmö FF on 25 October 2015. Even though Hammarby lost with a score of 0–1, Aidoo put on an impressive performance being voted Hammarby player of the game. ^[5]

Before the 2016 Allsvenskan season, he signed for Hammarby IF permanently on a three-year deal. ^[6] He made his first league appearance of the season against Malmö FF on 18 May, playing the first half before being substituted at halftime. ^[7] Mid through the campaign, manager Nanne Bergstrand chose to swap the two central defenders, with Aidoo and newly signed David Boo Wiklander making their entrances as regular starters. Out of the following 11 games, Hammarby won an impressive seven – also keeping a clean sheet in six consecutive away fixtures. ^[8] Aidoo scored his first competitive goal for Hammarby on 12 September 2016, in a 1–1 draw against Örebro SK on home turf. ^[9]

Aidoo started the 2017 season in fine form, with Hammarby only conceding five goals in the six league games. Aidoo's performances led to him being named in April's best eleven for African players over the world, in the magazine Goal. ^[10]

Genk

On 24 July 2017, Aidoo completed a transfer to Genk in the Belgian First Division A. ^[11] He signed a three-year contract with the club, with an option for a further. ^[12] The transfer fee was reportedly set between €1.25 million and €2 million. ^{[13] [14] [15]} He made his debut for the side on 26 August, coming on as a late substitute, in a 1–0 home win against Mechelen. ^[16] Aidoo scored his first goal for Genk in a 1–0 win against the domestic giants Anderlecht on 22 October, and was also voted as the "man of the match". ^[17] Between 23 September and 19 November, Genk went on an eight matches long unbeaten streak (five wins and three draws) in the league, with Aidoo starting all of the fixtures. ^[18]

Celta

On 11 July 2019, Aidoo agreed to a five-year contract with Spanish La Liga side RC Celta de Vigo for a reported fee of €8 million. ^[19] His former club Hammarby received €380,000 as part of the deal. ^[20]

He made his debut for the Galician club on 24 August 2019 in a 1–0 home win against Valencia, starting and playing 90 minutes at center-back.

International career

Aidoo featured in the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup for Ghana. He played all four of his side's fixtures, with Ghana eventually getting eliminated by Mali in the quarter finals. ^[21] He was also called up to the African U-20 Championship earlier the same year, where Ghana finished in third place.

He made his debut for the Ghana national football team on 26 March 2019 in a friendly against Mauritania. ^[22]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 18 March 2023 ^[23]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Hammarby IF (loan)	2015	Allsvenskan	1	0	0	0	—		—		1	0
Hammarby IF	2016		14	1	0	0	—		—		14	1
	2017		12	0	3	0	—		—		12	3
	Total		27	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	30	1
Genk	2017–18	Belgian First Division A	32	3	4	0	6 [lower-alpha 1]	1	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	43	4
	2018–19		33	1	2	0	—		—		35	1
	Total		65	4	6	0	6	1	1	0	78	5
Celta	2019–20	La Liga	32	0	1	0	—		—		33	0
	2020–21		25	0	2	0	—		—		28	0
	2021–22		32	0	0	0	—		—		32	0
	2022–23		26	2	2	1	—		—		28	3
	Total		115	2	5	1	0	0	0	0	121	3
Career total			149	5	12	0	6	1	1	0	168	6

1. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
2. Appearance(s) in Uefa Playoffs

International

As of matches played on 27 March 2023 ^[24]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Ghana
	2019	4	0
	2020	3	0
	2021	2	0
	2022	1	0
	2023	2	0
Total		12	0

Honours

Genk

• Belgian First Division A: 2018–19 ^[25]

References

1. "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: Ghana (GHA)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 14. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
2. Joseph Aidoo at WorldFootball.net
3. "Captain Joseph Aidoo loaned to Hammarby". International Allies F.C. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
4. "Hammarby värvar mittbackslöfte" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
5. "Matchens Lirare i Bajen: Joseph Aidoo" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. Archived from the original on 1 November 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
6. "Aidoo skriver treårskontrakt med Bajen" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
7. "Hammarby - Malmö FF" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll . Retrieved 18 May 2016.
8. "'Vi jobbade hårdare än alla andra'" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 28 August 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
9. "Matchens Lirare mot ÖSK: Joseph Aidoo" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
10. "Aidoo lyfts fram i Afrika-elva för april" (in Swedish). Fotbollskanalen. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
11. "Joseph Aidoo till KRC Genk" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
12. "Verdediger Aidoo tekent in Genk" (in Dutch). KRC Genk. Archived from the original on 9 November 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
13. "Avslöjar: Detaljer återstår för Aidoo" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
14. "Stjärnan är såld – reser till Belgien" (in Swedish). Expressen. 23 July 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
15. "Avslöjar: Hammarby pressar på för dyrare Aidoo-affär" (in Swedish). Fotbolldirekt. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
16. "Genk – Mechelen, 1–0, 26 August 2017" (in Swedish). Soccerway. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
17. "Verdiende overwinning op Anderlecht" (in Dutch). Genk. Archived from the original on 29 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
18. "Aidoos dundersuccé i Belgien – förre Bajenstjärnan hyllas nu stort=" (in Swedish). Fotbolldirekt. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
19. "Oficial: Joseph Aidoo, nuevo jugador del Celta" [Official: Aidoo, new Celtic player]. Mundo Deportivo. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
20. Futaa (11 July 2019). "Hammarby IF to earn € 380,000 from Joseph Aidoo transfer". futaa.com. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
21. "Joseph Aidoo". FOX Sports . Retrieved 27 January 2016.
22. "Ghana Beat Mauritania In PRE-AFCON Friendly". Ghana Sports Online. 26 March 2019.
23. Joseph Aidoo at Soccerway. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
24. Joseph Aidoo at National-Football-Teams.com
25. "Joseph Aidoo and Joseph Painstil win Belgian League title with Genk". www.ghanaweb.com. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.

External links

• Joseph Aidoo at BDFutbol
• Joseph Aidoo at National-Football-Teams.com