ACTUALITE |
19.11.2001
Kuffour is the recognised totem of Bayern`s defence
MUNICH,
FC Bayern Munich defender Sammy Kuffour is the favourite of the fans and his teammates, and is an admirable person.
One can easily see why Samuel Osei Kuffour is so much honoured and loved by everybody. He wears his heart on his sleeve.
When Bayern lost the European Cup final 1-2 conceding a one-goal lead against Manchester United in the last moments, the images that stayed in the mind were of the losers: Lothar Mattheus tugging off his silver medal as soon as he`d been handed it, but before that, Kuffour`s tears, and his quick, wild thrashing of the Nou Camp pitch.
Even two-and-a-half years later, when they twice beat United in the Champions League quarterfinals 1-0 at Old Trafford and 2-1 in Munich, Kuffour didn`t stand the TV programmes, describing the 1999 final with United.
Recollecting the events of May 26, 1999, he states: "I was just thinking, this is what God will, and you have to give them the credit`."
"But at the time I thought, `Only God knows why this has happened`. We had done our best, everybody saw that. We had hit the crossbar, and they had been lucky even to equalise."
Kuffour seems to be an amiable man, too. But the fans` love towards him is not conditioned just by his being a charismatic footballer and a sincere man, but also because he and Bayern go back a long way, to 1993. The18-year-old Torino player was recruited to Bayern after the latter had recognized Kuffour`s being a promising youngster, while playing for Ghana at the 1992 Olympics.
The Ghanaian grew up dreaming of following "George Weah, Roger Miller and all the guys who made it from Africa in European football, but as a defender". This is the thing that Kuffour does better than anybody else. For this reason Kuffour has become the recognised totem of Bayern`s defence.
This will do. Kuffour is honoured and treated according to his merits.
United should be the strongest opposition Bayern have faced since beating Valencia to win the European Cup in May. But these days Ferguson`s team play Bayern without the psychological advantage of that heady night in the Nou Camp.
"The 1999 final is forgotten," says Kuffour. "We had our revenge by beating them twice in the quarter-final last season, and that was a great feeling against players like Beckham and Giggs. Against United, you always have to show your class."
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