Top 3 African players in Bayern Munich’s history

Ace Football presents a detailed list of the best African players to have played for the Bavarians.

Bayern are infamous for cherry-picking Bundesliga’s best players. The Bavarians have dominated the league as their excellent sporting management have consistently outplayed their league rivals.

Despite the Bavarians’ well-known tendency toward German talents, a number of African stars have played for Bayern over the years.

So, let’s take a look at the best African players to have featured for the Bavarian giants.

3- Pablo Thiam

Thiam started his career in FC Koln’s academy ranks and broke into their senior team in 1992. Following a successful spell at Stuttgart, the Guinean midfielder secured a move to Bayern in 2001.

It was not easy for Thiam to find game time at Bayern as the club already had too many good players in his position. Nevertheless, the versatile midfielder managed to make 28 appearances for the German side.

The Guinea star left the club to join Wolfsburg in January 2003. However, he had already featured in enough games to win the Bundesliga medal at the end of the season. Thiam currently works as Hamburg’s academy manager.

2- Medhi Benatia

Bayern Munich won an intense transfer race to sign Medhi Benatia on a €26 million deal in August 2014. The Morocco star who left Roma to play under Pep Guardiola in Munich.

Benatia went on make 46 appearances for Bayern, winning back to back trophies at Allianz Arena. However, the impressive performances of Xavi Martinez and Jerome Boateng left little room for the Moroccan in Guardiola’s lineup.

Bayern loaned out Benatia to Juventus after their 2016 triumph in the DFB Pokal. The Bianconeri made the move permanent a year later to end his stint at the Bundesliga.

1- Samuel Kuffour

Kuffour is the greatest African player to have played for Bayern Munich. The Ghana great moved to Bayern’s U19 team after spending two years at Torino’s academy levels.

He spent 11 seasons at Bayern, rising from the U19 team to becoming a prominent first-team player. He won the Champions League during his prime at the club in 2001. The Ghana centre-back scored for the Bavarians in the 2001 Intercontinental cup final, where he also won the Man of the Match award.

Kuffour made 277 appearances for Bayern as one of the most decorated African players of all time. Having won six Bundesliga titles and four DFB Pokals, the Ghana star left the club in to join Roma in 2005.