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The former Porcupine Warriors defender has revealed that a long injury layoff he suffered at the club handed Baba the chance to shine.

Ghana and New York Red Bull defender Gideon Baah has shed lights on his youth career, dating back to his time in Ghana.

The 24-year-old rose to fame in 2007 when he won a TV reality show on local television Metro TV and had an opportunity to train with English Premier League side Chelsea.

However, despite impressing the Blues top hierarchy, he failed to land a deal due to work permit issues and later joined Asante Kotoko.

“With all the offers that I had at that time [after returning from England], Asante Kotoko was the biggest team,” Baah told The Guardian.

“As a kid, I relished the chance to play for Kotoko. At that time, I also had offers from South Africa which I declined after advice from my father.

“Kotoko is a big club. They play with a minimum capacity of 20,000 or 30,000. People in Kumasi love football. I am happy to have played in that club because they made me who I am now,” he added.

Baah also revealed that a fractured tibia and fibula he suffered in a league game against fierce rivals Hearts of Oak in 2010 paved the way for now Chelsea defender Abdul Baba Rahman into the first team.

“At the time he [Baba] came, I was injured,” Baah said. “I had a fractured tibia and fibula. I was out for almost a year, and they tried to find my replacement. They found Baba Rahman, and the rest as they say is history.”

 
Baah was handed his debut and only call up to Ghana national team last year against Canada in the USA.