Ali Sulley Muntari was born on August 27th, 1984 in Konongo, Ghana. Sulley plays football for Portsmouth F.C. in England and is a central midfielder but has also played left midfielder. Ali Sulley Muntari, as of March 2008 has thirty-eight caps and eleven goals for Ghana. When Ali Sulley Muntari was playing for the Liberty Professionals in Accra, it first became obvious that he was a talented football player with a possible professional career ahead of him. Despite his young age, Ali Sulley Muntari became a member of Ghana’s U-20 team at the mere age of 16. The Ghanaian U-20 team finished runner-up at the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship in Argentina, losing out in the final round. In 2001, Ali Sulley Muntari joined Udinese and spent the first season in the reserves, only making his debut in November 2002 against AC Milan.
In his second full season, Ali Sulley Muntari proved that he was a force to be reckoned with. In that season alone, Ali Sulley made twenty-three appearances and increased his standing to thirty-three appearances in the following season, and was sent sixteen times football matches in 2006 -2007. During his transfer bids, Ali Sulley Muntari expressed his desire to move to the Premier League in 2007 when bids were received from Portsmouth, AC Milan, Juvenuts, AS Roma, and Inter Milan.
Ali Sulley Muntari opted with his decision for Portsmouth and transferred in mid May 2007 for a new record fee estimated at around £7,100,000 million on a five year based contract. Ali Sulley Muntari has some spectacular moments in his football career: In 2007/08 season, he scored the winning goal in a 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford in the 6th FA Cup round. Another notable performance was at Aston Villa where he scored two long range goals.
Ali Sulley Muntari won his 1st cap for Ghana against Slovenia in May 2002, where he became a regular fixture on the team. In 2004, Ali Sulley Muntari was selected for the Olympics at Athens 2004 was unfortunately was sent home due to disciplinary reasons. Ali Sulley Muntari became the youngest international retiree after a dispute erupted between Muntari and his federation. Ali Sulley Muntari stated that he refused to play for his federation or his country again – thereafter, we retracted his comments and made a public apology. Later that year, Ali Sulley Muntari was selected for the 2006 World Cup where he played in the first two matches, with a 2-0 defeat by Italy and later, a 2-0 win over the Czech Republic where he scored. In both games, Ali Sulley Muntari received a yellow card and was suspended for the U.S. game with a match against Brazil. Ali Sulley Muntari is a rising football star and still has his entire career in front of him to prove for that. Muntari is a regular member of the team, and has appeared in the 2008 African Cup of Nation where he was voted as an All-Star Player during the tournament in Ghana.
