David Accam

David Accam
Accam playing for Ghana in 2015
Personal information
Date of birth (1990-09-28) 28 September 1990
Place of birth Accra, Ghana
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Striker, Winger
Club information
Current team
 Philadelphia Union
Number 7
Youth career
2004–2008 Right to Dream Academy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2010 Ledbury Town 8 (5)
2010–2011 Evesham United 20 (10)
2012 Östersund 14 (9)
2012–2014 Helsingborg 62 (30)
2015–2017 Chicago Fire 79 (33)
2018– Philadelphia Union 20 (1)
National team‡
2014– Ghana 10 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:54, 7 August 2018 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 00:30, 2 July 2017 (UTC)

David Accam (born 28 September 1990) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays for Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer (MLS) and the Ghana national team as a forward.

Career

Club career

Ghana

Accam did not belong to a club during the first twelve years of his life. He instead spent his time playing with friends on gravel pitches in the parks of Accra. There he was spotted by a scout from Ghana-based Right to Dream Academy where he would spend four years.[1]

England

In 2008 Accam received a three-year scholarship to study at Hartpury College in England.[1] He combined his time there with playing in the English lower leagues. After signing for English club Ledbury Town, Accam scored on his debut in December 2009.[2] He then played for English club Evesham United during the 2010–11 season while also featuring in the reserve team squad at Forest Green Rovers. The fact that Accam was in England on a student visa prevented him from playing for their first team, or any club in a higher division.[3]

After his time at Evesham United he took part in the Nike "The Chance" competition where he was one of eight winners who got to spend the 2011–2012 season with Nike Football Academy.[4]

Sweden

Accam playing for Helsingborg in the 2012 Allsvenskan.

In March 2012 Accam signed for Swedish third tier side Östersund.[5] English manager Graham Potter was in charge of the club and he had already signed two other Ghanaians who were studying with Accam at Hartpury College. And after scouting him at the Nike Academy he brought Accam with him back to Sweden.[6] Accam became an immediate success with his new team and several Allsvenskan clubs became interested in signing him for the summer transfer window.[7]

Accam was then signed by Allsvenskan club Helsingborg in August 2012, and was due to be loaned back to Östersund for the remainder of the season, but was recalled by Helsingborg for an upcoming Champions League qualifying match against Celtic.[8][9] The 2 million SEK transfer fee paid by Helsingborg was the highest ever for a player from the Swedish third tier.[1]

After scoring seventeen goals in twenty-six appearances, the club announced that Accam would be leaving Helsingborg to pursue opportunities elsewhere.[10] After he made the announcement, Accam was linked with a move away from Tigres,[11] Eintracht Frankfurt and VfB Stuttgart,[12] a number of English clubs[13] and CSKA Moscow.[14] Accam rejected a move to CSKA Moscow, having insisted that Accam hadn't been in talks with the club.[15]

United States

Despite initially denying the move,[16] Accam signed as a designated player with Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer on 19 December 2014.[17]

After three seasons with Chicago, on 19 January 2018 Accam was traded to Philadelphia Union in exchange for $900,000 in Targeted Allocation Money and $300,000 in General Allocation Money.[18]

International career

Accam received his first call-up to the Ghana national team for a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Sudan on 24 March 2013, in which he was an unused substitute.[19][20]

On 12 May 2014, Accam was named in a provisional 26-man squad in the 2014 FIFA World Cup by Ghana manager James Kwesi Appiah.[21] However, on 2 June 2014, Accam was left out of the World Cup squad. Accam expressed his disappointment of being dropped for the World Cup squad.[22]

On 15 November 2014, Accam made his international debut for Ghana in a 1–0 defeat to Uganda in a 2015 African Cup of Nations qualifier, coming on as a 67th-minute substitute for Christian Atsu.[23][24]

He was selected as part of Ghana's preliminary squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.[25]

Career statistics

Club statistics

As of 13 February 2018[26]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Östersunds 2012 Division 1 14912001511
Helsingborgs 2012 Allsvenskan 103108[lower-alpha 1]0193
2013 Allsvenskan 271042003112
2014 Allsvenskan 251766003123
Total 6230118808138
Chicago Fire 2015 Major League Soccer 241020002610
2016 Major League Soccer 24945002814
2017 Major League Soccer 311400003114
Total 793365008538
Career totals 1557218158018187
  1. ↑ Six Appearances in UEFA Europa League and Two Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International goals

Scores and results list Ghana's goal tally first.[27]
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.14 June 2015Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, Ghana Mauritius
7–1
7–1
2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Personal life

Accam received his U.S. green card in October 2015 which qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.[28]

Accam is a lifelong Arsenal fan and is a devout Christian.[29]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Dyraste division-1- spelare i historien" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 15 September 2012.
  2. ↑ Mark Stanford (4 December 2009). "Symons calls for errors to be stopped". Worcester News.
  3. ↑ "Red tape restricting Rovers' African stars". This is Gloucestershire. 16 July 2010.
  4. ↑ "David Accam wins "The Chance" competition". Myjoyonline.com. 2 February 2011. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013.
  5. ↑ "David Accam, ÖFK senaste nyförvärv". Östersunds FK. 26 March 2012.
  6. ↑ "Graham: "Whoever came to the club had to have a real desire for ÖFK"". Östersunds FK. 6 September 2012.
  7. ↑ "Halva Allsvenskan jagar Waris vän: "Jag är snabbare"". Eurosport. 5 June 2012.
  8. ↑ "Helsingborg recall David Accam for UEFA Champions League play-offs against Celtic". Ghana To Ghana. 13 August 2012. Archived from the original on 27 October 2012.
  9. ↑ "Officiellt: David Accam flyttar till Helsingborg redan nu" (in Swedish). Fotbolltransfers.com. 11 August 2012.
  10. ↑ "David Accam bekräftar – lämnar Helsingborg" (in Swedish). Expressen.se. 26 October 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  11. ↑ "Accam uppges vara nära flytt till Mexiko". Expressen.se (in Swedish). 24 October 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  12. ↑ "Stuttgart, Frankfurt lead race to sign Ghana's Accam". Goal.com. 31 October 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  13. ↑ "Transfer news: English sides chasing Helsingborgs forward David Accam". Sky Sports. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  14. ↑ "Accam uppges vara nära CSKA" (in Swedish). Helsingborgs Dagblad. 6 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  15. ↑ "Accam agent denies CSKA interest". Super Sport. 8 December 2014. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  16. ↑ "David Accam: Ghana attacker insists he has not signed for Chicago Fire but knows next destination". Modern Ghana. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  17. ↑ "Chicago Fire Sign Ghanaian Forward David Accam". Chicago Fire Official Website. 19 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  18. ↑ https://www.philadelphiaunion.com/post/2018/01/19/philadelphia-union-acquire-designated-player-david-accam
  19. ↑ Michael Oti Adjei (12 March 2013). "Emmanuel Frimpong earns first Ghana call-up". BBC Sport.
  20. ↑ Kent Mensah (18 December 2013). "Helsingborg winger Accam eyes Ghana recall". Goal.com.
  21. ↑ "World Cup 2014: Jeffery Schlupp selected in 26-man squad". BBC Sport. 12 May 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  22. ↑ "Accam petad från Ghanas VM-lag: "Besviken"" (in Swedish). fotbollskanalen.se. 1 June 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  23. ↑ "David Accam: Helsingborg IF Attacker Marks Ghana Debut in Defeat". ghanasoccernet.com. 15 November 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  24. ↑ Kwakofi, Edwin (15 November 2014). "Uganda 1-0 Ghana: How the Black Stars players rated". citifmonline.com. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  25. ↑ Michael Oti Adjei (24 December 2014). "Nations Cup 2015: No Boateng or Muntari in Ghana squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  26. ↑ David Accam at Soccerway. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  27. ↑ "David Accam". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  28. ↑ https://www.modernghana.com/sports/647120/2/green-card-david-accam-gets-permanent-resident-sta.html
  29. ↑ Liam Flint (9 April 2017). "Chicago Fire forward, David Accam: "My talent is from God"". Cross the Line. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
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