Nelson Mensah

Nelson Samuel Mensah (born 7 December 1973) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a forward.^[1] He was the first African to play in Romania’s top league.

Nelson Mensah

Personal information
Full name	Nelson Samuel Mensah
Date of birth	(1973-12-07) 7 December 1973 (age 51)
Place of birth	Ghana
Position(s)	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1991–1993	Dinamo București	21	(5)
1993–1994	Hapoel Tel Aviv	13	(1)
Total		34	(6)
International career
1993	Ghana U20	2	(0)
1991–1993	Ghana	2	(1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

In the middle of the 1991–92 season, Mensah signed with Dinamo București and became one of the first foreign players that arrived in Romania after the 1989 Revolution and the first African player to play in the Romanian top division Divizia A.^[2][3][4] He made his debut in the competition when coach Florin Halagian sent him on the field in the 85th minute and he netted a goal one minute later in a 4–0 win over Petrolul Ploiești, gaining a total of 12 appearances with two goals scored as the club won the title undefeated.^[3][5][6] In the following season he played all the four games from the 1992–93 Champions League campaign, helping The Red Dogs eliminate Kuusysi Lahti in the first round, being eliminated by the eventual winners of the competition, Olympique Marseille in the second one.^[3][7][8] In the same season he scored three goals in three victories in the league against Rapid București, Petrolul and Sportul Studențesc București.^[3][7]

Afterwards, Mensah went to play for Hapoel Tel Aviv, making 13 appearances and scoring once in the 1993–94 Liga Leumit season.^[3][9]

International career

Mensah played two games for Ghana's under-20 national team at the 1993 World Youth Championship, both of them being draws with Uruguay and Germany in the group stage.^[3][10]

Mensah made his debut for Ghana's senior team in a 1–0 victory against Nigeria at the 1991 CEDEAO Cup in which he scored the only goal of the match.^[3][9] His second game was a friendly game in which he came as a substitute in a 2–0 victory against Indonesia.^[3][9]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Dinamo București	Divizia A	1991–92[6]	12	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	12	2
		1992–93[7]	9	3	0	0	4[a]	0	0	0	13	3
		Total	21	5	0	0	4	0	0	0	25	5
Hapoel Tel Aviv	Liga Leumit	1993–94[9]	13	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	1
Career total			34	6	0	0	4	0	0	0	38	6

Notes

1. Appearances in the UEFA Champions League

International goals

Scores and results list Ghana's goal tally first. "Score" column indicates the score after each Nelson Mensah goal.^[11]

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	2 November 1991	Abidjan, Ivory Coast	Nigeria	1–0	1–0	1991 CEDEAO Cup

Honours

Dinamo București

• Divizia A: 1991–92^[2][5]