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After a long knee injury layoff, Appiah came off the bench in the UEFA Champions League match for Fenerbahçe against PSV Eindhoven on 7 November 2007, marking a complete recovery for him. On 8 November 2007, he was linked with a return to Juventus by the Italian media[2]. Appiah went to Italy for rehabilitation of his injury. The long-term injury also forced Appiah to miss the 2008 [[Africa Cup of Nations]] tournament in which Ghana were eliminated at the semi-final stage. |
After a long knee injury layoff, Appiah came off the bench in the UEFA Champions League match for Fenerbahçe against PSV Eindhoven on 7 November 2007, marking a complete recovery for him. On 8 November 2007, he was linked with a return to Juventus by the Italian media[2]. Appiah went to Italy for rehabilitation of his injury. The long-term injury also forced Appiah to miss the 2008 [[Africa Cup of Nations]] tournament in which Ghana were eliminated at the semi-final stage. |
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On 13th January 2009 Appiah ended speculation about his future by rejecting a 6 month contract offered by London side Tottenham Hotspur to sign a two year deal at Scottish giants Celtic Glasgow FC. |
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==Outside football== |
==Outside football== |
Revision as of 18:12, 14 January 2009
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Stephen Appiah | ||
Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | none | ||
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 08 February 2007 |
Stephen Appiah (born December 24, 1980) is a Ghanaian international football midfielder and captain of the Ghana national team who is currently on trial at Tottenham Hotspur FC.
With the Ghana national team, he has played at the 1995 FIFA U-17 World Championship, the 1997 and 1999 World Youth Championships, the 2004 Olympic tournament, and the 2006 World Cup, where the team reached the second round.
Club career
He earned the nickname Tornado due to the fact that he is very dominant in midfield and is also very strong. A combative player, Stephen Appiah has a strong engine and good tactical awareness. He is an all-round box-to-box midfielder who is able to defend as well as create and score goals. Appiah began his career at local club Hearts of Oak in 1995, at 15 years of age. In 1996 he had trials with Galatasaray SK’s youth squad but was not signed and he returned to Accra Hearts of Oak.
In 1997, the combative midfielder 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 of 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 Football Club to his talents. Juventus paid Parma €2m, in the 2003 summer, 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. 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. He won the Turkish Super League Championship with Fenerbahçe in their centenary year. At the end of the 2006/07 season, Appiah expressed a desire to move on from Fenerbahçe SK although the club wished to extend his current contract.
After a long knee injury layoff, Appiah came off the bench in the UEFA Champions League match for Fenerbahçe against PSV Eindhoven on 7 November 2007, marking a complete recovery for him. On 8 November 2007, he was linked with a return to Juventus by the Italian media[2]. Appiah went to Italy for rehabilitation of his injury. The long-term injury also forced Appiah to miss the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in which Ghana were eliminated at the semi-final stage.
Outside football
Appiah has designed a clothing line, called StepApp, which was released in late-November,in his hometown of Accra, with all proceeds going to the StepApp foundation.[1] The clothing line will initially be released in Africa before arriving in Europe and the U.S.A. in the following months.
Honours and awards
- Club
- 1996
Ghanaian FA Cup Winner with Hearts of Oak
- 1997
Ghana League Winner with Hearts of Oak
- 2002
Coppa Italia Wînner with AC Parma
- 2002
Italian Super Cup Runner-up with AC Parma
- 2003
Italian Super Cup Winner with Juventus
- 2004
Coppa Italia Finalist with Juventus
- 2005
Italian Serie A Winner with Juventus (Trophy revoked due to Calciopoli scandal)
- 2007
Turkish Super League Winner with Fenerbahçe
- 2007
Turkish Super Cup Winner with Fenerbahçe
- 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
Ghana Footballer of the Year - Nominated 2006
Ghana Footballer of the Year - Winner 2007
Captain of Ghana's National team
- 2006 African Cup of Nations All-Star Team of the Tournament
- Budweiser Man of the match: 2006 Fifa World Cup
Ghana vs.
USA