| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Christian Saba | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 29 December 1978 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Accra, Ghana | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Centre back | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current club | Free agent | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| King Harrison | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1995 | Hearts of Oak | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1996 | Bayern Munich | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–2011 | Bayern Munich II | 285 | (8) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–1998 | Bayern Munich | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–1999 | → Hertha BSC (loan) | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | → Arminia Bielefeld (loan) | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996 | Ghana U23 | ? | (?) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1997 | Ghana | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 August 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Christian Saba (born 29 December 1978 in Accra) is a Ghanaian footballer who plays as a central defender.
One of the most lengthy tenures of any foreign player with a sole team, he was never able however to make it past the reserves of Bayern Munich.
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After appearing in his country for King Harrison Accra and Accra Hearts of Oak, Saba joined FC Bayern Munich's youth system in 1996 at 17, alongside compatriot Emanuel Bentil. Neither were able to break into the first team, but Saba did manage to stay with the club, playing for the reserves and being an occasional standby player for the first team.
Saba's debut in the Bundesliga occurred not with Bayern, but with Hertha BSC, where he was on loan for 1998–99: on 29 May 1999, in the season's closer, he played 10 minutes in a 6–1 home routing of Hamburger SV, in what would be his only top flight appearance. The following campaign, he was loaned to Arminia Bielefeld, but did not manage one single official appearance, and the club was also relegated from level one.
From 2000 onwards, Saba remained a defensive stalwart for Bayern's second team, which competed in Regionalliga Süd. He was released in June 2011 at nearly 33, after 16 years with the club.
Saba was selected for Ghana's under-23 team for the 1996 Summer Olympics, alongside Bayern teammate Samuel Kuffour, and scored twice against Italy in the group stages, helping qualify the African precisely at the expense of the Europeans.[1]
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