His early departure from his homeland has led to an almost anonymous profile there because he never played any top-level club football in Ghana, although in Amoah's home town of Tema his achievements in Europe have not gone unnoticed.

So in order to get regular playing action, Amoah needed a loan spell at Fortuna Sittard to find his feet in Dutch football before going back at Arnhem where coach Ronald Koeman gave him a chance.

[citation needed] Amoah signed with Borussia Dortmund in December 2005, during the winter transfer window,[3] rejoining coach Bert van Marwijk, who managed him during the 1999–2000 season at another Dutch side, Fortuna Sittard.

"There was a number of options but Amoah was the one the manager wanted", Hans-Joachim Watzke, Dortmund's finance director, told the Westfälische Rundschau at the time.

Matthew Amoah finished as Ghana's leading scorer in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, his five strikes proving pivotal in the Black Stars' march to a second successive tournament.

His tally added to the three goals he scored in the 2006 qualifiers that also made a major contribution to Ghana's march to their first-ever FIFA World Cup finals appearance.

He is a member of the Ghanaian Golden Era of footballers including Fulham right back John Paintsil and Chelsea versatile midfielder Michael Essien and former captain Stephen Appiah who formerly played for Italian Club Cesena, Fenerbahçe SK and Juventus.