Soccer News of Thursday, 18 April 2002

Source: sapa

Kuffour didn't deserve award - Ghanaians

Ghanaian football fans said on Wednesday that the country's international defender, Samuel Kuffour, did not deserve to win the African Footballer of the Year award, as he was too undisciplined.

Kuffour finished a distant second to Senegalese striker El-Hadji Diouf in the results of the poll announced a day earlier.

Callers to a local radio station criticised the Bayern Munich defender, citing his six-match ban in Germany and his early departure from the Nations Cup, where he was thrown out of the squad by the national coach.

"Kuffour does not deserve to win. He must learn that it is not only technical skills that matter. Discipline is very important," one caller said.

The fans also said that while Kuffour had been successful with his German club, Bayern Munich, and had won a world junior championship with the Ghana under-17 side, he had not achieved much with the senior Ghanaian national team.

Earlier this week Kuffour was voted the BBC African Footballer of the Year and had hoped to add the African Footballer of the Year award.

Callers recognised Diouf's contribution in helping Senegal to a first-ever qualification for the World Cup finals.