John Mensah
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| John Mensah | ||
 |
||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Mensah | |
| Date of birth | November 29, 1982 | |
| Place of birth | Obuasi, Ghana | |
| Playing position | Centre back | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club |  Rennes |
|
| Number | 5 | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 1999-2000 2000 |
 MBC Accra Bologna |
|
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 2000-2001 2001-2002 2002-2004 2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006- |
Bellinzona Genoa Chievo Verona Modena F.C. Chievo Verona U.S. Cremonese Rennes |
8 (0) 24 (3) 13 (0) 6 (0) 9 (0) 14 (0) 35 (1) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2001 - | Ghana |
54 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
John 'Rock Of Gibraltar' Mensah (born November 29, 1982 in Obuasi, Ghana) is a Ghanaian International football player who plays for Rennes of French Ligue 1. He is regarded as one of the best African defenders in football.
Contents |
[edit] Club career
John Mensah is a product of the enormously proficient scouting system in Ghana that identifies talented youngsters long before they enter any formal structures and exports them to potential fame and fortune in Europe.
A centre-half by choice, Mensah is also adept at left-back and has played in both positions for his national side, also captaining the team on occasions. His physique has earned him the moniker the ‘Rock of Gibraltar’, and Mensah was considered a certainty to be named in the Black Stars’ squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
The 24-year-old’s first foreign adventure was as a wide-eyed teenager, when he moved to Italy to join Bologna. The Serie A outfit recognised his talent, but also saw that his was potential in its rawest form and, as such, loaned him to Swiss side AC Bellinzona, where it was hoped that he would hone his talents.
The arrangement proved beneficial to both clubs and also to the player himself, and it was during his time in Switzerland that Mensah was called up for the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship in Argentina, where Ghana finished as runners-up to the host nation in a thrilling tournament.
The following season, he returned to Serie B on loan with Genoa before being purchased on a permanent basis by Chievo Verona in the summer of 2002.
A brief spell with Modena punctuated a moderately successful three-year stint in Verona, but, following another uneventful move to U.S. Cremonese in the Italian Serie B, Mensah came to the conclusion that a new stable environment was what was required to kick-start his somehow journey-man career. And how right he was.[1].
On 31 January 2006 during the winter transfer window, he moved to French Ligue 1 Club Rennes on loan after having played in Italy for most of his career, for clubs including Genoa, Modena, Bologna and Cremonese, at the behest of their former player Philippe Redon, who brought him to fill the gap in defence caused by an injury to another African, the Moroccan Abdeslam Ouaddou. High level performances in the French League convinced Rennes to make the loan deal permanent. In April 2006 he signed a three year contract with Rennes.
The move to Rennes has breathed new life into the Ghanaian’s play, with his uncompromising style earning him a reputation in France as one of Ligue 1’s best defenders and Mensah now looks like holding on to the position for years to come[1].
He has recently been linked with Portsmouth, which also looks likely to be his future destination due to strong presence of African players along with his international team mate Sulley Muntari at the club.
He has also been linked with a possible move to Wigan Athletic. An enquiry from Wigan Athletic about a possible transfer for the Ghanaian was welcomed by Stade Rennais with club manager Philippe Redon commenting that it would take at least £7,000,000 to prize ‘Rock of Gibraltar’ away from the club. Wigan are still pondering over a possible bid.
[edit] International career
Mensah played on Ghana's superb Under-20 National Team that went to the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship Final versus host nation Argentina in the Summer of that year. Starting every match at Center Back, the youngster crossed paths with – and eliminated – future stars of the calibre of Adriano, Kaká, Julio Baptista on 1 July 2001, when Ghana knocked out Brazil on a Mensah golden goal in the 4th minute of Extra Time in the Quarter Finals of that Tournament. [3] and Djibril Cisse [2]. (Tied after 90 minutes, the Ghana - Brazil[4]. game entered extra time with an excited crowd knowing that the next goal would decide the match. Throwing caution to the wind, Ghana went forward and forced a corner in the fourth minute. In came the cross and John Mensah got in front of his marker to send a firm header over the line, ousting Brazil.)
Mensah’s senior debut for the Black Stars came against Algeria on 5 December 2001 just after his 19th birthday, on the eve of the 2002 African Cup of Nations finals in Mali, a tournament at which his aerial ability was a prominent feature of Ghana’s play.
Since then, he has been a regular for the national team, playing almost every single game since then, rising in the rank of importance to become the assistant-captain of the National Team and now has 42 caps as of 27 March 2007.Mensah played for the Ghana Olympic Team known as the Black Meteors in the 2004 Summer Olympics. In 2006, he participated in his second African Cup of Nations tournament in Egypt ,and was solidity personified during Ghana’s successful qualifying campaign for 2006 FIFA World Cup.
He was involved in the 2006 FIFA World Cup with his national side. Ghana qualified for a final 16 tie against defending champions Brazil with a 2-1 victory over the USA in their final group stage match. After the final whistle, Mensah lifted his team jersey to reveal a T-shirt displaying "John Mensah - Rock of Gibraltar", his nickname in Ghana.
The coach of Ghana during 2006 FIFA World Cup, Coach Ratomir Dujkovic cited Mensah for high commendations after the completed tournament. His last game for Ghana was against Brazil in an FIFA International friendly in Stockholm, Sweden on 27 March 2007.
Mensah was selected in the 2006 African Nations Cup All-Star Team of the Tournament by the Confederation of African Football in February 2006.On 3 February 2008, Mensah was senf off in a quarter final game against Nigeria for a professional foul against Odemwinge. Ghana went on to win the match 2-1 with goals from Michael Essien and a later winner scored by Junior Agogo. Nigeria's goal was an unconvincing penalty converted by Yakubu. [5].
[edit] Olympique Lyon Scouting
On 26 April 2007, it was reported in the French Media [3] that he was being seriously scouted by French Ligue 1 giants Olympique Lyonnais [6], with a view to making a move for him in the Summer transfer window.
It is interesting to note that as of November 2006, Mensah was rated the number 1 Player in France by France Football, tied with Juninho Pernambucano, in the 2006/2007 season's Top 100 French League Players, but injuries ruined his season and his stats was taken off this page later on.
But on 17 May 2007, Mensah signed a new contract extension with Stade Rennais until 2010[7]. "I am very lucky to be able to stay one year more with such an ambitious club, especially since a lot of clubs wanted me," Mensah told L'Equipe. Delighted Rennes coach Pierre Dréossi said: "Those who wanted to see him at another club can now forget my telephone number."[8]. However he is strongly linked with Portsmouth recently and it is likely to be his future destination due to strong presence of African players along with his international team mate Sulley Muntari in the club.
On 28 September 2006, Stade Rennais website wrote an interesting article about John Mensah impact on his new team since his acquisition. It said - The summary from 11 February 2006 to 28 September 2006 is very impressive: 18 games: 12 wins, 5 draws, 1 defeat. 12 conceded goals, 4 of them when Mensah was not on the field. Rennes conceded 0.66 goals per game with Mensah. Without Mensah Rennes had 6 games, 0 wins, 1 draw and five losses. 13 goals were conceded, making 2.66 per game.[9].
[edit] References
- ^ "Profile of John Mensah", ghanafa.org, 2007-01-01. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
- ^ "Mensah in Pompey link", Sky SPorts, 2008-05. Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
- ^ "Ghana shocks Brazil 2-1 in World Youth Cup quarterfinal", ghanaweb.com, 2001-07-01. Retrieved on 2001-07-01.
- ^ "FIFA World Youth Championship Argentina 2001, Quarterfinals: Ghana 2-1 Brazil", fifa.com, 2001-07-01. Retrieved on 2001-07-01.
- ^ "CAN 2006 player awards and best 11", cafonline.com, 2006-02-10. Retrieved on 2006-02-10.
- ^ "Rennes : J. Mensah - "on a de l'espoir"", maxifoot.com, 2007-04-26. Retrieved on 2007-04-26.
- ^ "Rennes: John Mensah prolonge d’une saison supplémentaire", staderennais.com, 2007-05-17. Retrieved on 2007-05-17.
- ^ "Mensah snubs Royals", eurosport.com, 2007-05-17. Retrieved on 2007-05-18.
- ^ "Mensah, homme providentiel", stade-rennais-online.com, 2006-09-28. Retrieved on 2006-09-28.
[edit] Honours and Awards
- FIFA World Youth Championship runner-up: 2001
- FIFA World Cup last 16: 2006
- Ghana 2008 third place: 2008
- Ghana 2008 Samsung Fair Play Award
[edit] External links
- (French) John Mensah's Profile, Photo & Stats by Stade Rennais Online
- John Mensah Stats Page - France Football
- Fifa 2006 World Cup Profile
- Ghana Football Association - official website
- Ghanaweb Football Forum - Official Fan Forum
|
|||||||
|
|||||
