Kuffour rues absent medals with Black Stars

Sammy Osei Kuffour admits his greatest disappointment in his playing career was his failure to win silverware with the Ghana senior team, the Black Stars.

The 35-year-old has tasted just about every success one can as a player with the junior national sides and in club football with Bayern Munich, winning the UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga titles, Italian Cup and lots of personal accolades.

But the absent medal with the Black Stars remains nothing more than a failure at this point as Kuffour prepares to bid farewell to the game on December 23 when he plays in his official testimonial, three years after retiring from the sport.

Ahead of the official launch of his testimonial in Kumasi on Monday, Osei Kuffour told www.ghanafa.org he rues his lack of silverware with the Black Stars and wished he could have retired with something after his 13-year spell in international football.

"It's something I think about most often," he told www.ghanafa.org. "I always think about the disappointment that I never won any title with the Black Stars.

"Of course, it's my greatest disappointment in my career since it didn't happen. I won lots at the junior level and at club level. I always wanted to win something with my country at the highest level by the time I finished but it's now a huge disappointment.

"Though it hurts, it was not a lack of trying. I did my best and my colleagues all wanted to win but we were not lucky."

Despite the disappointment of the past, Kuffour, who won 59 caps and scored 3 goals since making his debut in 1993, plans to enjoy his testimonial game before turning to other interests.

"I want to enjoy the moment. It's always an honour and a privilege to have your colleagues and nation join you to end the game this way [testimonial match]."

Kuffour, a three-time Ghana Footballer of the Year, announced his retirement in September 2008 after a career spanning over a decade and having appeared at every tournament organized by FIFA; U-17, U-20, Olympics, World Cup as well as four appearances at the Africa Cup of Nations.

He spent a successful period with Bayen Munich from 1993 to 2005 and won everything there is in club football from the Bundesliga, UEFA Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup.

Kuffour was named by CAF as one of the 30 best African footballers of all time and was twice, 1999 and 2001, runner-up in the Africa footballer of the year award.

He featured for Torino, Bayern Munich, AS Roma, Livorno and Ajax during his playing career.