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Sulley Muntari
Personal information
Full name	Sulley Ali Muntari
Date of birth	August 27, 1984 (1984-08-27) (age 23)
Place of birth	Konongo, Ghana
Height	1.8 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Central midfielder
Club information
Current club	Portsmouth
Number	11
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2002-2007 2007-	Udinese Portsmouth	125 (8) 016 (4)
National team2
2002-	Ghana	030 (8)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:16, 8 December 2007 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 27 March 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

Sulley Ali Muntari (born August 27, 1984) is a Ghanaian international footballer who plays for Portsmouth F.C. in England. He is a central midfielder. He has 30 caps and 8 goals for Ghana, as of September 2007.

Contents 1 Professional career 2 Super talent 3 Senior international 4 Manchester United bid 5 Transfer to Portsmouth 6 Portsmouth 2007/08 7 References 8 Honors and awards 9 External links

He is an outstanding, powerhouse midfielder described by Football Italia as "showing himself to possess the touch of Kaká and the combativeness of Edgar Davids, he is definitely a player to keep a close eye on."

Muntari's abilities first came to light in youth tournaments, while he was playing for Liberty Professionals in Accra. As a raw 16-year-old, he was already an integral member of Ghana's U-20 team as they finished runners-up at the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship in Argentina , losing out to the hosts in the final.^[1] Starting every match at Left Midfield, the youngster crossed paths with – and eliminated – future stars of the calibre of Adriano, Kaká, Julio Baptista ^[2] and Djibril Cisse.^[3]

His departure for Europe in 2001 came eventually as those performances seduced scouts looking for the next big thing. Despite impressing during a trial with Manchester United, he was soon packing his bags for Udinese.^{[4] [5]} It took just a one-week trial with the Bianconeri to convince them to take him to the Italian peninsula. His first season was spent in the reserves, but his chance to shine was on its way and finally came at the San Siro on 6 November 2002, when he made his debut appearance against AC Milan of all teams. The Rossoneri proved too strong on the day, yet Udinese's young newcomer left an instant impression. "Muntari was immense against Milan," enthused monthly magazine Football Italia.

In his second full season, under the tutelage of Luciano Spalletti, he managed to force his way into the starting line-up to make 17 starts from a total of 23 appearances and increased his standing with 33 appearances last season as Udinese sealed fourth spot and a debut appearance in the UEFA Champions League.^[6]

Elevation to Ghana's senior squad came next after he moved to the Italian Serie A, and Muntari who had won his first cap for Ghana against Slovenia on 17 May 2002, became a permanent fixture in the starting line-up beginning with the game against Burkina Faso in June 2004 as The Black Stars opened their 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign. Since then, Muntari has demonstrated he has what it takes at international level with the opening goal in their very next outing - a 3-0 victory over South Africa.

The native of Konongo was still only 20 at the time, and it made sense for him to further his education by turning out for Ghana's Olympic side, the Black Meteors, at Athens 2004. The initiative quickly backfired, however, when the player considered as the 'child prodigy' of Ghanaian football was sent home for disciplinary reasons.^[7] This turned out to be the start of an unseemly squabble between Muntari and his federation, with the former protesting his innocence and the latter demanding an apology.

The Udinese ace even went as far as refusing to play for his country again, beating the record for the youngest international retirement.^[8] But he could not keep himself away forever, and after making a public apology to the federation he was welcomed back with open arms last November. "I'm ready to serve my country at any time," he declared, full of repentance. "Ghana made me what I am today. How could I turn my back on the nation?"^[9]

And at just 22 years of age, Sulley Ali Muntari is already a key piece in the Ghanaian midfield jigsaw. With The Black Stars midfield already boasting Chelsea's £24.4m signing Michael Essien and former Juventus man Stephen Appiah – the national skipper – any player hoping to force his way in must start making a major impression. The young Portsmouth starlet forms one-third of a stunning trio that many coaches would dream of having, and which has given many more a few nightmares.

Muntari was part of the Ghana starting eleven, who were defeated 2-0 by Italy in their opening World Cup fixture. He was inspirational for Ghana in their match against the Czech Republic in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, scoring in a 2-0 victory, with Asamoah Gyan getting the other. He was suspended for the game against the United States for having received two yellow cards in his opening games, but was highly impressive against Brazil, eventually prompting Portsmouth F.C. coach to state "I first saw Muntari at the World Cup against Brazil and he was the best player on the pitch."

On 6 February 2007, Muntari continued his excellent performances at the International level by scoring for Ghana in their 4-1 victory over Nigeria in London.^[10] He also scored for Ghana v Austria in Graz on 24 March 2007.^[11]

Unsurprisingly, the continent's big guns all took note, and while Juventus supporters saw Muntari as the natural successor to Edgar Davids, Sir Alex Ferguson has not abandoned the idea of taking him to Old Trafford. "I've heard the rumours about Manchester United and other teams, but I'm at the right club for me at the moment," he insists. "I'm young and I've still got time to join a big side. For now, though, my ambitions are here with Udinese."

On 31 August 2005 at the end of the transfer window, Udinese announced they rejected a bid from Manchester United for the player.^[12] Ironically, United had the chance to buy Muntari as a youngster in 2001,^[13] but wouldn't pay the £1 million pound asking price.^[14] As a result, Udinese Calcio signed Muntari and built a strong squad which is consistently finishing in the top 10 of Serie A.

In an June 2006 interview with Sky Sports News, Muntari stated that he would like a move to the Premier League, preferably with Manchester United, as he said "they're one of the greatest teams in Europe." He also said he felt "lost" after talking to compatriot Michael Essien about Premiership life.^[15]

In January 2007 Muntari was reported to be the top transfer target of Premier League club Portsmouth in the January transfer window.^[16] Reportedly, the south coast club had made a £8.5 million bid for the midfielder the previous summer, but had their bid rejected.^[17]

Muntari had also been linked with a £12 million move to Italian giants AC Milan ^[18] in the January 2007 transfer window, as well as a number of other clubs, including Juventus ^[19] starting speculation that there is going to be a bidding war for his services.

His desire to transfer was slightly hurt by a fiery temper that saw him sent off three times after the opening 16 matches in the 2006/07 season ^[20] , prompting Udinese Coach Giovanni Galeone to say his powerhouse midfielder must toughen up if he wants to play for a bigger club, because he is too emotional.^[21]

But on 2 March 2007, it was reported in the Italian Press that Inter Milan were preparing a summer offer for the highly rated midfielder. Injuries to Esteban Cambiasso and Patrick Vieira underlined just how short of ball-winning midfielders the Nerazzurri were and they would remedy that problem in June 2007. Transfer consultants Marco Branca and Gabriele Oriali were (and still are) looking around Europe for possible options and Muntari seemed to be their man.^[22]

Finally, in May 2007, Muntari made positive statements towards the prospect of moving to Portsmouth, who had stepped up the pressure to acquire him, in spite of interest from the top Italian Clubs particularly AS Roma.^[23] He told the Portsmouth News, "I'm just waiting for the day to join Portsmouth. I want to play here." He continued in apparent praise of the Premier League: "To step on this ground, it is like I've started in the Premiership already. It is a fantastic club with class players like Pedro Mendes, Sol Campbell, David James and Nwankwo Kanu."

Sulley Muntari completed his move^[24] from Udinese to Portsmouth on 30 May 2007, for a new club record fee, believed to be around £7.1m. He signed a five-year contract to 2012.^[25][26]

Sulley Ali Muntari has regularly featured in midfield for Portsmouth FC this season. Most noticeably, he scored two goals against Aston Villa on the 8th of December 2007.^[27] It is rumoured that Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez will try to sign Muntari if he is unable to secure the transfer of on loan Javier Mascherano. Arsenal and Liverpool are set to battle out a £15 million transfer scamble for Sulley Muntari in the January transfer window after impressing during his first few months in the Barclays Premier League with Portsmouth after a move from Serie A.

• FIFA World Youth Championship runner-up: 2001

• Ghanasoccernet - The No.1 website for Ghana soccer news
• Sulley Muntari career stats at Soccerbase
• Muntari Stats Page - RAI Sport
• Muntari Stats Page - Gazzetta dello Sport
• Fifa 2006 World Cup Profile
• Ghana Football Association - official website
• Ghanaweb Football Forum - Official Fan Forum
• Muntari linked with a move to AC Milan
• Muntari enjoying life at Portsmouth

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

v • d • e Portsmouth F.C. – current squad
1 James • 2 Primus • 4 Lauren • 5 Johnson • 6 Traoré • 7 Hreiðarsson • 8 Bouba Diop • 10 Nugent • 11 Muntari • 14 Taylor • 15 Distin • 16 Pamarot • 17 Utaka • 18 Mvuemba • 19 Kranjčar • 20 Cranie • 21 Ashdown • 22 Hughes • 23 Campbell • 24 Duffy • 25 Benjani • 27 Kanu • 28 Davis • 30 Pedro Mendes • Manager: Redknapp