Samuel Osei "Sammy" Kuffour (born 3 September 1976) is a Ghanaian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. Known for his physical power, Kuffour is best remembered for his time with

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

, whom he represented for over a decade, winning a total of 14 honours, and playing in nearly 250 official matches. Kuffour appeared with the

Ghana national team The Ghana national football team represents Ghana in men's international football, doing it since 1957. The team consists of twenty players including the technical team. The team is nicknamed the Black Stars after the Black Star of Africa in ...

in the

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

, as well as in five

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...

Club career

Bayern Munich

Born in Ghana, Kuffour was brought to Europe by

Torino F.C. Torino Football Club (), commonly referred to as Torino or simply Toro, is an Italian professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont. They currently play in Serie A. Founded as ''Foot-Ball Club Torino'' in 1906, Torino are among the mos ...

in 1991 aged just 15, after playing junior football for local teams in his native country. He joined

FC Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which play ...

in 1993 from the Italian club. After a season-long loan spell with

1. FC Nürnberg 1. Fußball-Club Nürnberg Verein für Leibesübungen e. V., often called 1. FC Nürnberg (, en, 1. Football Club Nuremberg) or simply Nürnberg, is a German association football club in Nuremberg, Bavaria, who currently compete in the 2. Bund ...

in the second division, he made his breakthrough with the Bavarians. Kuffour spent 11 seasons with Bayern, rising 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 squad that won the 2000–01 Champions League, also scoring the winning goal in the

2001 Intercontinental Cup The 2001 Intercontinental Cup was an association football match played on 27 November 2001 between Bayern Munich, winners of the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League, and winners of the 2001 Copa Libertadores, Boca Juniors, which was also the defendin ...

, being subsequently named man of the match. Also in that year, he finished second in African Footballer of the Year's voting, repeating the feat accomplished in 1999. Kuffour was also part of the Bayern team which lost to

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

due to two late goals in the

1999 UEFA Champions League Final The 1999 UEFA Champions League Final was an association football match between Manchester United of England and Bayern Munich of Germany, played at Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain, on 26 May 1999, to determine the winner of the 1998–99 UEFA Champi ...

, famously beating the ground in frustration afterwards, a gesture that endeared him to Bayern supporters. He also became the youngest defender to ever score in the Champions League, at the age of 18 years and 61 days, during the match against FC Spartak Moscow on 2 November 1994, which ended in a 2–2 draw. Kuffour made over 60 UEFA Champions League appearances, being one of the most decorated African players of all time. After twelve seasons in Munich and 175 Bundesliga appearances, Kuffour left Bayern in 2005.

AS Roma

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. 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 Unione Sportiva Livorno 1915 (formerly A.S. Livorno Calcio, commonly known as Livorno), is a semi-professional Italian football club based in Livorno, Tuscany. They compete in Serie D, the top tier of semi-professional Italian football after t ...

. He played his 89th and last match in European cup competitions for Livorno.

After Roma

In August 2007, Kuffour had a trial with Premier League side

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

, with a view to a permanent move. However, manager

Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, coach and former professional player. He is the joint most successful Irish footballer of all time, having won 19 major trophies in his club career, 17 of which came during ...

confirmed he would not be joining the club, in a post match interview after Sunderland's defeat to Liverpool. On 28 January 2008, AFC Ajax 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 Luciano Spalletti (; born 7 March 1959) is an Italian football manager and a former player. He is currently the manager of Italian Serie A club Napoli. Playing career Born in Certaldo, Metropolitan City of Florence, Spalletti started his career ...

, thus becoming a free agent. In August, it was thought that Kuffour had joined Russian Premier League side

FC Khimki FC Khimki (russian: ФК Химки) is a Russian professional football club based in Khimki. The club returned to the Russian Premier League in the 2020–21 season. History The team was formed in 1996 by merging two amateur clubs from Khimki, ...

. However, it was announced on 10 September by his agent that he had retired from professional football with immediate effect. Kuffour rejected the news and stated his desire to continue his career; in January 2009, he was linked to

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

side

Chicago Fire S.C. (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

– the CEO of US-based Sports to Develop Destitute claimed he was helping the player finalise the deal.

Asante Kotoko and retirement

In April 2009, Kuffour finally returned to Ghana after a 19-year absence, seeing his career out with a three-month deal with Asante Kotoko FC. He however retired in late 2009 without playing an official match for the club.

International career

A Ghana international for 13 years, Kuffour won his first cap as a 17-year-old in a game against Sierra Leone on 28 November 1993. He had previously been part of every national team – junior, youth and Olympic level – and became the full squad's

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

at the age of 23. Kuffour had burst onto the international scene at age 13. At junior level, he was a member of the Ghana side that won the

1991 FIFA U-17 World Championship The 1991 FIFA U-17 World Championship, the fourth edition of the tournament, was held in the cities of Florence, Montecatini Terme, Viareggio, Massa, Carrara, and Livorno in Italy between 16 August and 31 August 1991. Players born after 1 August 1 ...

in Italy and the one that was runner-up to Nigeria in the

1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship The 1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship, the fifth edition of the tournament, was held in the cities of Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Kobe, Nagoya, and Gifu City in Japan between 21 August and 4 September 1993. Players born after 1 August 1976 were allo ...

in Japan. At youth level, he appeared with the team that finished second to Brazil during the

1993 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1993 FIFA World Youth Championship, known as the 1993 FIFA/Coca-Cola World Youth Championship for sponsorship purposes, was the 9th edition FIFA World Youth Championship. U20 Brazil defeated Ghana, 2–1 for its third title. It took place ac ...

in Australia. Kuffour became the youngest Olympic Football Champion of all time when he collected bronze at the

1992 Olympics 1992 Olympics may refer to: *1992 Summer Olympics, which were held in Barcelona, Spain *1992 Winter Olympics ) , nations = 64 , athletes = 1,801 (1313 men, 488 women) , events = 57 in 6 sports (12 disciplines) , opening = 8 ...

just before his 16th birthday. He was also a member of the squad that reached the quarter-finals at the same level in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

. Kuffour also made one appearance for his country at the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

finals, against Italy. After a costly mistake in that first match, a 0–2 loss, he was dropped for the next three games as Ghana bowed out in the round-of-16 against Brazil. On 12 January 2007, the

Confederation of African Football The Confederation of African Football, or CAF for short (french: link=yes, Confédération Africaine de Football, ar, link=yes, الاتحاد الأفريقي لكرة القدم, al-Ittiḥād al-Afrīqī li-Kurat al-Qadam), is the administ ...

voted Kuffour as a member of the Top 30 African Players of All Time.

Personal life

In 2003, Kuffour revealed to the BBC, in an interview for the 'Heart and Soul' documentary, 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 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. He is the uncle of the American soccer player Matai Akinmboni.

Life after football

Punditry

In 2010, after retiring from playing football, Kuffour entered into sports punditry working primarily with South Africa-based channel SuperSports, debuting with the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

. On 8 February 2015, he was shaved as he vowed on live TV within the SupersSports studios following the Black Stars failure to win the AFCON 2015 as he predicted. In 2018, he took a break from football punditry for the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

upon the advise of his doctor due to excessive travelling.

Football management

In August 2013, Kuffour was appointed as a board member of the Ghana-based football club

Kumasi Asante Kotoko Asante Kotoko Sporting Club, simply known as Asante Kotoko, is a professional football club founded on 31 August 1935 and based in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Nicknamed the ''Porcupine Warriors'', they compete in the Ghana Premier Le ...

. On 2 October 2014, whilst serving as a board member, he was announced as the new CEO for Kumasi Asante Kotoko after being appointed by the club owner

Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II Osei Tutu II (born Nana Barima Kwaku Duah; 6 May 1950) is the 16th Asantehene, enstooled on 26 April 1999.Ghana national under-17 football team The Ghana national U-17 football team, known as the Black Starlets, is the youngest team that represents Ghana in football. They are two-time FIFA U-17 World Cup Champions in 1991 and 1995 and a two-time Runner-up in 1993 and ...

, after playing for the team in the 1990s. On 16 January 2020, he was appointed as a member of the management board of the Black Stars, the Ghana senior national team.

Career statistics

*1.Includes German Cup and Italian Cup. *2.Includes Champions League and UEFA Cup. *3.Includes German League Cup and Intercontinental Cup.

International

International goals

''Scores and results list Ghana's goal tally first. Score column indicates score after each Kuffour goal.''

Honours

Club

;Bayern Munich * Bundesliga: 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2004–05 * DFB-Pokal: 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2002–03, 2004–05 * DFB-Ligapokal:

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

* UEFA Champions League: 2000–01 * Intercontinental Cup:

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

International

;Ghana Youth *

FIFA U-17 World Championship The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to U-17 in 1991 and to its current name in 2007, is the world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by ''Fédération ...

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

: Bronze medal

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

Individual

* CAF Top 30 Best African Players of All Time *

Ghana Player of the Year The Ghana Player of the Year (or ''Ghanaian Footballer of the Year'') is an annual award from Football Association of Ghana, govern in recognition of excellence to the best Ghanaian professional association footballer of the year. The title has ...

: 1998, 1999, 2001 * Intercontinental Cup Most Valuable Player of the Match Award: 2001 *

BBC African Footballer of the Year The BBC African Sports Personality of the Year (previously known as the BBC African Sports Star of the Year and the BBC African Footballer of the Year) was an annual award given to the best African sports personality of the year as voted by the B ...

: 2001 *

: Team of All Tournaments * IFFHS All-time Africa Men's Dream Team: 2021

References

External links

* * *
2001 Intercontinental Cup gallery
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuffour, Samuel 1976 births Living people Ghanaian Christians Ghanaian footballers Association football defenders King Faisal Babes FC players Asante Kotoko S.C. players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players FC Bayern Munich II players FC Bayern Munich footballers 1. FC Nürnberg players Serie A players A.S. Roma players U.S. Livorno 1915 players Eredivisie players AFC Ajax players Ghana under-20 international footballers Ghana international footballers 2006 FIFA World Cup players 1996 African Cup of Nations players 1998 African Cup of Nations players 2000 African Cup of Nations players 2002 African Cup of Nations players 2006 Africa Cup of Nations players Olympic footballers of Ghana Olympic bronze medalists for Ghana Footballers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in football Ghanaian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Footballers from Kumasi UEFA Champions League winning players