John Mensah

Early career

Born in Obuasi, Ashanti, Mensah began playing at a young age, which saw him join MBC Accra. As a teenager, Mensah then moved to Italy to join Bologna and went on to make two appearances for the side, both coming from Coppa Italia. Mensah then spent two years at Swiss side Bellinzona, where he honed his talents, and despite his lack of speed, many scouts have overlooked his talent. Mensah, nevertheless, showed great positioning and awareness. Ahead of the 2001–02 season, Mensah returned to Italy to sign for Serie B side Genoa. He made his Genoa debut in the Copa Italia match against Treviso in the Group Stage on August 20, 2001, coming on as a second-half substitute, in a 2–1 win. A month later, on September 23, 2001, Mensah made his league debut for the club, coming on as an 86th-minute substitute, in a 3–0 win against Messina. Since making his debut for Genoa, he has found himself in and out of the starting line-up, mostly coming from the substitute bench. Mensah then scored his first goal for the club, in a 2–1 loss against Cosenza on November 11, 2001. After returning from his international commitment, he returned to the starting line-up, starting the whole game in a 0–0 draw against Messina on February 17, 2002. After missing a match due to injury, Mensah then helped the club keep four consecutive clean sheets between March 10 and April 8, 2002. He then scored his second goal for the club in a 4–3 loss against Crotone on May 5, 2002. It was not until…

Mensah was included in the Ghana national under-20 team squad for the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship in Argentina. During the tournament, he played a role against Brazil and scored in the fourth minute of extra time in the tournament's quarter-finals to send Ghana through. Mensah then started in the final, as Ghana lost 3–0 against the host nation Argentina. Mensah's senior debut for Ghana was against Algeria on 5 December 2001, just after his 19th birthday, on the eve of the 2002 African Cup of Nations finals in Mali, a tournament at which his aerial ability was a prominent feature of Ghana's play. He made four appearances in the tournament, as Ghana was eliminated in the quarter–final following a 1–0 loss against Nigeria. Mensah played for the Ghana Olympic team, known as the Black Meteors, in the 2004 Summer Olympics and played two times, as they finished in third place in Group B. Two years later, he participated in his second African Cup of Nations tournament in Egypt, and was selected for All-Star Team of the Tournament by the Confederation of African Football. Mensah was also solidity personified during Ghana's successful qualifying campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Mensah was called up to the Ghana squad for the FIFA World Cup in Germany. He made his World Cup debut and started the whole game, in a 2–0 loss against Italy on 12 June 2006. Following a 2–0 win against Czech Republic, Mensah helped Ghana finish second place in Group E following a 2–1 victory over…

In February 2002, Mensah is married and together, they have four children. However, they announced their divorce after a decade together. John Mensah got married again in November 2014. John is the half-brother of Ghana national team player Ekow Benson and has two sisters and brothers. In October 2019, his mother died at age 78 after a short illness. Mensah's father John Attu Mensah was also a footballer who played for Cambridge United and the Ghana senior team, he died in June 2021.

Ghana U20

FIFA World Youth Championship runner-up: 2001 Ghana

Africa Cup of Nations runner-up: 2010; third-place: 2008 Individual

Ghana 2008 Samsung Fair Play Award Societe Generale Trophy: September 2006 Ghana Player of the Year: 2006 Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2012