BAYERN FAMILY February 2025
defeats “ in Barcelona against Manchester United heralded the birth of the immer weiter Bayern ( the keep-going Bayern ).
KING KUFFOUR
No Bayern fan will ever forget our Ghanaian defender . Here are the most important facts .
His honours
Bundesliga : 6
Champions League : 1
Olympic bronze medal 1992
His career
1993 – 2005 FC Bayern Munich 2005 – 2006 Roma 2006 – 2007 Livorno 2008 Ajax
1993
His legacy
2005
Kuffour ‘ s career has also meant that Ghanaian n talents have consistently come to FC Bayern . These include Christian Saba ( 1996-2011 ), Emanuel Bentil ( 1995-1997 ) and Louis Ngwat-Mahop ( 2006- 2007 ). Most recently , the German-Ghanaian Kwasi Okyere Wriedt ( 2017-2020 ) played for FCB , mainly in the reserves .
DFB Cup : 4
Intercontinental Cup : 1
2006
U17 World Cup winner
2008
” This is your home , Sammy “
“ See that glass there ,“ says Kuffour , pointing to one of the vessels used in Munich for the Meisterduschen ( championship showers ). The oversized weißbier glass doesn ‘ t really fit into the African-style living room , and yet it perfectly suits Kuffour . “ FC Bayern is my first home .“ His business is what took him back to Ghana . “ I wanted to stay in Munich . But I had my family to think of .“ That ‘ s the way it ‘ s always been , even as a player . “ When I was young , I saw Lothar Matthäus and Oliver Kahn in the dressing room . They were so smartly dressed . I wanted that too , but I had to understand that I didn ‘ t make that much , and needed money for home , for mama , grandma , my siblings .“ Hoeneß reminisces : “ Sammy came to us as a child . And he left as a man .“ He once had an offer from Barcelona . Hoeneß said to him , “ Sammy , you can ‘ t go there . This is your home .“ He stayed . Kuffour still remembers exactly how Gerland approached him at the 1993 U20 World Cup in Australia after he ‘ d scored a goal against Germany . “ You ‘ re a good player – do you want to join us ?“ the “ Tiger “ asked . Kuffour had moved to Torino when he was 15 , he was homesick , and now he called his mama at home : “ FC Bayern want me . Should I do it ?“ Of course ! When he trained with the senior players for the first time the following summer , Rummenigge joined in . Kuffour ruthlessly tackled the boss , again and again , until in the end he said : “ We can use this lad .“ Matthäus had already said to Hoeneß beforehand that , if necessary , he would pay the 300,000 deutschmarks out of his own pocket . After training with Matthäus , Kuffour himself thought for the first time in his life that he could make it as a professional . He had watched the World Cup on TV in 1990 : “ Lothar was the best in the tournament , the best in the world – and suddenly I was training with him . I said to myself , you can ‘ t go looking back now ! Only one thing matters now : Forwards !“ Kuffour quickly embraced the German mentality . Matthäus , Oliver Kahn and Stefan Effenberg exemplified it for him. To this day , Kuffour can imitate “ Effe “ very well , as the captain back then would visit him in his room so often during important games . Before the 2001 quarter- final against Manchester United for example , he said , “ Sammy , if you have Yorke and Cole in your pocket again , we ‘ ll go through .“ Ahead of the 2001 final , Kuffour was sitting alone in his room after dinner , when Effenberg
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