The greatest players to come out of Africa

Oneword · 20th January 2008, 06:36 PM

The Guardian Unlimited proposed the following as Africa's greatest footballers! I wonder ... with Namibia's penchant to disagree on just about anything ... how many of our fellow Shebeeners will agree with the choice?

If yes; say so.

If no; say so, too

Add your choice or give your top 10 in a reply.................

1) Eusebio (Mozambique)

It would have been a crime for this exquisite talent not to play international football - and to do so he had no choice but to play for Portugal, his native Mozambique not gaining independence until 1975, by which time Eusebio was 33. Like his fellow Mozambican Mario Coluna, Eusebio was a star for Benfica and Portugal throughout the 1960s, winning the Golden Boot at the 1966 World Cup and scoring the two goals that gave Benfica the 1962 European Cup. Until Pauleta broke his record recently, Eusebio was Portugal's all-time top scorer, hitting 41 in 64 games. For Benfica he struck an astonishing 727 goals in 715 matches.(Paul Doyle)

2) Rabah Madjer (Algeria)

Best remembered in these parts for scoring the opener in Algeria's sensational win over West Germany at the 1982 World Cup, but that was just one of the 40 goals he hit in 87 appearances for his country. He was also the star of the Porto team that won the 1987 European Cup, his outrageous backheeled winner in the final against Bayern Munich typifying his irrepressible brilliance. The following season AC Milan had a £4m bid turned down for him - had it gone through Madjer would have been more expensive than Gary Lineker, Mark Hughes and Marco Van Basten.(PD)

3) Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon)

The man who would become three times African Footballer of the Year (so far) made his international debut at the age of 15 and, at 17, was the youngest player at the 1998 World Cup. Two years later he starred as Cameroon won the African Cup of Nations and Olympic gold. He then helped the Indomitable Lions retain their continental crown in 2002. But more than those displays, it was his prolific form for Mallorca that convinced Barcelona to pay €24m for him in 2004 - they won the next two titles as well as the 2006 Champions League, of which Eto'o was named player of the tournament.(PD)

4) Abedi Pelé (Ghana)

His darting runs and intelligent passing and shooting made him an integral part of the finest Marseille team in history, whom Pelé helped to four French league titles and two European Cup finals, winning it in 1993. He captained Ghana for six years and was outstanding in the 1992 African Cup of Nations until a yellow card in the semi-final ruled him out of the final - which the Black Stars then lost on penalties. (PD)

5) George Weah (Liberia)

Arsène Wenger brought Weah from Tonnere Yaoundé to Monaco in 1988 and even now says the Liberian is the purchase of whom he's most proud. After winning the French Cup with the principality he went on to become the explosive yet elegant fulcrum of the Paris Saint-Germain side that won the 1994 French league and reached three successive European semi-finals. With AC Milan he won Serie A twice and was voted European and World Footballer of the Year. He could have played for France but turned down repeated requests in order to represent Liberia, where he not only excelled on the pitch - leading them to an improbable qualification for the 1996 and 2002 African Cups of Nations and within a point of the 2002 World Cup finals - but also funded the FA from his own pocket. (PD)

6) Roger Milla (Cameroon)

Milla's eminence springs mainly from his deeds at international level. He was voted African Footballer of the Year in 1976 and won the African Cup of Nations in 1984 and 1988. He was 30 when he appeared for Cameroon at Spain 1982, where the Indomitable Lions narrowly failed to eliminate Italy. At club level he enjoyed moderate success with Saint-Etienne after a peripatetic French league career and then retired in 1989. Yet a year later came his defining moment: Milla scored four goals at Italia 90 and was one of the tournament's great successes. He also played at USA 94, scoring against Russia at the age of 42 to break his own record as the tournament's oldest goalscorer. (Barney Ronay)

Pietro · 21st January 2008, 07:53 PM

A LOT of names are missing, bro!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comrade_007 · 21st January 2008, 11:30 PM

Who would those be Pietro?

The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to Oneword For This Useful Post:
Comrade_007 (21st January 2008), Galaxy (20th January 2008), Pietro (21st January 2008), Shebeen (20th January 2008)

The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Pietro For This Useful Post:
Comrade_007 (21st January 2008), Shebeen (21st January 2008)