Former Bayern Munich ace Samuel Osei Kuffour has opened up on his mentors as a young footballer, saying it was a privilege to ultimately play alongside 1990 World Cup winner Lothar Matthaus.

The ex-Ghana international remains one of the most celebrated African footballers, having won the Uefa Champions League with the German giants in 2001, lifting the German Bundesliga title on six occasions and claiming the German FA Cup four times.

He played for Bayern Munich between 1993 to 2005, making 277 official appearances and teamed up with Germany star Matthaus.

“When you are young as a player, you will have a mentor,” Kuffour told Goal when asked about some of his inspirations.

“I was in [the Ghana national team] camp with Frimpong Manso and Emmanuel Armah and I really wanted to be like them because the way they were playing was amazing.

"But my thinking later was that I wanted to be better than them.

“When I had the chance to move to Torino in Italy, I wanted to be like Julio Cesar of Brazil. He was my mentor. So when I had the chance to play against him, I wanted to be better than him.

"So my dream was to get better every day.

“When I had the chance to play alongside Lothar Matthaus, that was a privilege for me. I wanted to be better than him as a defender.”

Kuffour finished second in the African Footballer of the Year award race in 1999 and 2001, losing out to Nigeria’s Nwankwo Kanu and El-Hadji Diouf of Senegal.

In 2007, the 43-year-old was named among the Top 30 Best African Players of All-Time by the Confederation of African Football (Caf).

“My ambition was to be one of the top defenders in the world and at a point in my career, I was like one of the best in the world because everyone was saying ‘you’re too good, you’re this, you are that’,” he added.

“I was lucky to play against all the top defenders and none of them was able to do anything against me.

"When I was young as an African, a Ghanaian, the only thing at the back of my mind was to progress in my life and I was getting better each and every day so I thank God for it.

“In Africa, the one I was looking up to was from Senegal and he was very good. The name is Roger Mendy. He was playing at Sampdoria in Italy.

"He was so good as a defender. At Senegal 1992 [Afcon], he was one of the best in the tournament. I was just looking up to that guy.”

Kuffour has represented Ghana at the World Cup at all age groups – from U17 to the senior stage, making 54 appearances for the Black Stars.