Samuel Kuffour facts for kids
Kuffour in 2010
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Samuel Osei Kuffour | ||
| Date of birth | 3 September 1976 | ||
| Place of birth | Kumasi, Ghana | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Fantomas Kumasi | |||
| 1990–1991 | King Faisal Babes | ||
| 1991–1993 | Torino | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1993–2005 | Bayern Munich | 175 | (7) |
| 1995–1996 | → 1. FC Nürnberg (loan) | 12 | (1) |
| 2005–2008 | Roma | 21 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | → Livorno (loan) | 18 | (0) |
| 2008 | → Ajax (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2009 | Asante Kotoko | ||
| Total | 228 | (8) | |
| International career | |||
| 1993–2006 | Ghana | 54 | (3) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's association football | ||
Representing  Ghana |
||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Bronze | 1992 Barcelona | Team competition |
Samuel Osei Kuffour, born on September 3, 1976, is a former professional footballer from Ghana. He played as a centre-back, which is a defensive position in football.
Kuffour is most famous for his time with Bayern Munich. He played for this big German club for over ten years! During his time there, he won an amazing 14 trophies and played almost 250 official games.
He also played for the Ghana national team, often called the Black Stars. He was part of their team in the 2006 World Cup and played in five Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.
Contents
Samuel Kuffour's Club Journey
Playing for Bayern Munich
Samuel Kuffour was born in Ghana. When he was just 15, he moved to Europe to play for Torino FC in Italy in 1991. He had played junior football in Ghana before that.
In 1993, he joined Bayern Munich from the Italian club. After a year on loan at 1. FC Nürnberg, he became a key player for Bayern.
Kuffour played for Bayern for 11 seasons. He started in the youth teams and worked his way up. He became a very important player for the main team.
Winning the Champions League
He was a big part of the team that won the UEFA Champions League in 2001. This is one of the biggest club football competitions in the world! He also scored the winning goal in the 2001 Intercontinental Cup that year. He was even named the best player of that match.
In both 1999 and 2001, he came in second place for the African Footballer of the Year award. This shows how talented he was.
Kuffour was also on the Bayern team that lost to Manchester United in the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final. They lost after two very late goals. He was so frustrated that he famously hit the ground. This moment made fans love him even more.
He also became the youngest defender to score in the Champions League. He was 18 years and 61 days old when he scored against Spartak Moscow in 1994. Kuffour played in over 60 Champions League games. He is one of the most successful African players ever. After 12 seasons and 175 games in the Bundesliga, Kuffour left Bayern in 2005.
Time with AS Roma
In the summer of 2005, Kuffour left Bayern and joined AS Roma in Italy. He signed a three-year deal without a transfer fee. He played 21 games in his first season. During that time, he also spent some time playing for his country.
In his second year, he was loaned to another Italian team, AS Livorno Calcio. He played his 89th and final game in European club competitions for Livorno.
Later Career and Retirement
After leaving Roma, Kuffour had a trial with Premier League team Sunderland in 2007. However, he did not join the club.
In January 2008, he went on a six-month loan to AFC Ajax in the Netherlands. He was later released because of his form. He then became a free agent, meaning he could join any club.
In 2009, Kuffour returned to Ghana after 19 years away. He signed a three-month deal with Asante Kotoko. However, he retired later in 2009 without playing an official match for the club.
Samuel Kuffour's International Career
Playing for Ghana
Samuel Kuffour played for the Ghana national team for 13 years. He got his first chance to play for the senior team when he was 17. This was in a game against Sierra Leone in November 1993.
Before that, he had played for every national team level for Ghana. This included junior, youth, and Olympic teams. He even became the captain of the senior team when he was 23.
Early Success with Ghana
Kuffour started playing for Ghana internationally at a very young age. He was part of the Ghana team that won the 1991 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Italy. He was also on the team that came second in the 1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Japan.
At the youth level, he played for the team that finished second to Brazil in the 1993 FIFA World Youth Championship in Australia.
Kuffour became the youngest Olympic Football Champion ever when he won a bronze medal at the 1992 Olympics. This was just before his 16th birthday! He also played for the team that reached the quarter-finals at the 1996 Olympics.
He played one game for Ghana in the 2006 FIFA World Cup against Italy. After a mistake in that match, he did not play in the next games. Ghana was knocked out of the tournament by Brazil.
In 2007, the Confederation of African Football named Kuffour as one of the Top 30 African Players of All Time.
Life After Football
Becoming a Pundit
After he stopped playing football in 2010, Kuffour started working as a sports pundit. This means he talks about football on TV. He mainly worked with the South African channel SuperSports. He started during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
In 2015, he even shaved his head on live TV! He had promised to do this if the Black Stars did not win the AFCON 2015, and they didn't. In 2018, he took a break from punditry for the 2018 FIFA World Cup because his doctor advised him to rest from too much travel.
Football Management Roles
In August 2013, Kuffour was made a board member of the Ghanaian football club Kumasi Asante Kotoko. He was later announced as the new CEO for the club in October 2014. However, this decision was changed soon after.
In February 2016, Kuffour became a member of the Black Starlets management. He had played for this team himself in the 1990s. In January 2020, he was appointed to the management board of the Black Stars, Ghana's senior national team.
Career Highlights and Awards
Club Trophies
- Bayern Munich
- Bundesliga (German League): 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2004–05
- DFB-Pokal (German Cup): 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2002–03, 2004–05
- DFB-Ligapokal (German League Cup): 2000, 2004
- UEFA Champions League: 2000–01
- Intercontinental Cup: 2001
Ghana Youth Team Medals
- FIFA U-17 World Championship: 1991 (Winner)
- Summer Olympic Games: 1992 (Bronze medal)
Individual Awards
- CAF Top 30 Best African Players of All Time
- Ghana Player of the Year: 1998, 1999, 2001
- Intercontinental Cup Most Valuable Player of the Match Award: 2001
- BBC African Footballer of the Year: 2001
- Africa Cup of Nations: Team of All Tournaments
- IFFHS All-time Africa Men's Dream Team: 2021
Career Statistics
Club Appearances
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Bayern Munich | 1994–95 | Bundesliga | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 13 | 1 | ||
| 1996–97 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 25 | 0 | ||||
| 1997–98 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 25 | 2 | ||||
| 1998–99 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | 26 | 0 | ||||
| 1999–2000 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 0 | — | 34 | 3 | ||||
| 2000–01 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 1 | |||
| 2001–02 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 0 | |||
| 2002–03 | 20 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 1 | |||
| 2003–04 | 23 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 1 | |||
| 2004–05 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |||
| Total | 175 | 7 | 23 | 1 | 74 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 277 | 9 | — | ||
| Bayern Munich II | 1994–95 | Regionalliga Süd | 3 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||||
| 1995–96 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||||||
| 2004–05 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||||
| 1. FC Nürnberg (loan) | 1995–96 | 2. Bundesliga | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 1 | |||
| Roma | 2005–06 | Serie A | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 1 | — | 31 | 1 | ||
| Livorno (loan) | 2006–07 | Serie A | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | 26 | 0 | ||
| Ajax (loan) | 2007–08 | Eredivisie | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| Asante Kotoko | 2009 | Ghana Premier League | |||||||||||
| Career total | 229 | 8 | 30 | 1 | 89 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 353 | 11 | — | ||
International Appearances
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghana | 1994 | 5 | 0 |
| 1995 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1996 | 9 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 5 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 8 | 2 | |
| 2001 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 6 | 0 | |
| Total | 54 | 3 | |
- Scores and results list Ghana's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kuffour goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 July 1997 | Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, Ghana |  Zimbabwe |
2–1 | 2–1 | 1998 African Cup of Nations qualification |
| 2 | 8 April 2000 | Sheikh Amri Abeid Memorial Stadium, Arusha, Tanzania |  Tanzania |
1–0 | 1–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 23 April 2000 | Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra, Ghana | Tanzania |
1–0 | 3–2 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
See also
In Spanish: Samuel Kuffour para niños
