Former Ghana international, Sammy Kuffour, says Lothar Matthaus played an instrumental role in getting him to sign for Bayern Munich.
Kuffour joined the Bundesliga heavyweights in the summer of 1993 after leaving Torino. The centre-back was moved to the first team a year later before joining Nurenburg on a season-long loan.
On his return from the loan spell, the Ghanaian became a regular part of the team between 1996 and 2005 where he left for Italy on a free transfer.
Speaking at an event at the German Ambassador’s residence on Tuesday night, Kuffour narrated the role Lothar played in his arrival at Bayern.
“When I got to Germany, I was training with the first team and he told me, ‘You are good.’ I was feeling cold so he had to go to the chief garage and bring me clothes and took me to shopping for two days,” Kuffour recounted.
“I was coming from Torino, who won a big money and [Karl-Heinz] Rummenigge didn’t want to pay the money and Lothar said, ‘We know that the guy is good. If you don’t want to pay, I am paying the money from my pocket to sign him so when he develops, you have to pay me 10 times [what I paid]. Then Bayern immediately signed me.
“I was very young but he saw the potential in me and playing alongside him was a dream come true because when I was young, watching him play the 1990 World Cup and become the best player of the tournament, World Player of the Year and standing on the same training ground with him was a blessing.”
Kuffour won six Bundesliga titles with Bayern during his stay at the club while also clinching the UEFA Champions League title in 2001.
Lothar is currently in Ghana following an official announcement of his decision to purchase the majority stake in Ghana Premier League side Accra Lions.
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