Nelson Samuel Mensah (born 7 December 1973) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was the first African to play in Romania's top league.
Club career Mensah was born on 7 December 1973 in Accra, Ghana. In the middle of the 1991–92 season, he joined Dinamo București, becoming one of the first foreign players and the first African to arrive in Romania after the 1989 Revolution. On 8 March 1992, he made his Divizia A debut when coach Florin Halagian sent him in the 85th minute to replace Gábor Gerstenmájer, netting a goal one minute later in a 4–0 win over Petrolul Ploiești. He finished the season with 12 appearances and two goals scored, as the club won the title undefeated. In the following season, Mensah helped them advance past Kuusysi Lahti in the first round of the 1992–93 Champions League. Dinamo faced Olympique Marseille in the second round, where they drew 0–0 in the first leg but lost the subsequent game with 2–0, the French ultimately winning the competition. In the same season he scored three goals in three league victories against Rapid București, Petrolul and Sportul Studențesc București. Subsequently, Mensah joined Hapoel Tel Aviv, making 13 appearances and scoring once in the first half of the 1993–94 Liga Leumit season. For the second half of the season, he went to play for second-tier club Hapoel Beit She'an and helped them gain promotion to the first league.
International career Mensah played two games for Ghana's under-20 team in the 1993 World Youth Championship, and both were draws against Uruguay and Germany in the group stage. He did not play in the rest of the campaign due to an injury, but the team managed to reach the final, which they lost 2–1 to Brazil.
Mensah debuted for Ghana in a 1–0 victory against Nigeria during the 1991 CEDEAO Cup, scoring the goal. His second game was a friendly where he came as a substitute in a 2–0 victory against Indonesia.
Controversy On 6 June 1993, Mensah was attacked following Dinamo's match against Progresul București. After the game, while leaving the stadium, he was assaulted by several players of Progresul, with Leonard Strizu and Cosmin Olăroiu being the most aggressive. Subsequently, Mensah was hospitalized due to his injuries.
Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsDinamo BucureștiDivizia A1991–9212210001321992–9393004Appearances in the UEFA Champions League0133Total2151040265Hapoel Tel AvivLiga Leumit1993–941310000131Career total3461040396 Notes
International goals Scores and results list Ghana's goal tally first. "Score" column indicates the score after each Nelson Mensah goal. # Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition1. 2 November 1991 Abidjan, Ivory Coast 1–0 1–0 1991 CEDEAO Cup
Honours Dinamo București Divizia A: 1991–92 Ghana U20 FIFA World Youth Championship runner-up: 1993
References