Who is Africa's Greatest Player

Asks Gideon Anim Anno

During the just ended African Cup of Nations held in Angola, one question that emerged out of the tournament was whether Samuel Eto’o Fils is the greatest African player ever to have graced the pitch. There have been numerous brilliant players that have lit up the flame of the African game; from Hassan Charzly through to Segun Odegbami to Didier Drogba. But the question as to whether Samuel Eto’o is the best among the numerous greats is yet to be answered. I will try to do a critical analysis of this controversy.

Pele or Maradona? Platini or Zidane? Odegbami or Okocha? These are examples of some of the most arguable issues debated in football circles. As controversial as it may be, you are sometimes made to believe there is no need comparing two geniuses. Like comparing Diego Armando Maradona and Edson Arantes Nascimento (Pélé). But as football lovers, we are often tempted to do so.

Yaoundé born Cameroonian legend, Roger Milla, voted Africa’s best player of the past five decades 1950-2000 is the first of the African greats that comes to mind when analysing such an issue. He was part of the Cameroon team that participated in the 1982 FIFA World Cup hosted by Spain in a tournament which saw Cameroon draw with eventual winners Italy in the group stages.

He got his mark on the world stage during the Italia 1990 World Cup when he came out of retirement courtesy President Paul Biya to lead the Cameroon team to reach the quarter final of the World Cup only to lose to England in the quarter finals.  A Cameroon team complete of goalies Antoine Bell and Thomas Nkono, Onana, Ekéké, Kana Biyik, Oman Biyik, Stephen Tataw and Emmanuel Kundé en route to that feat, beat defending champions Argentina by a lone goal courtesy a soaring header from François Oman Biyik. But Milla’s moments came when he scored two goals against Romania in their second game and came on as a substitute to score two goals against Colombia in the second round.

His World Cup adventure did not end there after the Italia 1990 tourney and continued at the USA 1994 tourney when he was 42 years old . He made a record as the oldest player to score in a FIFA World Cup when he scored the consolation goal for Cameroon after Oleg Salenko had led Russia to rout them by six goals. Having had stints with Monaco, Bastia, Valenciennes, Saint Étienne, Montepellier, Roger Milla was one of the first African players to ply their trade at the highest level in Europe. In 1976, then with Tounerre Yaoundé, he won the African best player award and 14 years down the line, will win the award once again, after his exploits in the Italia 90’ World Cup. Another African great that comes to mind is former Egyptian international and vice president of Nadi Al Ahly, Mahmoud El Khatib. Nicknamed Bibo, the skilful forward who had a one club career with Ahly won the African player of the year in 1983 piping our own Opoku Nti to the award, though Opoku had led Asante Kotoko to African Club Championship victory. Considered by many football pundits as the best Egyptian player ever, his total of 37 goal record in African club competitions is yet to be broken.  He was voted as best Egyptian player five times. He was also voted the second African Best player for the period 1950-2000 by CAF. He was part of Egypt’s team for the 1980 and 1984 Olympic Games

He was also voted Arab sports man of the last century. He was part of Walter Smith’s team that led Egypt to win the Nations Cup in 1986. He has to his credit, ten Egyptian league titles, two African Champions league title, three African Cup Winners Cup titles. Recurring injury contributed to his retirement in 1988.

Another African great is former Ghanaian international Abedi Ayew Pélé. The former Real Tamale United player is considered as one of the greatest African players ever and he is a definite spot for any list of top five of African best players ever.

Voted African best player for three consecutive times in 1991, 1992, and 1993, he was also one of the early African soccer missionaries abroad. He was part of the Olympique Marseille team which won the 1993 UEFA Champions’ League and he was instrumental in that victory after his corner was met by the head of Basilé Bolé. He was also a losing finalist in the 1991 UEFA Champions’ League after they were beaten by Partisan Belgrade. He also won the Ligue 1 (French league) four times. He also won the French Cup in 1989. He was voted best foreign player in the Serie A in the 1995/96 season.

He was also part of the Ghana team which won the 1982 African Nations’ Cup in Libya. But his mark on the African game was the Senegal 1992 Nations’ Cup when he was voted player of the tournament. He was unfortunate when he picked up a yellow card against Nigeria in the semi final and that cost him a place in the final match. He was voted the third best African player from the period 1950 – 2000. He was voted the 9th best player in the world in1992 by FIFA. Also he was nominated for the African best player award from 1985-1990. He was BBC African player of the year three times. He was also involved in five Nations’ Cup competitions. He is the most capped Ghanaian player and also with the most goals, 33 to his credit.

George Oppong Weah, another product from the West African coast line is also considered by many as the best player to have come out of Africa. The former Africa Sports, Tonnerre Yaoundé, AC Milan, Chelsea, PSG, Man City and Monaco man still has the record as the only African player to have been named FIFA best player. This feat came in 1995, a season where Weah won the European player of the year and the African player of the year. He won the Italian league twice with Milan and also won the French league at PSG.

Weah’s career achievements have been limited to only club level, but his contribution to the national team cannot be discounted. At a point in time, he was virtually doing ‘everything’ for Liberia. I remember vividly when he led the Lone Star to beat Ghana by three goals to one at the then Accra Sports Stadium in a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier. He also led the team to the Mali 2002 Nations’ Cup. Perhaps Christopher Wreh, Varmah Kpotor, Frank Seator, James Salinsa Debbah and others’ efforts weren’t enough to give Weah the needed push as a team for national glories, but King George’s contribution cannot be discounted.

Ghana’s soccer Golden boy, Abdul Karim Razak deserves mention too. Africa’s best football player of 1978 is one of the most gifted left footed players to have emerged out of the game. His decisive goal against Tunisia in the semi final of the 1978 Nations’ Cup held in Ghana earned him the nickname, the golden boy. He had a stint with Cosmos in the United States and also with Arab Contractors where he won the Cup Winners’ Cup. His Asante Kotoko days are among his best as a player helping them win domestic cups.

Another player who deserves mention is Segun ‘mathematical’ Odegbame. He is arguably Nigeria’s best ever player. Pity he never won the African footballer of the year award but he is certainly one of the most gifted African players of all time. He scored two of the three goals in the final of the 1980 Nations’ Cup, hosted by Nigeria when they tore apart 3-0 an Algeria side boasting Lakdar Belloumi, Rabah Madjer and co. The lanky winger who scored with computer like precision also led IICC shooting Stars to Africa Cup Winners Cup success in 1976.

Egyptian legend Hossam Hassan Husein scored some 69 goals in169 games for Egypt. He has over ten Egyptian league titles to his credit. He won four Cup Winners Cups, African Champions league winner in 1987 and 2002, and African super cup in 2002. He won three Nations Cup trophies. His first came in 1986 when Egypt beat Cameroon on penalties, his second in 1998 and third in 2006. In a career spanning over two decades, he had stints at Nadi Al Ahly, Al Ain, Zamalek, PAOK Thessalonica, Al Ittihad, Tersana etc.

Mufulira Wanderers; this name obviously rings a bell, yes. The Miracle of El-Wak. That was the team Hearts beat 3-0 at the El –Wak stadium in an African Club Championship semi final fixture way back in 1977. But this team is also famous for producing one of Africa’s best, Kalusha Bwalya. The most famous Zambian player of all time, Kalusha’s career was at his peak during his days at Cercle Brugge and PSV Eidhoven. With over 100 caps for Zambia, Kalusha was voted Africa’s best player in 1988. He is remembered for his part in the demolition of the Italian team at the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games when Zambia put four goals past the Azzuri. Kalusha was on a hat trick that night. He won two Dutch titles and one KNVB cup. He also participated in six African Nations Cup competitions.

 Former Iwuanyanwu Nationale (now Heartland FC) striker, Nwankwo Kanu is also one of the most decorated African players ever. He won two Eredivise titles with Ajax Amsterdam in 1995 and 1996. He also won the UEFA Champions league and Super Cup in 1995 with Ajax. At Inter he won the UEFA Cup in 1998. At Highbury (Arsenal), he won two league trophies (2001-2002, 2003-2004) and two FA cups (2001-2002, 2002-2003). He also won the FA Cup with now troubled Portsmouth. He also won the African player of the year in 1996 and 1999. He captained Nigeria to win Africa’s first ever Olympic soccer gold at the Atlanta ’96 Games. Kanu was also part of the Nigeria under 17 team which beat Ghana 2-1 in the Japan 1993 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

What about a certain Didier Drogba? The Ivorian international burst unto the world stage quite late in his illustrious career but his performances has helped him also lay claim to this tag of Africa’s best ever. The former Le Mans, Guingamp , Marseille and now Chelsea man has proved beyond doubt that he is one of the best strikers the continent has ever produced. Twice voted African footballer of the year in 2006 and 2009, Drogba also won the English Premiership goalking some three seasons back. His national team exploits has been a bit checkered though he has managed to chalk some feat with the Les Elephants, qualifying the Ivorian national team to the Germany 2006 and the South Africa 2010 World Cups. The Elephants’ continued lack of silverware has often seen Drogba cme under a barrage of criticism from his countrymen accusing a lack of commitment to the national course.

Samuel Eto’s achievements are just marvelous. He has participated in five African Nations’ Cup tournaments and has the record of being the player with the highest number of goals to his credit, with some 18 goals. He was part of the Cameroon team which won the Nations Cup back to back in 2000 and 2002 editions. He also has two World Cup appearances to his credit having starred in the 1998 and 2002 editions. He also won gold at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. En route to the Sydney games, he led them to tear apart a Ghana Black Meteors team complete of Michael Osei and Bernard Don Bortey by 3-0 at the Accra Sports Stadium in the qualifiers. In 2003, he was a silver medallist at the FIFA Confederation tournament, a competition that saw Marc Vivian Foe die after suffering cardiac arrest in a game against Colombia.

He also won the goal king award at the Egypt 2006 and Ghana 2008 editions of the Nations’ Cup. He also won the African best player award on three consecutive times 2003, 2004 and 2005.He was in the running for his fourth when the award was controversially given to Didier Drogba at the just held GLO CAF awards.  He is Cameroon’s all time leading scorer. He is also Mallorca’s all time leading scorer and is the third best leading scorer at Barcelona. He also won the 2006 UEFA Champions League best forward. He won the Copa Del Rey with Mallorca in the 2002-2003 season and with Barcelona 2009. He won three league titles with Barcelona in 2004/05, 2005/06 and 2008/09. He also won two Spanish super Cups with Barcelona in 2006 and 2007.

Samuel Eto has also won two UEFA Champions league trophies. In two cases he scored in the final. First in the 2000/2006 final against Arsenal when he scored the equaliser after Sol Campbell had put the Gunners ahead. He also scored the first goal when Barcelona outclassed Manchester United in the 2008/2009 final. He also won the Spanish goal king title (Pichichi) in the 2005/2006 season. He was also voted the world’s third best player by FIFA in 2006. He scored over 100 goals in five seasons at Barcelona. Just few days ago he was at his usual best when he struck the only goal that kicked out Chelsea out of the Champions league, when Inter Milan travelled to Stamford Bridge. When we talk of achievement, he is undoubtedly the most successful African player out there.

But does achievement alone merit the tag as the best African player ever? I remember very well, during the Ghana 2008 Nations Cup, Segun Odegbami in an interview said; Adolf Armah was one of the best midfielders he has seen in the game. Ace journalist Kwabena Yeboah also believes Mohammed Ahmed Polo is the best player Ghana has ever had. Some Argentine soccer connoisseurs also believe that Angel Amadeo Labruna is their greatest ever player, not Maradona. Ever heard about Garrincha? He is considered by many as the best dribbler ever to have graced the pitch and is sometimes even put on the same radar as Pélé. So in actual fact, the debate as to who is the best among a generation is quite debatable.

This situation applies to all endeavours of life. This is why it is very difficult to compare Mohammed Ali and Jack Johnson. Would Manny Pacquiao be able to beat Ray Leonard, Hearns or Haggler? Is Zidane better than Platini? Such questions are very difficult to answer but as sports followers we try to put some flesh on these arguments.

Many other greats such as Asante Kotoko’s diminutive winger Osei Kofi, Pierre Kalala, who was part of the Zairian team of the 70’s, Cameroonian ‘doctor’ Théophile Abéga, Malian Salif Keita, Antoine Bell, Samuel Osei Kuffour, Thomas Nkono, Laurent Pokou, Françios Mpélé, Lakhdar Belloumi, Raber Madjer, Ahmed Faras, Dhiab Tarek, Ibrahim Sunday and countless others are legends in their own right, but the question is how comparable are they?

Do any of them surpass Samuel Eto’O Fils? If yes, then the question is by what criteria? Perhaps I may be tempted to believe Mohammed Polo is better than Abedi Pele or Labruna better than Maradona if Samuel Eto’o is not the best African player ever.