Stephen Appiah

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Stephen Appiah
Personal information
Full name	Stephen Appiah
Date of birth	December 24, 1980 (age 26)
Place of birth	Accra, Ghana
Height	178 cm
Playing position	Midfield
Club information
Current club	Fenerbahçe SK
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1995-1997 1997-2000 2000-2003 2002-2003 2003-2005 2005-	Hearts of Oak Udinese AC Parma Brescia (loan) Juventus FC Fenerbahçe SK	- (-) 43 (3) 49 (2) 32 (7) 64 (3) 65 (17)
National team2
1996-	Ghana	51 (12)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 08 February 2007. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 08 February 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

Stephen Appiah (born December 24, 1980) is a Ghanaian football player. He is 1.78 meters tall and weighs 77 kilograms. He currently plays for the Turkish club Fenerbahçe at the midfielder or defensive midfielder position. A combative midfield player, Stephen Appiah has a strong 'engine' and good tactical awareness. He is an all-round midfielder who is able to defend, create and score superb goals. He plays as an attacking midfielder for the Ghana national football team.

Contents 1 Club career 2 International career 3 Honors and awards 4 External links

[edit] Club career

Born in Accra, Appiah began his career at local club Hearts of Oak in 1995, at 16 years of age. In 1997, the combative striker moved abroad to join Italian club Udinese Calcio in the Serie A championship. He spent three seasons with the club, and it was at the Friuli stadium that he morphed from a striker of promise into a midfield player of substance. Appiah assumed the deeper, more constructive role following his debut against US Lecce in February 1998.

In 2000, A transfer to Parma FC was jeopardised by viral hepatitis, but Appiah overcame the illness to move to Parma in the summer 2000. The Ghanaian was on the fringe of becoming a regular at the Ennio Tardini stadium, and the club thought it would aid his development to spend the 2002-03 season on loan at Brescia Calcio. A first-team regular for Brescia, Appiah scored seven times in 31 games.

This alerted defending Serie A champions Juventus FC to his talents. Juventus paid Parma €2m, in the summer 2003, to secure Appiah's services on loan, with an option of a permanent €6m transfer in 2004. "It is a terrific opportunity for me," Appiah said. "You cannot ask for more than to play for a team like Juve." In 2003, Stephen Appiah was nominated and finished 8th for African Footballer of the Year[1]

He went on to enjoy a solid first season for Juventus at the Delle Alpi stadium, playing 30 Serie A games, appearing in the Coppa Italia final, won by S.S. Lazio over two legs, and making his debut in the UEFA Champions League. Although Appiah lost his place in the team to Manuele Blasi early in his second season, he played 18 Serie A games as Juventus won the domestic title for the 28th time.

In July 2005, he was transferred from Juventus to Fenerbahçe, the defending Turkish champions, for €8 million.

[edit] International career

At Junior level, Appiah was a member of the victorious Ghana side that won the 1995 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Ecuador. At Youth level, he was part of the Ghana Youth team that placed 4th during the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship and the Ghana team that made the quarter final at the same level 1999 championship. Also playing at the time and a part of Galatasaray's youth squad.

He received his 1st Senior cap on his 16th Birthday when Ghana played Benin on 24th December,1996.

The Captain of Ghana's National team, he was the most outstanding player in its 2004 Olympics squad and was voted as one of the 10 All-Stars of that Olympic Football Tournament. He also led the team to their first ever FIFA World Cup qualification, in 2006.

Stephen Appiah's maturity, precise passing and excellent vision at the Olympic Football Tournament suggested a golden future on the international stage, as the 23-year-old led from the front in Ghana's first two games. In the opening match against Italy, he left three defenders trailing in his wake in an extraordinary solo run to lay on the opening goal before blasting home his side's second himself. In the 2-1 victory over Paraguay, he put up a blinding display 'in the hole' behind the strikers, instigating all his side's best attacking moves and surging forward to register the decisive goal in the closing phase. However, he had an off day in the 1-0 defeat to Japan which saw the Ghanaians exit the Games.

In January 2006, Appiah led the Ghana National Team to the 2006 African Nations Cup in Egypt where Ghana exited in the 1st Round after a surprising loss to Zimbabwe after beating Senegal - a game Appiah played in full with injury. He made the African Nations Cup All-Star team at the end of the tournament in February 2006.

On 22 June 2006, Appiah was named as Man of the Match in Ghana's World Cup match victory against the USA in which he also scored a penalty in the 2nd minute of first half stoppage time. The win saw him captain the Black Stars through to the last 16 phase of the World Cup where they eventually lost to Brazil. Appiah was the star player and driving force of Ghana's 2006 World Cup campaign. He garnered much critical acclaim for his ball distribution, aggressive dribbling and creativity. Despite the pedigree of Ghana's opponents at the cup, Appiah often stole the show from the likes of Francesco Totti, Pavel Nedved and Ronaldinho in head to head match ups. Plans for a transfer to the English premiership from Fenerbahçe fell through.

On 14th November 2006, Appiah made his 50th appearance [2] in the Black Stars shirt, captaining the side to a 1-1 friendly draw with Australia at Loftus Road. Appiah was visibly emotional at the outset of this game, and despite an average performance many Ghanaian fans have praised his reign as captain. [3] Read: Appiah's Phenomenal Rise

[edit] Honors and awards

Club

• Italian Serie A with Juventus Winner 2005 (Trophy revoked due to Calciopoli scandal)
• Coppa Italia with [Juventus Finalist medal 2004
• Turkish Super League with Fenerbahçe Runner-up 2006
• Turkish Cup with Fenerbahçe Finalist medal 2006

International

• 1995 FIFA U-17 World Championship Winner
• 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship 4th Place
• 2000 African Cup of Nations Quarter Final
• 2006 Fifa World Cup 2nd Round

Individual

• Nominated for African Footballer of the Year in 2003 8th Place
• 2004 Summer Olympic Football All-Star Team
• 2005 Best Goal of the UEFA Champions League Group-Stage
• Ghana Footballer of the Year - Winner 2005, nominated 2006
• 2006 Turkish Footballer of the Year
• Captain of Ghana's National team
• 2006 African Cup of Nations All-Star Team of the Tournament
• FIFA Player of the Game: 2006 Fifa World Cup Ghana vs. USA

[edit] External links

• Appiah Fenerbache Stats Page
• Stephen Appiah profile and career notes
• Fifa 2006 World Cup Profile
• UEFA Champions League Profile
• Ghana Football Association - official website
• Ghanaweb Football Forum - Ghana Football Fan Forum
• Appiah's compilation video

	Ghana squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup
1 Adjei | 2 Sarpei | 3 Gyan | 4 Kuffour | 5 Mensah | 6 Pappoe | 7 Shilla | 8 Essien | 9 Boateng | 10 Appiah | 11 Muntari | 12 Tachie‑Mensah | 13 Mohamed | 14 Amoah | 15 Paintsil | 16 Owu | 17 Quaye | 18 E. Addo | 19 Pimpong | 20 O. Addo | 21 Issah | 22 Kingston | 23 Dramani | Coach: Dujković

Fenerbahçe Spor Kulübü - Current Squad
1 Volkan | 4 Appiah | 5 Ümit | 7 Mehmet | 9 Kežman | 10 Tuncay | 11 Tümer | 15 Aurélio | 16 Kerim | 17 Can | 19 Önder | 20 Alex | 21 Selçuk | 22 Serdar | 23 Semih | 24 Deniz | 25 Uğur | 27 Kemal | 29 Olcan | 30 Serkan | 34 Rüştü | 35 Lugano | 36 Edu | 46 Senyil | 47 Umut | 48 Osman | 49 Alper | 99 Deivid | Manager Zico