Christian Saba

Christian Saba (born 29 December 1978) is a Ghanaian former footballer who played as a central defender. He is currently the team official of Bayern Munich U19.

Christian Saba
Saba in action for Bayern Munich II
Personal information
Full name Christian Saba
Date of birth (1978-12-29) 29 December 1978
Place of birth Accra, Ghana
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Centre back
Team information
Current team
 Bayern Munich U19 (team manager)
Youth career
King Harrison
1994–1995 Hearts of Oak
1995–1996 Bayern Munich
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–2011 Bayern Munich II 285 (8)
1997–2000 Bayern Munich 0 (0)
1998–1999 → Hertha BSC (loan) 1 (0)
1999–2000 → Arminia Bielefeld (loan) 0 (0)
2012–2014 1906 Haidhausen
Total 286 (8)
International career
Ghana U17 9 (1)
1996 Ghana U23
1996–1997 Ghana 4 (0)
Managerial career
2015–2019 Bayern Munich U16 (assistant)
2019–2021 Bayern Munich U19 (assistant)
2021– Bayern Munich U19 (team manager)
Medal record
Bayern Munich
WinnerDFB Liga-Pokal1997
WinnerDFB-Pokal1998
Bayern Munich II
WinnerRegionalliga Süd2004
 Ghana
WinnerFIFA U-17 World Championship1995
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

One of the most lengthy tenures of any foreign player with a sole team, he was never able however to make it past the reserves of Bayern Munich.

Club career

Saba was born in Accra. After appearing in his country for local King Harrison Accra and Accra Hearts of Oak.

Saba joined FC Bayern Munich's youth system in 1995 at the age of 16, alongside compatriot Emanuel Bentil. Neither was able to break into the first team, but the former did manage to stay with the club, playing for the reserves and being an occasional standby player for the main squad.[1]

Saba's debut in the Bundesliga occurred not with Bayern, but with Hertha BSC, where he was on loan for 1998–99: on 29 May 1999, in the season's closer, he played ten minutes in a 6–1 home routing of Hamburger SV in what would be his only top flight appearance.[2] The following campaign he was loaned to Arminia Bielefeld,[3] but he did not collect one single minute of action and the team was also relegated from the top level.

From 2000 onwards Saba remained a defensive stalwart for Bayern's second team, which competed in Regionalliga Süd. He was released in June 2011 at nearly 33, after 16 years with the club.

International career

Saba was selected for Ghana's under-23 team for the 1996 Summer Olympics, alongside Bayern teammate Samuel Kuffour, and scored twice against Italy in the group stages, helping qualify the African precisely at the expense of the Europeans.[4]

Personal life

His brother Robert Saba was also a footballer who played for Accra Hearts of Oak. The duo lost their father Daniel Saba in 2017.[5][6]

Honours

Club

FC Bayern Munich II

Maccabi Netanya

International

Ghana U-17

References
  1. "Toni in der Zweiten: Louis van Gaal gibt grünes Licht" [Toni in the reserves: Louis van Gaal gives thumbs up] (in German). kicker. 16 September 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  2. "Saba: Ex-Bayern-Profi in der Kreisklasse" [Saba: Former Bayern pro in the district class] (in German). Fussball. 27 November 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  3. "Bundesliga: Vermißter Christian Saba wieder aufgetaucht" [Missing Christian Saba reappeared]. Der Spiegel (in German). 20 July 1999. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  4. "Ghana – Italy 3:2 (1:2)". FIFA.com. 23 July 1996. Archived from the original on 24 November 2007. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
  5. Okine, Sammy Heywood (25 December 2016). "Saba Brothers Lose Dad". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  6. "Ex Hearts of Oak stars Christian and Robert Saba lose father; burial fixed for January 27". GhanaSoccernet. 25 December 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  7. "Ghana - C. Saba - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". gh.soccerway.com. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
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