31 Facts About Stephen Appiah

Stephen Leroy Appiah is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Stephen Appiah captained Ghana at their World Cup debut in 2006 and at the 2010 World Cup.

Stephen Appiah began his career at local club, Hearts of Oak, in 1995, at age 15.

Stephen Appiah spent three seasons with the club, later changing positions during his time there, moving to a deeper midfield position.

Stephen Appiah became a first-team regular for the Lombardians, and scored seven times in 31 games.

In 2003, Stephen Appiah finished 8th for African Footballer of the Year.

Stephen Appiah went on to enjoy a good first season for Juventus, playing in 30 Serie A games and appearing in the Coppa Italia final.

Stephen Appiah made his debut in the UEFA Champions League.

Stephen Appiah went on to win the Turkish Super League Championship with the club in their centenary year.

However, the injury recurred after his last game on 1 December, and Stephen Appiah went to Italy for rehabilitation on 20 December 2007.

Stephen Appiah unilaterally terminated the contract at the end of season, as he thought the club had breached the contract by not fulfilling its duties.

Stephen Appiah discussed with West Ham United in summer 2008 for a possible contract.

Stephen Appiah immediately appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in May after received the decision on 5 May 2009 and the club submitted its appeal.

On 7 June 2010 CAS ruled that Stephen Appiah did not need to pay Fenerbahce, as Fenerbahce saved more in wages than losses.

Stephen Appiah was on trial with the London-based club Tottenham Hotspur in January 2009 with a view to a 6-month permanent contract concerns over his knee and fitness resulted in no contract being offered, as Spurs took up the option of signing Wilson Palacios from Wigan instead.

On 7 August 2010, Stephen Appiah signed for newly promoted Italian Serie A side Cesena on a one-year deal with the option of signing on for another year if the club managed to remain in the top flight.

On 2 February 2012, after passing medical exams, Stephen Appiah signed a six-month deal with Serbian side Vojvodina.

Stephen Appiah made his Serbian SuperLiga debut as a starter in a 16-round match played on 4 March 2012 against Radnicki Kragujevac.

The match was a sell-out, and saw Stephen Appiah perform a lap of honour at the end with his family.

Stephen Appiah was part of the Ghana squad which won the FIFA U-17 World Championship tournament in 1995 at age 14.

Stephen Appiah was one of three 'over-aged players' in the squad.

Stephen Appiah had carved a niche for himself as a stylish and composed attacking midfielder, who had a deadly eye for goal as well.

Stephen Appiah scored twice in that short stint in Athens, shining in all three group games, running the attacking department in spectacular fashion.

Stephen Appiah made his Black Stars debut on his 16th birthday He made his debut when Ghana played Benin in a four nations tournament in Cotonou.

Stephen Appiah first took over the armband when Ghana faced Slovenia national team in a friendly fixture and would go on to lead the team to secure a historic first-time qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

On 22 August 2010, following Ghana's World Cup record quarter-final finish, Stephen Appiah announced his retirement from the national team at the age of 29.

Stephen Appiah was a talented, tenacious, and physically strong, all-round box-to-box midfielder, who was capable of defending well, as well as orchestrating attacks, creating chances for teammates, and even scoring goals himself, due to his vision, technique, aggressive tackling, athletic attributes, stamina, and his powerful and accurate shot from distance with his right foot.

Stephen Appiah has designed a clothing line named StepApp that was released in late November 2007 in his hometown of Accra.

In May 2017 Stephen Appiah was named by the Ghana Football Association as the team manager for the Black Star.

Stephen Appiah was for the first time given the chance to serve as a technical member of the team after retiring from football.

Stephen Appiah has a son, Rodney Stephen Appiah who plays for Accra Great Olympics in the Ghana Premier League.