Asamoah Gets German Call

Asamoah is rewarded for a fine season at Schalke. Ghana-born midfielder Gerald Asamoah had some of the pain of losing the Bundesliga title in the final seconds of the season removed when he was selected by Germany.

Asamoah, a 22-year-old midfielder with Schalke, has turned down several calls from Ghana in the hope that he would be picked by his adopted country, but the Black Stars had already missed their chance.

He was rewarded for a fine season with a Germany B team selection in a 2-1 win over France in March and has now made the squad for a friendly with Slovakia on May 29 and World Cup ties against Finland and Albania in the following week.

Asamoah was first picked by former Black Stars coach Giuseppe Dossena for a Cup of Nations qualifier against Mozambique in January 2000.

He travelled from Germany and sat on the bench in a tight game which Ghana only won 1-0, so he was not used.

Dream come true

Asamoah never responded to invitations after that game, in which the briefest of appearances would have linked him to the Black Stars for life.

However, Asamoah must take note of the fate of South African striker Sean Dundee, who was given German nationality and called to a national squad, but never picked to play.

"This is a dream come true and a great honour for me," said Asamoah, who will hope to play a part in at least one of the three games.

The call came two days after Schalke looked to have secured their first Bundesliga title when they beat Unterhaching 5-3 and Bayern Munich, needing only a point, were losing 1-0 at Hamburg.

Patrick Andersson levelled in the fourth minute of injury time to deny Asamoah and his team-mates, and their huge army of fans.