Joseph-Claude Agyeman Gyau (born September 16, 1992) is an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays as a winger for

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

club

Las Vegas Lights Las Vegas Lights FC is an American professional soccer team based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that plays in the USL Championship. The team made its debut in 2018 and plays its home games at Cashman Field. The team employs neon imagery in its crest a ...

. From 2014 through 2019, Gyau represented the

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

and earned three caps.

Early life

Born in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

, he grew up in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...

, where he played youth soccer for the nearby Bethesda Roadrunners before joining the IMG Soccer Academy in 2009. Gyau is of third-generation pedigree of professional footballers, being the son of former U.S. international Phillip Gyau and the grandson of Joseph "Nana" Gyau, a former Ghanaian international.

Club career

Gyau Signed for Hoffenheim with teammate Charles Renken in 2009. The two were under the age of 18 and could not participate in any matches and were loaned to the Vancouver Whitecaps where they were a part of a residency program from 2009 to 2010. After the season in Canada It was agreed upon that the two would start out playing for Hoffenheims U19 squad. Shortly after arriving and leading the team in minutes Gyau was moved up to Hoffenheims U23 in 2011. Gyau, only 18, made numerous appearances catching the eye of the first team and was soon moved up once again. Gyau made his Debut for the first team in a DFB pokal match against Greuther Furth in 2011 at the young age of 19. In April 2012 Gyau would sign His first team contract and In August 2012, Gyau was loaned to 2. Bundesliga side

FC St. Pauli Fußball-Club St. Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St. Pauli (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg. The team plays in the Bundesliga from the 2024–25 Bundesli ...

from

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim e.V. (), commonly known as TSG Hoffenheim (), are a German professional association football, football club based in Sinsheim. Originally founded in 1899 as a gymnastics club, Hoffenheim came into bei ...

for the entire season, with an option for another season. He made his League debut for Hoffenheim in April 2014, coming on in the final 21 minutes of a 0–0 draw against

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...

. In June 2014, Gyau joined

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

. Initially this would only be for the U23 but shortly after he was moved up to the first team to participate in their preseason. Gyau scored a last minute game winner in a friendly match against Heidenheim. Post preseason Gyau remained with the first team and was a regular in the 18 man roster. On September 24, 2014, he made his first team debut for

against

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

, coming on in the 74th minute of the match which ended in a 2–2 draw. After being out with injuries for nearly two years, he made his return with Borussia Dortmund II as a substitute on October 29, 2016. Following Gyau's return to match fitness in January 2017, Gyau moved to 3. Liga side

SG Sonnenhof Großaspach SG Sonnenhof Großaspach (), commonly known as Sonnenhof Großaspach, is a German professional Football team, football club based in Aspach, Baden-Württemberg, Aspach, Baden-Württemberg. The club is currently playing in the Regionalliga Südwes ...

on an 18-month deal. During those 18 months Gyau was able to return to form scoring 6 goals and adding 4 assists, earning himself a summer transfer Gyau moved to

MSV Duisburg Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jer ...

for their 2018–19 season in Germany's 2nd Bundesliga, tallying 2 goals and 1 assist during the campaign. On August 8, 2019, it was announced that Gyau had signed for

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

side

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was first announced on August 12, 2015 as a United Soccer Leag ...

. Gyau went on to make 51 total appearances for the club. Gyau signed with

on February 16, 2024.

International career

Gyau has been capped for the United States at the U-15, U-17, U-20, and U-23 levels. In March 2012, Gyau was called into the US U-23 team for Olympic qualifying matches. The team did not qualify for that year's

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

. In November 2012, Gyau was called up to the

. His first start for the US was on September 3, 2014, against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

in a friendly match. Gyau made his second start for the national team on October 10, 2014, in a friendly match against

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

. After playing less than 15 minutes, he came off the pitch with a suspected sprained left knee and was replaced by Bobby Wood. On October 12, it was announced that Gyau had torn his lateral meniscus and suffered a bone bruise. In June 2019, Gyau made his first United States national team appearance since 2014 in a friendly match against

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gyau, Joe Living people 1992 births Men's association football wingers American men's soccer players American expatriate men's soccer players in Germany Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players 3. Liga players Regionalliga players TSG 1899 Hoffenheim II players TSG 1899 Hoffenheim players FC St. Pauli players FC St. Pauli II players Borussia Dortmund players Borussia Dortmund II players SG Sonnenhof Großaspach players MSV Duisburg players FC Cincinnati players Degerfors IF players Las Vegas Lights FC players American sportspeople of Ghanaian descent Soccer players from Florida United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players United States men's international soccer players Major League Soccer players American expatriate men's soccer players 21st-century American sportsmen