1 February 2011
We continue our series in the search to find the greatest African XI ever and this week we focus on the midfielders.
You have sent in your nominations and together with our panel of experts, we have come up with the following 12 players who will compete for four places in our African XI.
So have a look through and make sure you vote for your favourite midfielders!
MOHAMED ABOUTREIKA (EGYPT)
Aboutreika has been a stalwart of the current success enjoyed by the Egyptian national team and his club, Al Ahly. The 32-year-old attacking midfielder has enjoyed huge success in the Africa Cup of Nations, CAF Champions League and Egyptian Premier League, and must be regarded as one of Egypt’s greatest ever players.
MAHMOUD AL KHATIB (EGYPT)
El Khatib was nicknamed ‘Bibo’ and netted 108 goals in 199 games for Al Ahly, as well as 39 goals in 63 games for Egypt in a career than spanned from 1972 to 1988. He won the Egyptian League title 11 times, the Egyptian Cup six times, the African Cup Winner’s Cup three times and the African Champions League twice. He was also chosen best player in Egypt five times during his career.
LAKHDAR BELLOUMI (ALGERIA)
Belloumi is widely considered the best Algerian player of all time. He is said to have invented the ‘Blind Pass’. He was named the fourth best African Player of the Century by CAF after making almost 150 appearances for the Algerian national team.
MICHAEL ESSIEN (GHANA)
Essien is only 28 and still has a good few years ahead of him, but he is already regarded as one of Ghana’s greatest midfielders. He has enjoyed great success in the English Premiership with Chelsea, and in France with Lyon before that. He was named BBC African Player of the Year in 2006, Chelsea Player of the Year in 2007 and won the Best Player award at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations.
AHMED HASSAN (EGYPT)
Hassan is the record-holder for the most international caps for Egypt at 175, and has skippered the side to three consecutive Africa Cup of Nations titles in 2006, 2008 and 2010. He has spent much of his career playing in Turkey, before a short spell in Belgium, and then at Al Ahly, where he still plays.
SEYDOU KEITA (MALI)
Keita is a colossus for his country Mali, and is also an integral part of the best club side in the world, possibly ever, Barcelona. More usually a defensive midfielder, he does have an eye for goal and has scored some crucial goals for club and country. He is the nephew of former African Footballer of the Year, Salif Keita
ACE NTSOELENGOE (SOUTH AFRICA)
Ntsoelengoe is arguably the greatest player to come out of South Africa, but was never given a chance to showcase his talents on the international stage due to his country’s sporting isolation because of Apartheid. He had a long career in the NASL and was inducted into the USA Hall of Fame. He has variously been compared to modern-day stars Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi.
AUSTIN ‘JAY-JAY’ OKOCHA (NIGERIA)
Okocha is a legend in Nigeria for his flamboyant style that lit up the Super Eagles’ midfield. It is a measure of the man that the side’s current dip in form has been blamed on the fact that they do not have a player of the calibre of Okocha to lift the side. He played across Europe in Germany, Turkey, France and England, and enjoyed success wherever he went.
SUNDAY OLISEH (NIGERIA)
Oliseh was a defensive midfielder and a kingpin of the Nigerian side that competed at the 1994 and 1998 World Cup tournaments, famously scoring against Spain in the latter tournament. He played for such European giants as Juventus, Ajax Amsterdam and Borussia Dortmund, winning the Bundesliga title in 2002. He hung up his boots in 2006 after a career spanning 17 years.
ABEDI PELE (GHANA)
Abedi Ayew was given the nickname ‘Pel’ after comparisons were raised between him and the Brazilian great of the same name. He found fame in France’s Ligue 1 with Lille and Olympique Marseille (where he won the European Cup in 1993) and was named African Footballer of the Year in 1991, 1992 and 1993. He was named as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.
SALEH SELIM (EGYPT)
Selim was not just a great player, but a fine actor too. He won the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt in 1959, and also claimed 11 Egyptian League titles (including nine in a row) with Al Ahly, as well as eight Egyptian Cup titles. He is one of the most successful players in terms of trophies Africa has ever seen.
MOHAMMED TIMOUMI (MOROCCO)
Timoumi was named African Footballer of the Year in 1985 and took part in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. He also won the CAF Champions League with FAR Rabat and is regarded as one of Morocco’s finest ever players.
