Kwasi Okyere Wriedt (top) celebrates with his team-mates after Bayern Munich's DFB Cup triumph against RB Leipzig in October 2017.
Kwasi Okyere Wriedt (top) celebrates with his team-mates after Bayern Munich's DFB Cup triumph against RB Leipzig in October 2017.

Bayern Munich reserve striker Kwasi Wriedt called up to senior Ghana squad

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He could barely sleep after debuting for Bayern Munich, gave his FCB shirt to his mother and is now poised to make his senior international bow with Ghana. It’s all about the rise of Kwasi Okyere Wriedt – the 23-year-old forward hoping to make his mark for club and country.

It started with a summer move to Munich from VfL Osnabrück – the German third tier team for whom Wriedt racked up 12 goals and nine assists in 39 games in 2016/17. The Hamburg-born striker declared himself "ready for the challenge," after he was snapped up by a Bayern outfit excited by the powerful player’s prospects.

A path that had started out at SC Hamm and taken in stints at FC St. Pauli’s reserves and LSK Hansa, eventually led to, "The most beautiful day of my career." The words Wriedt uttered after making his senior Bayern bow against RB Leipzig in a DFB Cup second round encounter were touching.

And they would have been even more pronounced had he scored the game’s winner in extra-time with a header that crashed off the crossbar. As it was, Jupp Heynckes’ men advanced on penalties, and Wriedt’s mom got his shirt.  

"I give the [jersey] to my mother because she has supported me from day one," the striker, born to Ghanaian parents, said. "She is an important person in my life, if not the most important. I had already promised her that I would send her the jersey if I made my first-team debut."

It’s been a steady progression for Wriedt so far this season, goals in friendly games preceding a first senior squad call-up for the Matchday 8 fixture against Freiburg and Bundesliga debut against Borussia Mönchengladbach five weeks later.

All the while, he has been performing admirably for Bayern’s reserves in the fourth tier, managing 19 goals in 27 appearances. His reward? A maiden call-up to the Ghana squad for friendlies against Japan (30 May) and Iceland (7 June).

Wriedt and Franck Ribery (l-r.) in friendly action against Kickers Offenbach last August.

"At first I was speechless," Wriedt told German tabloid Bild. "Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah got in touch to tell me about his plan. Ghana need a new approach with young players. I'm a part of that.

"I'm delighted to be able to play for the country of my parents' birth. I'll be making my family and friends proud. It's the icing on the cake on what's been a really exciting year."

His confidence high and form true, it seems only a matter of time before Wriedt is offering his mother one more shirt for her to cherish.

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