No doubt great players from African root had graced the field of play with their talents both on the continent and outside the continent to show how brilliant they were, among the players are Eto’o, Drogba, et al.
But in this piece, Cheapgoals in its review take a look back in time to list out the African dream team based on their club and national team performances.
Andre Onana – Cameroon/Ajax
The young Cameroonian started his career as a 13-year old kid with Barcelona in 2010 when he left his compatriot’s football foundation “Samuel Eto’o Foundation“.
Four years after moving down to Spain with the La Masia, Onana joined Netherlands champion Ajax Amsterdam, but then he made his debut with Jong Ajax in the Eerste Divisie, and in 2017 he signed a new contract with the Dutch powerhouse until 2021, plus another new contract until 2022 which he signed in March 2019 to tie him down with the former Champions League winner.
Onana also played for the Cameroonian youth team, he was named in Cameroon team for a friendly match against Les Blue of France in 2016 but made his full debut for the Indomitable Lion against Gabon in 2016 a match they came out triumphant.
The Cameroon number 1 won the Eredivise with Ajax in 2018-19, won the KNVB Cup in the same year, came second in the Europa League when they were beaten by United, and in 2019 he won the Johan Cruyff shield.
His exploit with his national team didn’t go unnoticed, as he won the Cameroonian footballer of the year in 2018, best African goalkeeper the same year, in 2019 he came out 7th in the Yashin Trophy and was also nominated with the Caf team of the year.
Troost Ekong – Nigeria/Udinese
Ekong started playing football with Fulham and Tottenham youth back in England, but his move down to the Turkish league with Bursaspor in 2017 did bring him into focus, as he showed the world what he’s capable of doing.
In 2018, Ekong sealed a move down to Udinese following a brilliant season with the Turkish outfit, in his first season he made 35 league appearances with Udinese in the Serie A, and since then he has been one of their important defenders.
READ ALSO: Top African Stars Who Failed To Win The CAF Player Of The Year Award
He made his senior international debut for Nigeria in 2015, for the AFCON qualifier against Chad, played at the Rio Olympic, also at the World Cup in Russia as one of Nigeria’s best players.
Ekong also played an important role at the 2019 AFCON in Egypt, where the Super Eagles came out third.
Kalidiou Koulibaly – Senegal/Napoli
The Senegalese defender began his professional club career with French team Metz in 2010, before moving to Belgian club Genk in 2012 where he shun like a million star by winning the Belgian Cup in his first season, and his performance with the Belgian outfit caught the eyes of the Italian club Napoli who signed him in 2014 and he went on to win the Supercopa Italian title.
Koulibaly made his senior debut with Senegal in 2015 and was a member of the squad that took part at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, he was also named in the Senegalese team that represented the Terenga Lions at the 2018 FIFA World Cup the following year, and a year after he helped his team to the AFCON final in 2019.
Koulibaly was named as a substitute in the CAF team of the year in 2016, 2018, and 2019, also in 2016-17, to 2018-19 he was also named among the Serie A team of the year thrice, he also won the Senegalese player of the year in 2017 and 2018.
Koulibaly’s performance last season won him Serie A best defender in 2018-19, named in the CAF AFCON team of the tournament, and in the same year, he was a nominee for FifPro World eleven.
Serge Aurier – Ivory Coast/Tottenham
Aurier is notably known for his exploit with the French clubs, most especially playing for Paris Saint-Germain where he won 11 major trophies with the Ligue 1 champion, and he was named in the team of the year while playing for PSG.
In 2017, Aurier joined Tottenham for a fee of around £23 million, he was part of the brilliant team built by the then manager Pochettino who led the team to their first champions league final.
The former PSG defender made his international debut for Ivory Coast in 2013 and has played over 50 games for the Ivorian, part of the appearance was his role for his the nation at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 3 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, which he won with Ivory Coast in 2015.
Aurier brilliant performance also got him named in CAF team of the year in 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019, he was also part of the Afcon team of the tournament when they won the continent most prestigious competition in 2015, likewise in 2016, he was named among the FIFPro world eleven 5th team.
Baba Rahman – Ghana/Mallorca
Rahman notedly played most of his breathtaking football in Germany, but the club that comes to mind in all of those teams is definitely FC Augsburg where he shuns like a million star and his performance caught the eyes of Chelsea, who signed him in 2015 for 14 million pounds.
The Chelsea loanee made his international debut in 2014 and was part of the squad that finished as runners-up at the 2015 Afcon, a competition which he did play an important role for Ghana.
Although things aren’t really looking so rosy for him at club level, and his continued loan move is definitely a testament to that, but then looking at the year in review Rahman had been good for Ghana, Augsburg, and Chelsea.
Mikel Obi – Nigeria/Trabzonspor
When talking about one of the most successful Nigerian players for country and club, and to some extent in Africa, no doubt Mikel’s name will definitely be on the list. In 2006, Mikel made his first start for Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League against Bulgarian club Levski Sofia and since then he went on to achieved success with the London outfit.
In the same year Mikel was named on the shortlist for the African Footballer of the Year along with former Chelsea teammate Didier Drogba, among his achievements with the EPL side is the title he won in 2009-10 and 2014-15, he also won the FA Cup in 2007, 2009, and 2012, Football League Cup in 2007.
The title he won with the Blues that looks like an icing on the cake was the UEFA Champions League in 2012 and the UEFA second-tier title in 2013, his achievements with the national team are a testament to his greatness, among them is the AFCON title in 2013.
In 2016, Mikel left Chelsea for China, after the club announced that he will not be renewing his contract when it expired at the end of the season, he also had a stint with championship side Middlesbrough before he finally sealed a move to Turkey.
READ ALSO: CAF Change Of Date For AFCON; A Call For Football To Be Upgraded In Africa
Mohamed Elneny – Egypt/Bekistas
Elneny began his senior career in the Egyptian Premier League, before moving to Swiss club Basel in 2013 where he shunned brilliantly for the Swiss outfit, he won eight honors with Basel before he sealed down a move to Arsenal in 2016.
His achievements also extend to the national team, he helped the national U23 team qualify for the 2012 Olympics, where he played in all four games as the team reached the last eight, but they were knocked out by Japan.
He was also part of the Egyptian team that got to the Afcon final in 2017, but lost out and went home as runners-up in Gabon, also in 2018 he was very instrumental for the Pharoahs in their quest to qualify for the World Cup in Russia which was their third appearance since Egypt last played at the World Cup in 1934 and 1990.
Sofiane Feghouli – Algeria/Galatasaray
Feghouli’s career was defined by his move to Valencia in 2010 when he signed a four years contract with the Mestalla outfit, but the following year Feghouli’s place in the team wasn’t guaranteed as he only appearing sparingly for Valencia which led to his loan move to Almeria.
Feghouli returned to Valencia a better player from Almería, and his breathtaking performances for Valencia in 2012 which earned him two Algerian players of the year awards, Le Buteur’s Algerian Ballon d’Or and the DZFoot d’Or.
He ended his Valencia career with 202 appearances, scoring 31 times and providing 40 assists, and in 2016 Feghouli joined West Ham on a three-year contract, he later left the Hammers for Galatasaray on a five-year year with the Turkish club.
Sadio Mane – Senegal/Liverpool
Mane’s growth into a big star has been tremendous right from his stint with Salzburg in 2012, which caught the attention of big club sides in Europe.
In 2014, Mané moved to Premier League side Southampton for £11.8 million, signing a four-year contract with the Saints, the move further showed why he is such a star every team wants to have in their rank, as he finished the season as Southampton’s top scorer, with 15 goals in all competitions.
Mane’s performance for the Saints got him a move to Liverpool in 2016, for a fee around £34 million on a five-year contract which made him the most expensive African player in history, and since he joined it’s has been a stellar performance and achievements for the Senegalese forward.
The mouthwatering performance for his club also trickle down to his national team, as he dragged Senegal to the Afcon 2019 final in Egypt and which they ended up as the runner-up, he also won the Caf award following a tremendous season with Liverpool and his national team.
Pierre Emerick Aubameyang – Gabon/Arsenal
Aubameyang’s rise to stardom has a lot to do with his second stint with Saint-Etienne when he signed for the French side on a permanent deal in 2011, throughout his stay with the Les Verts he played 73 matches for them and 35 goals to his name.
The Gabonese forward moved to Dortmund, following a good season with the French side, and he does have a magnificent stint with the Signal Iduna Park side, and in 2017 he ended the season as the Bundesliga’s top scorer with 31 goals, he also won the DFB-Pokal via a penalty to beat Eintracht Frankfurt.
In 2018, Aubameyang signed for Premier League club, Arsenal, for a then club-record fee reported to be £56 million, and he ended the season sharing the Premier League Golden Boot title with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané on 22 goals respectively, which he has also continued on a good note this season.
Mohammed Salah – Egypt/Liverpool
Mo Salah is no doubt one of the best African players in this era, the Egyptian joined Chelsea in 2014 from Basel for a fee around the region of £11 million, although Salah stint with the Blues didn’t go well he does have a domestic success with Chelsea before he was loaned to Florentina.
Those loan moves to Florentina and Roma grew Salah into what he became today, which got him the full confidence of the Giallorrosi side and they signed him on a permanent transfer in 2016 and they ended Serie A as runner-up behind Juventus.
Salah became the first Egyptian to play for Liverpool when he signed for the Anfield side in 2017, and his performances in the 2017-18 season saw him received numerous accolades, including PFA Players Player of the Year and the Football Writers’ Player of the Year.
Since the Egyptian forward joined Liverpool, it’s has been a wonderful stint with the Kop which also transcends to the national team with Egypt.
Featured Image Credit: CAFonline
