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Samuel Kuffour
Personal information
Full name	Samuel Osei Kuffour
Date of birth	3 September 1976 (1976-09-03) (age 33)
Place of birth	Kumasi, Ghana
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Asante Kotoko
Youth career
1983–1990 1990–1991 1991–1993	Fantomas Kumasi King Faisal Babes Torino
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1993–2005 1995–1996 2005–2008 2006–2007 2008 2009-	Bayern Munich →FC Nürnberg (loan) AS Roma →Livorno Calcio (loan) →Ajax (loan) Asante Kotoko	175 (7) 012 (1) 021 (0) 018 (0) 002 (0)
National team
1993–2006	Ghana	059 (3)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Samuel Osei Kuffour (born 3 September 1976 in Kumasi) is a Ghanaian football defender, who is currently playing for Asante Kotoko. Known for his great physical power, he is remembered for his time with Bayern Munich with whom he played for over a decade.

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. 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.^[1]Also in that year, he finished second in African Footballer of the Year's voting, repeating the feat accomplished in 1999.^[2]

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 2 November 1994 which ended in a 2-2 draw.^[3]Kuffour made over 60 UEFA Champions League appearances, the most by any African player ever,and 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.^[4]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.^[5]

On 28 January 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 10 September, by his agent, that he had retired from professional football with immediate effect.^[6] Kuffour rejected the news saying he will continue playing, and on 26 January 2009 was linked to MLS side Chicago Fire S.C. when the CEO of US-based Sports to Develop Destitute claimed he was helping Kuffour finalise the deal.^[7] Kuffour gived on 17 April 2009 his comeback in his homeland Ghana he signed here an contract with Asante Kotoko^[8], he signed an contract over three months between 30 June 2009^[9].

International career

A Ghana international for 13 years, Kuffour won his first cap as a 17-year old, when Ghana played Sierra Leone on 28 November 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 victorious Ghana side that won the 1991 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Italy and the 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 Ghana Youth team that was runner-up to Brazil during the 1993 FIFA World Youth Championship in Australia. Olympicwise, Kuffour became the 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 loss, he was dropped for the next three matches, as Ghana bowed out in the round-of-16 match against Brazil.

On 12 January 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,^[10]that he wanted to be a priest or a missionary when he retired from football. In the interview, he also spoke about the surprised 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

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

AS Roma

• Italian Cup: Runner-up 2006

International

Olympic medal record
Competitor for  Ghana
Men's Football
Bronze	1992 Barcelona	Team Competition

• 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 Nomination 2001
• FIFA All-Star defender
• Top 30 Best African Players of All-Time: Member
• BBC African Footballer of the Year: 2001
• Ghana Footballer of the Year: 1998, 1999, 2001
• 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 18 years, 61 days
• Most appearances by an African player in the UEFA Champions League
• Ghana Athlete of the Year: 2001

References

External links

• Bundesliga stats (German)
• 2006 World Cup Profile
• UEFA Champions League profile
• FIFA.com short bio
• 2001 Intercontinental Cup Gallery
• Ghanaweb Football Forum

Ghana squad – 1996 Summer Olympics 1 Kingson • 2 Nettey • 3 Welbeck • 4 Baidoo • 5 J. Addo • 6 Dodoo • 7 S. Kuffour • 8 Yahaya • 9 Ahinful • 10 Akonnor • 11 Duah • 12 Aboagye • 13 Kennedy • 14 Ebenezer • 15 Saba • 16 S. Addo • 17 E. Kuffour • 18 Amoako • Coach: Arday

Ghana squad – 2000 African Cup of Nations 1 Kingson • 2 Dugbatey • 3 E. Kuffour • 4 S. Kuffour • 5 Baidoo • 6 Gargo • 7 Preko • 8 Edusei • 9 Ayew • 10 Akonnor • 11 Ahinful • 12 Mantey • 13 Nettey • 14 Gyan • 15 Johnson • 16 Appiah • 17 Ofori-Quaye • 18 Kennedy • 19 D. Addo • 20 O. Addo • 21 Nyarko • 22 Adjei • Coach: Dossena

Ghana squad – 2006 Africa Cup of Nations 1 Adjei • 2 Ansah • 3 Agyemang • 4 Kuffour • 5 Mensah • 6 Pappoe • 7 Kingston • 8 Sarpei • 9 Tagoe • 10 Appiah • 11 Dickoh • 12 Attram • 13 Frimpong • 14 Amoah • 15 Paintsil • 16 Owu • 17 Edusei • 18 Yakubu • 19 Mohammed • 20 Adamu • 21 Issah • 22 McCarthy • 23 Dramani • Coach: Dujković

Ghana squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Adjei • 2 Sarpei • 3 Gyan • 4 Kuffour • 5 Mensah • 6 Pappoe • 7 Shilla • 8 Essien • 9 Boateng • 10 Appiah • 11 Muntari • 12 Tachie‑Mensah • 13 Mohamed • 14 Amoah • 15 Paintsil • 16 Owu • 17 Quaye • 18 E. Addo • 19 Pimpong • 20 O. Addo • 21 Issah • 22 Kingson • 23 Dramani • Coach: Dujković

Awards
Preceded by Patrick Mboma	BBC African Footballer of the Year 2001	Succeeded by El Hadji Diouf