Samuel Kuffour

Football player infobox
playername = Samuel Kuffour


fullname = Samuel Osei Kuffour
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1976|9|3
cityofbirth = Kumasi
countryofbirth = Ghana
height = height|ft=5|in=10
currentclub =
clubnumber =
position = Defender
youthyears = 1990–1991 1991–1993
youthclubs = King Faisal Babes Torino
years = 1993–2005 1995–1996 2005–2008 2006–2007 2008
clubs = Bayern Munich → FC Nürnberg (loan) AS Roma → Livorno (loan) → Ajax (loan)
caps(goals) = 175 (7) 012 (1) 021 (0) 018 (0) 002 (0)
nationalyears = 1993–2006
nationalteam = Ghana
nationalcaps(goals) = 059 (3)

Samuel Osei Kuffour (born September 3, 1976 in Kumasi) is a former Ghanaian football defender. He was known for his great physical power and tactical awareness, and is the younger brother of Emmanuel Osei Kuffour, also a footballer.

Club career

Kuffour was brought to Europe by Torino F.C. in 1991 aged just 15, after playing junior football for local teams in his native country. He joined FC Bayern Munich in 1993 from the Italian club in 1993. After a loan spell with 1. FC Nuremberg in 1995–96 he made his breakthrough at Bayern.

Kuffour spent 11 seasons with Bayern, raising from the youth teams to be a prominent first-squad member who lifted the UEFA Champions League with the club. He was an integral part of the Bayern squad that won the 2000-01 Champions League, also scoring the winning goal in the 2001 Intercontinental Cup, being subsequently named man of the match. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/1679109.stm Kuffour gives Bayern World Club victory] ] Also in that year, he finished second in African Footballer of the Year's voting, repeating the feat accomplished in 1999. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/africans_abroad/1937469.stm Kuffour cries foul] ]

Kuffour was also part of the Bayern team which lost to Manchester United due to two late goals in the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final. He famously beat the ground in frustration afterwards, a gesture that endeared him to Bayern supporters. He is the youngest defender of all-time to score in the UEFA Champions League at the age of 18 years, 61 days during the match against FC Spartak Moscow on November 2, 1994 which ended in a 2-2 draw. [ [http://www.uefa.com/news/newsId=349183,printer.htmx UEFA: Competition Facts] ] Kuffour made over 60 UEFA Champions League appearances, the most by any African player ever,Fact|date=December 2007and is one of the most decorated African players of all time.

After eleven seasons in Munich, and 175 Bundesliga appearances, Kuffour left Bayern in the summer of 2005 and signed a 3-year-deal with A.S. Roma in a free transfer, thus returning to Italy. [ [http://www.uefa.com/competitions/UEFACup/news/Kind=1/newsId=308288.html Roma capture Kuffour] ] He made 21 appearances in 2005–06, having spent a period of the season away on international duty and, in his second year, was loaned to UEFA Cup competitor and fellow Serie A team Livorno Calcio.

On August 2007, Kuffour had an unsuccessful trial with Premier League side Sunderland, with a view to a permanent move. However, manager Roy Keane confirmed he would not be joining the club in a post match interview after Sunderland's defeat to Liverpool. [ [http://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/07/08/26/manual_205035.html&TEAMHD=soccer Black Cats snub Kuffour] ]

On January 28, 2008, Ajax Amsterdam received Kuffour on a 6-month loan contract, with an option for two more seasons. He was released following a lack of form, and was also deemed surplus to requirements by Roma boss Luciano Spalletti, thus becoming a free agent. In August, it was thought that Kuffour had joined Russian Premier League side FC Khimki. However, it was announced on September 10, by his agent, that he had retired from professional football with immediate effect. [ [http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=570765&sec=global&&cc=5739 Former Bayern star Kuffour retires from football] ]

International career

A Ghana international for 13 years, Kuffour won his first cap as a 17-year old, when Ghana played Sierra Leone on November 28, 1993. He had previously been part of every Ghanaian national team: junior, youth and olympic level. He was made captain of the team aged 23.

Kuffour burst onto the international scene as a 13-year old defender. At junior level, he was a member of the [http://www.fifa.com/en/comp/U17/tournament/0,6288,U17-2007-20,00.html victorious Ghana side that won] the 1991 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Italy and the [http://www.fifa.com/en/comp/U17/tournament/0,6288,U17-2007-19,00.html team that was runner-up] to Nigeria in the 1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Japan. At youth level, he was part of the [http://www.fifa.com/en/comp/U20M2007/tournament/0,6416,U20M-2007-108,00.html Ghana Youth team that was runner-up] to Brazil during the 1993 FIFA World Youth Championship in Australia. Olympicwise, Kuffour became the [http://www.fifa.com/en/news/feature/0,1451,102477,00.html?articleid=102477 youngest Olympic Football Champion of all-time] , when he pocketed bronze at the 1992 Olympics with Ghana just before his 16th birthday. He was also a member of the Ghana team that made the quarterfinal at the same level in 1996.

Kuffour also made one appearance for his country at the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals, against Italy. After a costly mistake in that first match, a 2-0, he was dropped for the next three matches, as Ghana bowed out in the round-of-16 match against Brazil.

On January 12, 2007, the Confederation of African Football voted Kuffour as a member of the Top 30 African Players of All-Time.

Faith, football and life after football

In 2003, Kuffour revealed to the BBC, in an interview for the 'Heart and Soul' documentary, [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2003/04_april/10/ws_kuffoursammy.shtml Ghanaian footballer Sammy Kuffour tells BBC he wants to be a priest] ] that he wanted to be a priest or a missionary when he retired from football. In the interview, he also spoke about the suprised reaction of some German players as he prayed before games, while also addressing the support he received from fellow Ghanaian Christians, especially those living in Munich.

In the same interview, Kuffour also talked movingly about the death of his daughter, Godiva, in a drowning accident in January that year. He explained that his Christian faith gave him the courage to face the future.

Honours and awards

Club

flagicon|GER Bayern Munich
*Intercontinental Cup: 2001
*UEFA Champions League: 2001, runner-up 1999
*German League: 1996/97, 1998/99, 1999/2000, 2000/01, 2002/03, 2004/05, runner-up 1997/98, 2003/04
*German Cup: 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, runner-up 1999
*German League Cup: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004

flagicon|ITA AS Roma
*Italian Cup: Runner-up 2006

International

*1991 FIFA U-17 World Championship
*Football at the 1992 Summer Olympics: Bronze medal
*1993 FIFA World Youth Championship: Runner-up
*1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship: Runner-up
*1996 African Cup of Nations: 4th Place

Individual

*African Footballer of the Year: Runner-up 1999, 2001
*Ballon d'Or [http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/europa-poy01.html Nomination 2001]
*FIFA All-Star defender
* [http://www.cafonline.com/news.php?id=975 Top 30 Best African Players of All-Time] : Member
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/africans_abroad/1931586.stm BBC African Footballer of the Year] : 2001
*Ghana Footballer of the Year: 1998, 1999, 2001
* [http://www.fifa.com/en/news/feature/0,1451,102477,00.html?articleid=102477 Youngest Olympic Football Champion of all-time] at 15 years, 11 months, 4 days: Bronze medal in 1992
*Youngest defender of all-time to score in the UEFA Champions League: FC Bayern München 2-2 FC Spartak Moskow, on 02.11.1994 [http://www.uefa.com/news/newsId=349183,printer.htmx 18 years, 61 days]
*Most appearances by an African player in the UEFA Champions League
*Ghana Athlete of the Year: 2001

References

External links

* [http://www.fussballdaten.de/spieler/kuffoursamuelosei/ Bundesliga stats] de icon
* [http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/player/155401_KUFFOUR_Samuel.html 2006 World Cup Profile]
* [http://www.uefa.com/competitions/UCL/Players/Player=25647/index.html UEFA Champions League profile]
* [http://www.fifa.com/en/print/article/0,4039,9581,00.html FIFA.com short bio]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/photo_galleries/football/1678997.stm 2001 Intercontinental Cup Gallery]
* [http://discussions.ghanaweb.com/viewforum.php?f=2/ Ghanaweb Football Forum]