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| Full name | Samuel Osei Kuffour | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 3 September 1976 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Kumasi, Ghana | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Defender | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1983–1990 | Fantomas Kumasi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1990–1991 | King Faisal Babes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1993 | Torino | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–2005 | Bayern Munich | 175 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1996 | → FC Nuremberg (loan) | 12 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2008 | Roma | 21 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | → Livorno (loan) | 18 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | → Ajax (loan) | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009 | Asante Kotoko | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–2006 | Ghana | 59 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Samuel Osei Kuffour (born 3 September 1976) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a defender.
Known for his great physical power, he is best remembered for his time with Bayern Munich, whom he represented for over a decade, winning a total of 17 major titles, and playing in nearly 250 official matches.
Kuffour appeared with the Ghanaian national team in the 2006 World Cup, as well as in four Africa Cup of Nations.
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Born in Kumasi, 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. After a loan spell with 1. FC Nuremberg in 1995–96 he made his breakthrough at Bayern.
Kuffour spent 11 seasons with Bayern, raising from the youth teams to be a prominent first-squad member who lifted the UEFA Champions League with the club. He was an integral part of the Bayern squad that won the 2000–01 Champions League, also scoring the winning goal in the 2001 Intercontinental Cup, being subsequently named man of the match.[1] Also in that year, he finished second in African Footballer of the Year's voting, repeating the feat accomplished in 1999.[2]
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 also became the youngest defender of all-time to score in the Champions League, at the age of 18 years, 61 days during the match against FC Spartak Moscow on 2 November 1994, which ended in a 2–2 draw.[3] Kuffour made over 60 UEFA Champions League appearances, the most by any African player ever,also being one of the most decorated African players of all time.
After eleven seasons in Munich and 175 Bundesliga appearances, Kuffour left Bayern in the summer of 2005, and signed a three-year deal with A.S. Roma in a free transfer, thus returning to Italy.[4] He made 21 appearances in his debut season, having spent a period of the season away on international duty and, in his second year, was loaned to UEFA Cup competitor and fellow Serie A team A.S. Livorno Calcio.
On August 2007, Kuffour had an unsuccessful 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.[5]
On 28 January 2008, Ajax Amsterdam received Kuffour on a six-month loan contract, with an option for two more seasons. He was released following a lack of form, and was also deemed surplus to requirements by Roma boss Luciano Spalletti, thus becoming a free agent.
In August, it was thought that Kuffour had joined Russian Premier League side FC Khimki. However, it was announced on 10 September, by his agent, that he had retired from professional football with immediate effect.[6] Kuffour rejected the news and stated his desire to continue his career; on 26 January 2009, he was linked to Major League Soccer side Chicago Fire S.C. – the CEO of US-based Sports to Develop Destitute claimed he was helping the player finalise the deal.[7]
In April 2009, Kuffour finally returned to active, and came back to his homeland after a 19-year absence, penning a three-month deal with Asante Kotoko FC.[8] He retired from football only three months after, however.
A Ghana international for 13 years, Kuffour won his first cap as a 17-year old, when Ghana played Sierra Leone on 28 November 1993. He had previously been part of every Ghanaian national team: junior, youth and Olympic level, and became the full squad's captain at the age of 23.
Kuffour burst onto the international scene as a 13-year old defender. At junior level, he was a member of the 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 appeared with the side that finished second to Brazil during the 1993 FIFA World Youth Championship in Australia.
Olympicwise, 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 quarterfinal 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 that first match, a 2–0 loss, he was dropped for the next three matches, as Ghana bowed out in the round-of-16 match against Brazil.
On 12 January 2007, the Confederation of African Football voted Kuffour as a member of the Top 30 African Players of All-Time.
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for Ghana | ||
| Men's Football | ||
| Bronze | 1992 Barcelona | Team Competition |
In 2003, Kuffour revealed to the BBC, in an interview for the 'Heart and Soul' documentary,[9] that he wanted to be a priest or a missionary when he retired from football. In the interview, he also spoke about the surprised reaction of some German players as he prayed before games, while also addressing the support he received from fellow Ghanaian Christians, especially those living in Munich.
In the same interview, Kuffour also talked movingly about the death of his daughter, Godiva, in a drowning accident in January that year. He explained that his Christian faith gave him the courage to face the future.
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