1 March 2011
We continue our series in the search to find the greatest African XI ever and now we focus on the strikers.
You have sent in your nominations and together with our panel of experts, we have come up with the following eight players who will compete for two places in our African XI.
So have a look through and make sure you vote for your favourite strikers!
TAHER ABOU ZEID (EGYPT)
Abou Zeid was a stalwart for top Egyptian side Al Ahly, as well as the national team. He scored 189 goals in 393 appearances for the Red Devils, and 49 in 93 games for The Pharaohs. He won seven Egyptian League titles and two African Champions Leagues.
DIDIER DROGBA (COTE D’IVOIRE)
One of the great modern-day strikers from Africa, Drogba has been a top performer in France with Marseille and in
England with Chelsea, who he has helped to numerous titles. He is also the talismanic leader of the Cote d’Ivoire national team, helping them to their only World Cup appearances in 2006 and 2010. He was named African Footballer of the Year in 2006 and 2009.
MAHMOUD EL KHATIB (EGYPT)
Known as ‘Bibo’, El-Khatib played for Al Ahly and the Egyptian national team. He won the Egyptian League title eleven times, Egyptian Cup six times, African Cup Winner’s Cup three times and the African Champions League twice. He was also named Egyptian Player of the Year five times.
SAMUEL ETO’O (CAMEROON)
The only player to win African Footballer of the Year on four separate occasions and a winner of the UEFA Champions League on three occasions with Barcelona (twice) and Inter Milan. He is one of the top strikers in the world, and a leading light for the Cameroon national side.
EUSEBIO (MOZAMBIQUE)
Although he played his international football for Portugal, Eusabio was born and raised in Mozambique and is a legend of African football. He played mostly for Benfica, scoring an incredible 317 goals in just 313 appearances, and also netted 41 times in 64 games for Portugal. He won European Footballer of the Year in 1965.
HOSSAM HASSAN (EGYPT)
He won 13 Egyptian League titles with Al Ahly and Zamalek, as well as two African Champions League titles and the African Cup Winners’ Cup on four occasions. Until recently he held the record for the most caps for Egypt (169) before he was surpassed by Ahmed Hassan, and he also netted 69 times for his country.
ROGER MILLA (CAMEROON)
Milla rose to international attention with his performances at the 1990 World Cup in Italy, but he was a fine player long before that. He was 38 at the time, and he would go on to become the oldest ever World Cup scorer when he netted at the next tournament in 1994, aged 42. He spent most of his club career in France, where stats show he netted 387 goals in 707 appearances. He also played over 100 times for Cameroon.
GEORGE WEAH (LIBERIA)
Liberia’s George Weah is the only African ever to win the FIFA World Player of the Year crown which he claimed in 1995. He had a successful club career with European giants AC Milan and France’s Monaco, and is seen as an icon in his own country. He was also African Footballer of the Year on three occasions, 1989, 1994 and 1995.
RASHIDI YEKINI (NIGERIA)
Yekini scored 37 goals for Nigeria in 70 appearances, a record for the country, was part of the team that participated in the 1994 World Cup, where he scored the country’s first-ever goal in the finals. He also helped the Super Eagles win the 1994 African Cup of Nations, where he topped the goal charts, and participated at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games.
