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 Defender
Club information
Current club A.S. Roma
Youth clubs
1992
1992-1993		 King Faisal Babes
Torino
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1993-2005
1995-1996
2005-
2006-2007		 Bayern Munich
→ FC Nürnberg (loan)
A.S. Roma
→ Livorno (loan)		 208 (9)
12 (1)
29 (0)
18 (0)   
National team2
1993- Ghana 59 (3)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 27 June 2006.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 27 June 2006.
* Appearances (Goals)

Samuel Osei 'Sammy' Kuffour (born September 3, 1976 in Kumasi, Ghana) is a football defender for A.S. Roma. Arguably the greatest African defender of all-time, Kuffour is known for his great power and tactical awareness as well as a physical presence and nous to unsettle the strongest of attacking players.

Contents

Kuffour was brought to Europe by Torino F.C. aged just 13 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.

Kuffour and Bayern Munich were devastated after losing 2-1 in stoppage time.
Kuffour and Bayern Munich were devastated after losing 2-1 in stoppage time.

Kuffour is also part of the Bayern team which lost to Manchester United due to two late goals in the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final. 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]

After eleven seasons in Munich, and 175 Bundesliga appearances, Kuffour left Bayern in the summer of 2005 to return to Italy with AS Roma and signed a 3-year-deal with A.S. Roma in a free transfer. But his second year 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]

A Ghana International for 13 years, Kuffour won his 1st 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, at Junior, Youth and Olympic level. He was made captain of the Ghana team at 23 years old.

Kuffour burst onto the International scene as a 13-year old defender. At junior level, Kuffour 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.

He also scored the winning goal in the 2001 Intercontinental Cup and was named man of the match.

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 FIFA World Cup 2006 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].

Club

Flag of Germany Bayern Munich

Flag of Italy AS Roma

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

18 years, 61 days

  • Most appearances by an African player in the UEFA Champions League
  • Ghana Athlete of the Year - Winner 2001

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


v • d • e
A.S. Roma – current squad

1 Curci • 2 Panucci • 3 Cicinho • 4 Juan • 5 Mexès • 7 Pizarro • 8 Aquilani • 9 Vučinić • 10 Totti • 11 Taddei • 13 Andreolli • 14 Giuly • 15 Antunes • 16 De Rossi • 18 Esposito • 20 Perrotta • 21 Ferrari • 22 Tonetto • 25 Zotti • 26 Piţ • 27 Júlio Sérgio • 29 Barusso • 30 Mancini • 31 Kuffour • 32 Doni • 33 Brighi • 77 Cassetti • Coach: Spalletti
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
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Kuffour"
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