Samuel Kuffour

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Samuel Kuffour
Personal information
Full name Samuel Osei Kuffour
Date of birth September 3, 1976 (1976-09-03) (age 31)
Place of birth    Kumasi, Ghana
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position Central defender
Club information
Current club Ajax
Number 6
Youth clubs
1990-1991
1991-1993		 King Faisal Babes
Torino
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1993-2005
1995-1996
2005-2008
2006-2007
2008-		 Bayern Munich
→ FC Nürnberg (loan)
A.S. Roma
→ Livorno (loan)
→ Ajax (loan)		 175 (7)
12 (1)
21 (0)
18 (0)
2 (0)   
National team
1993-2006 Ghana 59 (3)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 7 April 2008.
* Appearances (Goals)

Samuel Osei 'Sammy' Kuffour (born September 3, 1976 in Kumasi, Ghana) is a football defender playing for AFC Ajax, on loan from Italian side AS Roma. He is known for his great power and tactical awareness as well as for his physical presence.

Contents

[edit] Club career

[edit] Bayern Munich

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 as a 17-year-old. After a loan spell with 1. FC Nürnberg in 1995–96 he made his breakthrough at Bayern.

Kuffour spent 11 seasons with Bayern Munich, raising from the ranks of youth team to a prominent team member who lifted the Champions League with the club. He was an integral part of the Bayern squad that won the 2000-01 Champions League. He also scored the winning goal in the 2001 Intercontinental Cup and was named man of the match.

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.[1] Kuffour has made over 60 UEFA Champions League appearances, the most by any African player ever.[citation needed]

[edit] AS Roma

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. In his second year, he was loaned to UEFA Cup competitor, Serie A team Livorno. He made 21 appearances in 2005–06 having spent a period of the season away with the Ghanaian national side in the African Cup of Nations.

He had been on 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[2]

[edit] AFC Ajax

On January 28, 2008, Ajax confirmed that Kuffour signed a contract. Kuffour will be joining Ajax on a 6-month contract. The contract contains an option for two more seasons.

[edit] 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 has also 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. At olympic level, 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 quarter final 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 the first match of Ghana's 2-0 loss to Italy, he was dropped for the next two matches against Czech Republic and USA, which Ghana won 2-0 and 2-1 respectively.

On January 12, 2007, the Confederation of African Football voted Kuffour as a member of the Top 30 African Players of All-Time [1].

[edit] Major honours and awards

Club

Flag of Germany Bayern Munich

Flag of Italy AS Roma

[edit] International

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

[edit] Individual

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Competition Facts UEFA
  2. ^ Sunderland reject Kuffour


v • d • e
AFC Ajax – current squad

1 Stekelenburg • 3 Silva • 4 Vermaelen • 5 Emanuelson • 6 Kuffour • 7 Kennedy • 8 Urzaiz • 9 Huntelaar • 10 Luque • 11 Leonardo • 12 Heijblok • 15 Delorge • 16 Suárez • 17 Vertonghen • 18 Gabri • 19 Rommedahl • 20 Ogăraru • 21 Manucharyan • 22 Mitea • 23 Lindgren • 24 Donald • 25 Van der Wiel • 26 Sarpong • 27 Anita • 28 Krohn-Dehli • 29 Perez • 30 Gentenaar • 31 Colin • 32 Slijngard • 34 Goossens • 37 van der Heijden • 38 De Jong • 39 Wormgoor • Manager: Koster
v • d • e
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
 Flag of Ghana
Awards
Preceded by
Flag of Cameroon Patrick Mboma		 BBC African Footballer of the Year
2001		 Succeeded by
Flag of Senegal El Hadji Diouf