Video: Muntari on the threshold of Uefa Champions League history

 

 

 

By: Prince Dornu-Leiku

Sulley Muntari could become the third ever Ghanaian, or 4th if you want to count Marcel Desailly, to be crowned Uefa Champions League title winner if his Inter Milan side triumph over Bayern Munich in Saturday’s final.

Inter take on Bayern with both sides chasing a first ever treble of league, cup and Champions League glory with Muntari set to join the legendary Abedi Pele and Sammy Kuffour as the only Ghanaians to win club football’s grandest medal.

Pele won with Olympique Marseille in 1993, putting up a man-of-the-match performance as they beat AC Milan by Basile Boli’s headed goal from a Pele corner-kick.

It remains France’s only European Cup win till this day. Playing alongside Abedi in the triumphant Marseille team was a certain Marcel Desailly, born of Ghanaian parents in Accra but a French international who will also go on to win the World Cup with France in 1998.

Odenke Abbey as Desailly was christened at birth, did of course also become the first man to win the Champions’ League in consecutive years with different clubs when he won the trophy again 12 months later with Milan.

Kuffour was pivotal in defence for this same Bayern when the German giants last won the Champions League in 2001. In fact, until the recent heroics of Samuel Eto’o, Kuffour had held the record for most appearances in the Champions League by an African. (Ibrahim Tanko also won with Borussia Dormund)

Video: Muntari talks about the Champions League final

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Significantly, both Abedi and Kuffour won the competition after having previously respectively failed in the final two years earlier. Pele and Marseille lost the 1991 European Cup final to Red Star Belgrade before clinching the coveted diadem in 1993.

And who can forget Kuffour’s endless hitting of the Nou Camp turf with his fists after Manchester United scored twice in injury time to deny Bayern the Champions’ League on May 26, 1999.

Two years later, Bayern beat Valencia on penalties to claim the trophy with Oliver Khan’s shoot-out heroics the only plus the great German goalie had to deny Kuffour the man-of-the-match award.

Muntari’s case is quite different from the two previous Ghanaian winners if we are discounting Desailly.

The hard tackling left-footed midfielder is not even sure of playing in the Santiago Bernabeu if this season’s developments at Inter where his appearances have been limited are to be counted.

Sulley has been reduced to few substitute’s appearances and can only make the starting line-up if injuries rule the likes of Sneijder or Dejan Stankovic out.

And Sulley is only appearing in his first ever European final, meaning the history of Abedi and Kuffour winning only at the second attempt can weigh on the chances of the Ghanaian and his Jose Mourinho led Internazionale.

But Sulley can take consolation in the fact that he may just be standing in for another Ghanaian Michael Essien who lost the Champions League final with Chelsea two years ago.

This writer, though not a Chelsea fan, had predicted a Chelsea triumph this year, because of the history of Ghanaian players in thegrand finale of the competition, a la Pele and Kuffour.

Essien and Chelsea will not win it but Sulley may be about to do the job for his Black Stars teammate. First, Sulley was signed by Mourinho to Inter Milan after the Portuguese tactician apparently failed in his bid to land Essien from Chelsea.

Then again, Inter are responsible for Chelsea’s exit in the competition this term. So he may be appearing in his first final and as the history goes for Ghanaian players, Sulley may end on the losing side.

But with Essien having lost it two years ago, few can bet that Muntari may be placed to step into what should have been the shoes of his friend and compatriot to lift the trophy.