Kweku Essien (born 12 December 1984 in

Kumasi Kumasi is a city and the capital of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is the second largest city in the country, with a population of 443,981 as of the 2021 census. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region ...

) is a

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

ian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who is currently playing for Eleven Wise of the Globacom Premier League. Essien is variable in the midfield, he can play as attacking or defensive midfielder.

Career

Essien began his professional career in 2003 at

Asante Kotoko Asante Kotoko Sporting Club, simply known as Asante Kotoko, is a professional sports, professional association football, football club founded on 31 August 1935 and based in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Nicknamed the ''African crested ...

but left the club in 2005 and moved to F.C. Maamobi. The central midfielder had a very good season at F.C. Maamobi in the 2005–06

Ghana Premier League The Ghana Premier League is the top professional association football league in Ghana organized by the Ghana Football Association and formed in 1958 to replace a previous league incarnation, the Gold Coast Club Competition which ran from 1933 ...

season but was loaned out to

Accra Hearts of Oak SC Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club, commonly referred to as Hearts of Oak or just Hearts, is a professional sports club based in Accra ( Greater Accra), Ghana. Founded in 1911, the club is the oldest surviving football club in Ghana and its tra ...

for $60,000 until June 2007. He was outstanding for King Faisal in their Premier League campaign, picking up 10 Most Valuable Player awards in the season. In 2007, he failed another trial, this time with Austrian side

Sturm Graz Sportklub Sturm Graz is an Austrian professional association football club, based in Graz, playing in the Austrian Football Bundesliga. The club was founded in 1909. Its colours are black and white. In its history, Sturm Graz has won the Austr ...

. So far the MVP of Ghana football league for 2006–07 has failed to impress at

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...

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 ...

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 ...

SCR Altach Sportclub Rheindorf Altach, also known as Rheindorf Altach, SCR Altach or simply SCRA, is an Football in Austria, Austrian association football club based in Altach, Vorarlberg. It plays in the Austrian Football Bundesliga. The club is currently ...

and now

. In July the same year, he was loaned out to German second division team

VfL Osnabrück VfL Osnabrück is a German multi-sport club in Osnabrück, Lower Saxony. It currently fields teams in basketball, gymnastics, swimming, table tennis, and tennis but is by far best known for its Association football, football section. The footba ...

, but after six months in Germany he returned to F.C. Maamobi. In August 2008, was sold to

F.C. Ashdod Moadon Sport Ashdod (, ''Sport Club Ashdod''), commonly referred to as F.C Ashdod (, ''Mem Samekh Ashdod''), is an Israeli professional football club, playing in the port city of Ashdod. The unusual name of the team (unlike most Israeli foot ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. After eight months in

he returned on 12 April 2009 to

and signed with Eleven Wise.

International

In 2006, Essien was capped two times for the Black Stars.

Honours

* 2007 Most Valuable Player Glo Premier League

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Essien, Kweku 1984 births Living people Ghanaian men's footballers Ghana men's international footballers Men's association football defenders Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Germany VfL Osnabrück players Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Sekondi Eleven Wise F.C. players Expatriate men's footballers in Israel F.C. Ashdod players King Faisal F.C. players Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Israel 2. Bundesliga players Israeli Premier League players Footballers from Kumasi 21st-century Ghanaian sportsmen Ghanaian expatriate men's footballers