Samuel Kuffour beat the ground in despair and wept in anguish. He had just lost the most important match of his career and couldn’t understand how, in the space of a couple of minutes, the biggest trophy in European club football had been snatched out of his hands.
It was the 1999 Champions League final between German giants Bayern Munich and the most successful football club in English history, Manchester United. Two goals in injury time gave United a dramatic 2-1 win. Kuffour would rise from that pain and go on to atone for his team’s loss.
Born in Kumasi, Ghana, Kuffour was the only son among four children, in an environment of extreme hardship. His mother raised the family on a shoestring but, like all African mothers, carried her load without complaint or hint of bitterness. It was the desire to give her a better life that drove Kuffour and that would later make him one of Africa’s most successful players on an international stage.
He had his first taste of organized football playing in the township teams that are a feature of African life. He and his teammates put together the few coins they had to play against each other to win the meagre pool of money.
“When we won the money, I would go and give it to my mum because we had no money at home and it was a difficult childhood,” says Kuffour.
(GERMANY OUT) 03.09.1976Sportler, Fussball Ghana (Bayern München)Champions League, Finale in Barcelona:Manchester United – Bayern München 2:1- geht nach der Siegerehrung am Pokalvorbei und hält sich das Trikot vor dasGesicht- 26.06.1999 (Photo by contrast/Behrendt/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
His start in club football didn’t end well. He wasn’t selected for one of the youth teams in his neighborhood and, dejected, promised he would never return. He instead chose to focus on the skill that was prevalent in his community, that of a shoemaker, and got down to business repairing the shoes of his clients who constantly needed to extend the lifespan of the single pair they owned.
After three days, his friend Akwesi, now deceased, persuaded him to try again and this time Kuffour grabbed the opportunity with both hands. From that day, he featured regularly in the team, growing in stature with each performance.
In 1991, he was drafted into the Ghanaian team that won the Under-17 World Cup in Italy. Ghanaian players caught the attention of the football world and Kuffour was signed by Italian club Torino, alongside his teammates, Emmanuel Duah and Mohammed Gargo. The teenagers were taken under the wing of the great Belgian player, Enzo Scifo, who treated them like younger brothers, helping them settle.
The transition from Africa to Europe was difficult. The different culture, language and food were unnerving. Still, Kuffour was determined to succeed.
“We had to adjust to the situation because we knew where we were coming from and I didn’t want to go back to Ghana because it was a chance to make an impact in my life.”
His time in Torino was formative; it enabled him to progress from a player with raw skills to a more refined product. After Ghana’s success at the Under-17 World Cup, Kuffour was drafted into Ghana’s Olympic team for the 1992 Games in Barcelona and it was here that he attracted the attention of Bayern Munich. The German club showed interest but didn’t finalize the deal. It was only after Kuffour again shone at the U-20 World Cup in Australia a year later that they made their move.
Under the guidance of World Cup-winning coach Franz Beckenbauer, Kuffour got his first taste of top-flight football after being elevated from the youth team to the senior ranks. He was an uncharacteristic central defender. Most of the players in Europe in this role were over six foot but he was noticeably shorter. He attributes his success in this role to sheer willpower.
“I was really determined and was willing to die for every minute that came my way. I’m not the tallest but I was always winning the aerial balls. Why? Because I know where I come from. I didn’t want to go back to Ghana and then see my mother suffering again. I really wanted to put a smile on her face by doing something extraordinary for myself and that success will transform into her life and so many other people’s lives.”
During his time at Bayern, domestic success was expected but the real test came when they faced Manchester United in the Champions League final. Bayern led by a single goal until injury time. Kuffour believes that they lost it when Lothar Matthäus was substituted.
“Matthäus was getting older and anytime we got to 75 minutes we would change him for Thorsten Fink. If I were Matthäus I would have played to the last drop of my blood, but that was his decision. That time he was 38 or 39. I wouldn’t put the blame on anyone.”
Two years later, Bayern got the chance to make amends at the 2001 Champions League final against Valencia.
“I went to the game with only one thing on my mind; to win the trophy. For me to do this it depended on hard work, dedication, concentration and determination. I was in my room when Oliver Kahn, Stefan Effenberg and the coach Ottmar Hitzfeld came to see me and said ‘Sammy we can win this match only if you hold John Carew. If you can do it we can win this game.’ When they left, I thought to myself, am I that important to the team that the coach, captain and vice-captain come to my room? I used every means I had to keep him quiet in that match.
After 120 minutes, the score was 1-1 and in the penalty shootout, goalkeeper Kahn was the difference as Bayern won 5-4. Finally, Kuffour had his hands on the Champions League trophy.
While Kuffour was making waves in Europe, his career with Ghana’s national team, the Black Stars, was more turbulent. His progression to the senior team was relatively smooth but once he got into the senior team, the poor levels of management caused friction between the overseas players and the football association’s officials. Kuffour remembers how conditions for the national team players were far from ideal.
“The hotel facilities were not the best – as it is today. The traveling wasn’t the best because we used an air force plane, which was a risk, and some players decided not to play for the team because of that. We saw what happened to the Zambian team in 1993. It was frustrating. I remember the 2002 Africa Cup in Mali, the whole team didn’t even have one t-shirt. We went to the dining hall in our individual clothes. I had a contract with Adidas and I called them and got some kit for the team to wear to make it uniform. After the game we went to make phone calls, it wasn’t just me, it was about six players, and I got called to the coach’s room and was told that I had to obey team rules and was given a ticket to leave!”
Ghana’s president, Jerry Rawlings, had to intervene to get Kuffour to return to the national team after six government ministers visited him at his house to convince him. He called time on his international career after leading Ghana at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
After 11 seasons at Bayern, Kuffour moved to Roma in Italy and had short spells with Livorno and Ajax Amsterdam. Shortly after, he decided it was time to hang up his boots.
“My body started reacting because, for a period of six to seven years, I never got the chance to sit down with the Champions League, the Cup, the Bundesliga, traveling to play for the national team and after that there is a private jet waiting for me to fly me back to Europe because there is a Champions League match and league match on the weekend. Every time I played 90 minutes, I started to feel more tired than before. I was aging. I took a great and wonderful decision because I was done.”
His investments in real estate and other businesses while at the peak of his earnings ensure that he is able to live comfortably. He is also a respected football pundit on TV.
For all the wealth and fame he achieved in his career, his greatest satisfaction came from giving his mum and family a better life than they could ever have hoped for.