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Godwin Antwi Birago (born 7 June 1988) is a professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who can play at either
centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
or as a
central midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
. Born in Ghana, he is a youth international for Spain.


Club career


Early career

Antwi was born in
Kumasi Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is t ...
, Ghana. When he was 14 years old, he moved to Spain and lived there for three years. He initially played
street soccer The terms street football and street soccer (American and Canadian English) encompass a number of informal varieties of association football. These informal pick up games do not necessarily follow the requirements of a formal game of footbal ...
, before he entered the youth setup of Spanish club
Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at La ...
for 1 year. He eventually obtained a Spanish passport.


Liverpool

At 17 years of age, he was spotted by
Paco Herrera Francisco "Paco" Herrera Lorenzo (born 2 December 1953) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a midfielder, and is a manager. His managerial career of over a quarter of a century was spent mostly in Segunda División, where he led ...
, then head scout of Liverpool. He watched Liverpool beat
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament const ...
home at
Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...
in the semi-final of the 2005
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
. The experience of hearing the Anfield crowd left a great impression on him, and he expressed a desire to reach the status of former African Liverpool player, Guinean international striker
Titi Camara Aboubacar Sidiki "Titi" Camara (born 17 November 1972) is a Guinean former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was also the coach of the Guinean national team, which he captained and played for. He was also the Guinea sports mi ...
. He joined Liverpool, who had newly been crowned the UEFA Champions League winners, when Liverpool manager
Rafael Benítez Rafael Benítez Maudes (born 16 April 1960) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who most recently managed club Everton. Benítez joined Real Madrid's coaching staff at the age of 26, going on to work as the under- ...
offered him a contract in August 2005. He started his Liverpool career, playing in the reserve team during the 2005–06 season. Due to a striker shortage, he initially played up front. In his usual defending position, he helped Liverpool win the 2006
FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. I ...
, beating
Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The two ...
in the final. On 8 November 2006, Antwi was called up by the Under-19 Youth setup of the Spain national team to train with them. The call-up was possible due to his Spanish passport. Despite the Spain Under-19 team call-up, Antwi could freely choose which country to represent at a senior level before he turned 21 years old. On 10 January 2007, Antwi was named
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
of the Liverpool Reserves for the first time, and the 18-year-old led by example at the back against the experienced
Neil Shipperley Neil Jason Shipperley (born 30 October 1974) is an English football manager and former professional player who played as a forward. He notably played in the Premier League for Chelsea, Southampton, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and Sh ...
of
Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games a ...
. On 13 March, it was announced that he had joined
Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete histor ...
on a month's loan. He remained at Stanley until the end of the season. Antwi joined
Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Hartl ...
on a season-long loan for the 2007–08 season on 29 June 2007. He scored his first goal for Hartlepool against Doncaster on 18 August 2007. In July 2008 he joined
Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...
on loan until January 2009. He returned to
Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...
, only to be loaned out again in February 2009, this time to
League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
side
Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...
, and made his debut in their 2–0 home win over
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
. Antwi was released by Liverpool FC on 16 June 2009.


Vejle BK

On 23 December Antwi signed a half-year-long contract with Danish club
Vejle BK Vejle Boldklub is a Danish professional football club based in Vejle in Jutland. Formed in 1891, the club is one of the most successful clubs in Danish football history, having won the Danish championship five times and the Danish cup title six ...
.


Bodø/Glimt

After his contract with Vejle expired, Antwi signed a half-year contract with Norwegian First Division side Bodø/Glimt on 30 July 2013. He made his debut in the 2–0 victory against
Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a city and the most populous municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838. The municipality of Sandar was merged into Sandefjord on 1 January 1969. On 1 ...
.


Sisaket FC

Antwi signed for
Sisaket ) , leader_title1 = , leader_name1 = , leader_title2 = , leader_name2 = , leader_title3 = , leader_name3 = , leader_title4 ...
of the
Thai Premier League The Thai League 1 ( th, ไทยลีก 1), often referred to as T1, is the top level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai League 2. Seasons run from Augu ...
on 23 February 2014. He made his debut in the 0–1 loss against
Osotspa Saraburi F.C. Super Power Samut Prakan Football Club ( th, สโมสรฟุตบอลซุปเปอร์พาวเวอร์ สมุทรปราการ) was a Thai football club based in Samut Prakan province. This club played in the ...
On 15 October 2014 Antwi scored his first goal in
Thai Premier League The Thai League 1 ( th, ไทยลีก 1), often referred to as T1, is the top level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai League 2. Seasons run from Augu ...
in 1–3 loss against
Buriram United Buriram United Football Club ( th, สโมสรฟุตบอลบุรีรัมย์ ยูไนเต็ด) is a professional football club based in Buriram, Thailand. The club has played at the top level of Thai football for the ...
.


DRB-Hicom FC

Despite Sisaket FC's offer to extend his contract, Antwi made a decision to sign with a
Malaysia Premier League The Malaysia Premier League ( ms, Liga Premier) was the second-tier professional football league in Malaysia. The league replaced the former second-tier league, Liga Perdana 2 in the Malaysian football league system. The Malaysia Premier Leagu ...
side,
DRB-Hicom F.C. DRB-HICOM Football Club is a football club established to compete in Malaysia football league. The team played in the Malaysia Premier League (the second tier of the country's professional league - Liga M) since 2010 until 2016 before they wi ...
He continues to be a very influential figure in the club, providing his team a rock-solid defence and much needed leadership at the back.


Melaka United

However, after a year and a half playing,
DRB-Hicom F.C. DRB-HICOM Football Club is a football club established to compete in Malaysia football league. The team played in the Malaysia Premier League (the second tier of the country's professional league - Liga M) since 2010 until 2016 before they wi ...
announced they will defunct the senior team for financial reason. Released as a free agent, it didn't take too long for Antwi to find a new club following a strong performance in
Malaysia Premier League The Malaysia Premier League ( ms, Liga Premier) was the second-tier professional football league in Malaysia. The league replaced the former second-tier league, Liga Perdana 2 in the Malaysian football league system. The Malaysia Premier Leagu ...
2016 season. He was immediately signed by
Melaka United F.C. Melaka United Football Club () was a defunct Malaysian professional Association football, football club based in Malacca that competes in the Malaysia Super League. They were owned by Kenteam Sdn Bhd which is one of nitrile glove producer in Ma ...
following their promotion to
Malaysia Super League The Malaysia Super League ( ms, Liga Super Malaysia) is the men's top professional football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP), now known as the Malay ...
.


Honours


Club

Liverpool Youth *
FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. I ...
: 2005–06 Bodø/Glimt *
Norwegian First Division The Norwegian First Division, also called 1. divisjon and OBOS-ligaen (named sponsor is property developer OBOS), is the second-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Each year, the top finishing teams in the 1. divisjon are ...
:
2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...


References


External links

*
Antwi’s Official Hartlepool United F.C. profileLiverpool FC profileVital Hartlepool Profile: Godwin AntwiVejle Boldklub Kolding profile: Godwin Antwi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Antwi, Godwin 1988 births Living people Footballers from Kumasi Spanish footballers Spain youth international footballers Ghanaian footballers Spanish expatriate footballers Spanish people of Ghanaian descent Liverpool F.C. players Accrington Stanley F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players English Football League players Asante Kotoko S.C. players Vejle Boldklub players Vejle Boldklub Kolding players FK Bodø/Glimt players Godwin Antwi Norwegian First Division players Expatriate footballers in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Expatriate footballers in Norway Expatriate footballers in Thailand Association football central defenders Melaka United F.C. players Expatriate footballers in Malaysia Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Norway Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Thailand Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Malaysia