The best African soccer players in history

Kalusha is the player with the most appearances and goals for the Zambian national football team. He was also captain of his national team and named as the best African footballer playing in France in 1988 by France Football magazine. In 1994 he arrived in Mexico America where together with François Omam-Biyik and Jean-Claude Pagal formed the triplet known as "the African Bees" where during that season they broke goal records under the direction of Leo Beenhakker. Bwalya played in 6 African Cups of Nations, being the Zambian coach in the version of that championship held in 2006. He currently also serves as a member of FIFA in the African Football Confederation and as vice president of the Zambian Football Association.

Benedict Saul McCarthy, his full name, started in the Seven Stars - where he scored 39 goals in 49 duels, before arriving at the Ajax Amsterdam South African subsidiary, the Ajax Cape Town. His pass was acquired by the same Dutch team, where he has done a good job in Holland, winning a league (1998) and two cups (1998 and 1999). In 1999 he was transferred to Celta de Vigo at 6 million euros. He was one of the pillars in the arrival of the Vigo team at the final of the Copa del Rey of the 2000-01 season, which he would lose to Real Zaragoza. In 2003 it was sold to FC Porto, club where it achieved international glory. Previously, he had played the 2001-02 campaign in this club, finishing third in the Portuguese league, with José Mourinho as his coach. In this same club he managed to win the Champions League, the Intercontinental Cup and several national titles. With the selection, McCarthy has been international in 78 times, scoring 32 goals (He is the top scorer of the team). He was a member of the South African team that played the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, where the African squad fell in the first round.

Mboma trained at Paris Saint-Germain and debuted professionally with Châteauroux during his assignment to the club. Throughout his career he played in the leagues of France, Japan, Italy, Libya and England until his retirement in 2005 playing for Vissel Kobe. His best sporting moment was in 2000 when he was elected African footballer of the year. Patrick Mboma is the top historical scorer of the Cameroon National Soccer Team with which he played a total of 56 games scoring 33 goals. He actively participated in the coronations of his team in the African Cups of Nations 2000 and 2002 and the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. In addition, he played the World Cups in France 1998 and Korea-Japan 2002.

He began his football career playing in the Canon Yaoundé, from where he went to the French Laval, a team in which he uncovered as a great battering ram in the three seasons in which he played in the French team. In 1990 he signed for Rennes, where he would score 14 goals in 38 games. After leaving Rennes, he signed for Cannes, where he only stayed for a season. His scoring nose caused Olympique de Marseille to hire him in 1992, although due to the low performance he offered there he had to leave the team and sign for RC Lens. But his peak came at the 1990 World Cup, leading his team to the quarterfinals scoring a historic goal against Argentina. He also played the 1994 World Cup, scoring a goal against Sweden in the first phase. After several years at Lens, he was hired by the Mexican team, América, where together with Kalusha Bwalya they formed the duo known as "the African bees". In his stay he scored 49 goals in 75 games, in addition, he achieved a record by scoring in eleven consecutive games. On January 9, 2005, he was organized a farewell match on the Azteca stadium court, scoring the last goals of his professional career. He currently lives in the Mexican state of Colima, where he is coach of the Palmeros de Colima team of the second division, and also holds a position in the sports area of that same state.

Jacques began his professional football career at Canon Yaoundé, a club in his country where other players like Thomas N'Kono and Pierre Wome came out. In 1989 he signed for French Toulouse, where he spent three years. In 1992 he went to Le Mans, where he only remained one season. The following year he was signed by FC Metz. He was in this team until 1996, since his good performances catapulted him towards the Spanish League, the Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña. The five years that Songo'o spent in the Galician club served him to win a League, a Supercopa of Spain and the Zamora Trophy, which is credited to the least scored goalkeeper of the year, in the 1996/1997 season, after fitting 32 goals in 42 games played. In 2001, Jacques left Deportivo to return to FC Metz, returning to the Galician club in the 2003/2004 season to retire. As a curiosity, in the 1999/2000 season, he scored a goal against Numancia, which involved the draw of Deportivo de La Coruña, and was unfairly annulled by a foul on the goalkeeper who did not commit, would have meant a goal draw. He currently plays in Deportivo de la Coruña indoor soccer where he has won the 2008 Indoor Cup.

Rabah Madjer (born February 15, 1958 in Hussein Dey) is a former Algerian footballer, who played as a forward for Porto during the 1980s, and with whom he won the Champions League beating Bayern Munich with a great heel goal yours. He is considered the best Algerian footballer of all time. In 1988 he signed for Valencia CF, with which he played 14 games and scored 4 goals. He was the star signing of that season in the set "che", but that same year he returned to FC Porto to retire 3 years later in 1991.

His first team was the OFI Crete, which offered him a test at the beginning of the 1998/99 season. Thus, he signed his first professional contract. At the end of that season he signed for Vitesse Arnhem. In 2002/03 he signed for Olympique Lyonnais, signing that coincides with the explosion of this team. In the French team he debuts in European competition and plays in his first season the UEFA Champions League. He is in Lyon until the summer of 2006, and in these four seasons he wins all the leagues he played and two French Cups, that of 2003 and 2005. Since the end of 2005, and especially spring of 2006, the rumors that intensify him located in the orbit of Real Madrid. On August 19 he signed for the Madrid entity for 26 million euros, being presented on the 31st. Currently, he has returned to the playing fields after recovering an injury that has kept him out of the competition for a long period.

He played several international matches in the Nigeria national football team, was part of the team that participated in the 1994 Soccer World Cup and won the 1994 African Nations Cup. He also helped win the Olympic football gold medal in Atlanta 1996. Its maximum virtue is the throw-in, which was perfected during his stay in Portugal by Dutch coach George Ronsson. He won league titles in Nigeria and Egypt. In 1994 he signed in Sporting Clube de Portugal, and became popular after scoring a triumphant goal against his rival, SL Benfica. With the Portuguese team, he won the Portuguese Cup of the 1994-1995 season, thanks to the English coach Bobby Robson. It was bought by FC Barcelona for $ 3,600,000 (almost € 3,000,000) during the 1996/97 season, but only completed one season before being injured. His knee problems removed him even from the 1998 World Cup. Amunike never fully recovered, and retired after playing a final season in Jordan.

Hadji Diouf is a Senegalese footballer. He plays forward in the Blackburn Rovers of the FA Premier League. It was the revelation of the French Ligue 1 and the English FA Premier League. At 21, he led the Senegal Soccer Team to his first World Cup. His contribution to the World Cup pass was his goal against the Moroccan national team. He is fast and able to dominate the ball with both legs and a good header.

He began his sports career in the ranks of the Canon Yaoundé, where he played from 1977 to 1982. In 1979 he was awarded the Best African player award, being the first goalkeeper to get it. An award he won again in 1982, the year in which he also qualified with his selection for the '82 World Cup and signed for Espanyol. In Espanyol he was the starting goalkeeper for eight seasons, becoming the foreign player who has worn the Espanyol shirt the longest. Fans, in addition to its undeniable quality as a goalkeeper, remember it because he always played with long pants, due to his sense of modesty, and the stops he made of aerial balls with only one hand, a fact that he did when he was coach Javier Clemente , this will threaten you with the substitution if you continue doing them. In the ranks of Espanyol, his talent was finally recognized worldwide and his performances in Spain were exemplary. He became unbeaten for 496 minutes. In his selection he has been one of the great references of "indomitable lions" for many years. He completed a great World Cup in Spain 82. In 1984 he was Champion of the African Cup of Nations. In 1986, at 31 years of age, NKono and his team were left without going to the World Cup in Mexico as they were eliminated by Zambia in the qualifiers. However, he fought again and in 1990 he reached the World Cup in Italy. At 35 years old NKono and the Cameroon national team made history. He allowed only one goal in the first two games of this World Cup and put him back at the top of the world sport. NKono reached the quarterfinals and left satisfied with the achievement. When everyone considered him retired, Thomas went to the USA 94 World Cup event as a reserve. After passing through Espanyol, he left for CE Sabadell and from there to Hospitalet. He left Spain and played in several teams from different parts of the globe, such as in Bolivia (in the Bolívar de la Paz), Brunei and Indonesia, among others, retiring at the age of 45. Upon his retirement he has worked as a technician, where he has reaped success again, at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, when Cameroon, led by NKono, won the gold medal. Now he is the goalkeeper coach of RCD Espanyol. He also works in Barcelona with young goalkeepers, whom he tries to train sportively. The most important case is that of Didier Ovono Evang. He played with Espanyol 241 games and was international with Cameroon 112 times.

Kolo Touré was discovered in Ivory Coast when he played at the football school controlled by Jean-Marc Guillou in Abidjan. Soon, he established himself as a player for the African club ASEC Mimosas. At 19, he played his first international match for Ivory Coast in 2000. Both Arsenal FC and Belgium club KSK Beveren became interested in him when they were looking for players in Africa. After a brief test, Touré joined Arsenal in February 2002, rejecting Beveren's offer. For having been an international absoulto on several occasions, he was able to obtain a British work permit without much trouble. However, Touré did not make his professional premiere with the first team until the following season, in a match against Liverpool by the Community Shield in August 2002. At first, it was used as a "wild card" by Arsène Wenger who made him play as a midfielder and defender depending on the need of the team. However, given Martin Keown's low form as he advanced in age, the coach began using him as a central defender with Sol Campbell. Touré quickly established himself as one of the most prominent defenders of the FA Premier League. In fact, he was a key member of the Arsenal team that won the undefeated Premiership title on 03-04. In the following season, he secured a very safe defensive pair with Philippe Senderos. In that same season, Arsenal reached the UEFA Champions League final by shooting 10 consecutive victories (European competition record). Given his good performances at club and national level, the Italian press nicknamed him "The African Fabio Cannavaro". Kolo scored his second goal for European competitions on April 19, 2006 for the semifinal of the Champions League against Villarreal. In August of that year, Toure signed a new four-year contract with Arsenal for around £ 70,000 per week. Then he said he is very likely to play on the team for the rest of his sports career. Kolo has two brothers who also play professional football: Yaya Touré, Manchester City FC player, and Ibrahim Touré. He is married to his wife Awo, with whom he has a daughter, Sania, and a son, Yiassin. With regard to his game, he has been qualified as a great defender, consolidating himself in all kinds of defensive forms and with all kinds of partners in the defense. It is characterized by its great strength and speed in marking. He currently plays in the ranks of Manchester City, a club that signed him in the 2009-2010 season to the London team for € 17.5 million.

Abédi began as a footballer in the Ghanaian team of Real Timale, where he remained until the age of 17. His next destination was the Al-Sadd of Qatar, where he was proclaimed Champion of the Qatar Cup in 1983 and then went to the Dragons Oueme of Benin in 1984, to return to the Royal Timale of Ghana in 1985 of its origins. In the 1986/87 season, he made the leap to French football and played in the ranks of the modest Chamois Niortais FC and the following season at FC Mulhouse. In this club, Abédi definitely exploited what it meant to be hired in November 1987 by Olympique de Marseille. Therefore, Abédi Pelé debuts with only 23 years in the highest category of French football and one of the great teams in France and Europe. There remain two campaigns, where he did not enjoy too many minutes and that provokes the decision to leave ceded two years to Lille, in 1988. After those two years, in 1990 he returns to Marseille, where his football explosion occurs and where he forms a magical trio with Chris Waddle and Jean-Pierre Papin in the Marseille team attack. It was a basic piece in the conquest of the first European Cup for a French club, in the 1992-93 season against the almighty AC Milan and in a team where there were players like Barthez, Boli, Desailly, Deschamps, Bokšić and Völler. In 1993 and after the serious economic problems of Olympique (descent to Ligue 2 included) and its president Bernard Tapie, he goes to the ranks of the other Olympique, that of Lyon and a season later arrives at Italian football to play in the historic Torino during two campaigns Already in the decline of his career, Pelé goes to German football he arrives to play in the ranks of 1860 Munich. It puts an end to his successful and long career in the Arab Emirates, in Al-Ain, a group in which he retires in 1999 at the age of 35.

Kanu started playing in 1991 at Fed Works, a modest team that belonged to the working class. A year later he was transferred to Iwuanyanwu Nationale, where he demonstrated his skills with the ball. After this passage through his country, in 1993 he arrived at the Ajax in Amsterdam, a club that paid for him a figure of about $ 250,000, a huge amount for an African player. There he dominated his exquisite quality, and thanks to this, he achieved all possible titles in the Netherlands, Europe and won the Intercontinental Cup. His career was truncated due to problems in the aorta. In 1996 he signed for Inter Milan, and achieved with figures such as Ronaldo, Iván Zamorano, Gianluca Pagliuca, Roberto Baggio, Javier Zanetti and others, the UEFA Cup, in 1998. However, at the local level, he could not achieve a title (among other things because of the problem he suffered in his heart and forced him to miss much of his stay at the Milan club). Later he was transferred to Arsenal FC of England, and with players like Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry, Robert Pirès, trained by Arsène Wenger, he won the English Premier League twice and the English Cup. In 2004 he went to play West Bromwich Albion, but he did not give up as much as in his previous years, until Portsmouth FC hires him. In 2008, he scored the victory goal over Cardiff City, thus winning the FA Cup of England. During the 2010 World Cup, rumors emerged that the player could have falsified his age and would be 42 years old instead of 33, and has not yet been denied.

Adebayor began his professional career playing with the Sporting Club of Lomé, where he came to play until the U-15 category. It is named in honor of the song Blackened, from the thrash metal group Metallica. It is here that he was discovered by the French club FC Metz that, after reaching an agreement, incorporated him in 1999 to his Under-17 category where he played for two years before joining the first team. In his first season, he played nine games and scored two goals. In the 2002-03 season, Adebayor scored seventeen goals in 35 games getting an average of 0.5 goals per game. In 2003 he signed a contract with AS Monaco, scoring seventeen goals in seventeen matches, and helping them reach the UEFA Champions League final with two goals in ten games. On January 13, 2006, Adebayor signed for Arsenal FC for a price of £ 3m. [1] In the English club he was nicknamed "Baby Kanu" for his resemblance to former Arsenal star Nwankwo Kanu, which Adebayor had idolized in his youth. On February 4, 2006, Adebayor debuted with Arsenal in the Premier League against Birmingham City, scoring his first goal 21 minutes after entering the field, in a match that Arsenal would end up winning 2-0. At the end of his first season with the Gunners, he had scored four goals in ten games. However, Adebayor suffered his first major setback in the 2005-06 Champions League where Arsenal lost the final against FC Barcelona, as it had already happened with Monaco in the previous season against José Mourinho's Porto. On July 18, 2009, Adebayor signs a five-year contract with Manchester City. It cost Manchester City € 29 million. On September 12, in the Premier League match between Manchester City and Arsenal, Emmanuel Adebayor sentenced his former team by scoring City's third goal (4-2 at the end) and ran the entire pitch to celebrate his goal against the stand of Arsenal fans. Obviously, the gunners did not take it well and threw everything into the togolese.

Hadji began his professional career in the French club of the Sportive Association Nancy-Lorraine in whose team he spent 5 years and played 124 games in which he scored 31 goals. From there he played in different teams, mostly for only one year, such as Sporting Clube de Portugal, the Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña, the Coventry City Football Club, the Aston Villa Football Club, the Real Club Deportivo Espanyol, Al-Ain, 1. FC Saarbrücken and CS Fola Esch. Great player of an exquisite technique, juice 2 world with the selection of his country. In 1994, the Moroccan team was framed in a very even group, unfortunately luck did not accompany him or Hadji or his own, so they lost all 3 games by a very tight marker. This was erased when in France 1998, at the hand of an inspired Hadji a meritorious campaign was made that includes a draw with Norway 2 - 2 and a win 3 - 0 to Scotland. But this did not reach since at the same time Brazil allowed itself to be traced by the Scandinavian national team, leaving a very bitter taste for the Moroccan fan

Keita spent 4 seasons at the Racing Club de Lens, in the French League, in his last season he played 37 games and scored 11 goals, causing the interest of great European teams. After passing through the Racing Club of Lens, in the 2007/08 season he was signed by Sevilla FC where he played 31 Spanish League games scoring 4 goals, he also played 9 Champions games in which he scored 3 goals, and was proclaimed Spanish Super Cup champion 2007. On May 26, 2008, FC Barcelona made its clause of 14 million euros effective and was signed by the Catalan team, thus becoming the first signing of the Guardiola era. In the Barça club he carries the number 15, previously used by the Brazilian Edmílson. He is Mali's first player in the military in the Barca team. On October 25, 2009 he got his first hat-trick in the victory of FC Barcelona 6-1 against Real Zaragoza in what has been his best performance with the elastic Blaugrana. Keita is the only Mali player who has won three titles in a single season (cup, league and champions league)

In 2005 Kanouté was signed by Sevilla FC. On August 25, 2006, Kanouté scored Sevilla FC's second goal against Barcelona in the final that faced the European champion, FC Barcelona, against the UEFA Cup champion, Sevilla FC, in a match that I finish with the victory of the latter 3-0, result that gave the title to the Andalusian team. He is the only player who has scored in the five finals that Sevilla FC has won in continental competition. He married Ana Vergara Diaz on July 3, 2003. He also scored the only goal of the Copa del Rey Final match against Getafe, which finished 1-0 in favor of the Andalusians. On August 19, 2007 he scored three goals in the victory of Sevilla FC 5-3 against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium. Sevilla FC thus became champion of the Spanish Super Cup in its 2007 edition, succeeding FC Barcelona. With this hat-trick Frederick Kanouté, he became the only Sevilla player who has scored in each and every one of the finals won by Sevilla FC in his recent history, except in that final of the European Super Cup, played in Monaco, who played against AC Milan. Kanouté professes the Islamic religion since the age of twenty. His wife also became a practitioner of that religion, adopting the name of Fatima and they both live in Seville together with their two children Ibrahim and Iman. He is a man of broad European and African culture; He shows an eloquent Spanish to express his generous ideas in solidarity with human causes. Very committed to the reality of his country he has created the "Kanouté Foundation", through which he has launched an initiative to create a "Children's City" near Bamako, capital of Mali. This "City of Children" will bring together various services and facilities aimed at the needs of orphaned or helpless children. The project will consist of an orphanage, a children's city, an education and training center and a health center. For the construction and equipment of this Health Center, the Kanouté Foundation has signed a collaboration agreement with the Rotary Club Sevilla-Macarena, which will be in charge of raising funds for this important project. On January 7, 2009 he scored the second of the two goals with which Sevilla defeats Deportivo La Coruña 2-1 for the Copa del Rey. At the celebration he showed a black shirt that he wore underneath the "PALESTINE" consignment, in support of the Palestinian people during the Gaza Strip conflict of 2008-2009. By this act the referee admonished him, complying with the regulations. Given the fact, the Spanish Football Federation imposed a fine of 3,000 euros. In solidarity with the striker, the Iranian club Zob Ahan offered to pay the fine to Kanouté

He is a Ghanaian soccer player who began his sports career in the French Bastia. Two seasons were enough to sign for the Olympiad of Lyon, for £ 7.8 million in 2002. In 2004 he obtained French nationality. In 2005 the Chelsea of Russian tycoon Román Abramóvich and Portuguese coach José Mourinho paid the exorbitant amount of £ 24.4 million (40 million euros) to accompany Claude Makélélé in the center of the field.

Okocha debuted at age 16 in the first division of his country, playing for Enugu Rangers, who had discovered him in an amateur tournament. A year later, while on vacation in Germany, he was tested in Borussia Neunkirchen of the fourth category, who signed him immediately. Two seasons later, and after his good performances at Borussia, he went to Eintracht Frankfurt of the first division, where he signed his first contract as a professional. After having a great performance again, he was signed by the Turkish Fenerbahçe in 1995 for about 1 million pounds sterling. There Okocha carried out two very good campaigns, which added to the gold obtained in the 1996 Olympic Games with his selection, had given him great recognition worldwide, that is why in June 1998, Paris Saint Germain paid 17 million dollars to get their services., forming a magic pair with Ronaldinho, being without doubt the most talented players duo that is remembered at the time. Unfortunately because of the vagaries of chance, they could not achieve important titles with the PSG. After 4 years in Paris and the termination of his contract, "Jay Jay" decided to try his luck at the Bolton Wanderers, who was recently promoted to the English first division. There he played more than 140 games, leaving a large number of goals, however, in July 2006 he decided to change airs to play in Qatari football, for Qatar SC, away from the pressures. However, in the summer of 2007 he was replaced by Hull City, at that time in the English Second Division, one of the modest championships and that in the previous season he had barely made merit to save himself from relegation. In the Hull he had a good season supported by another illustrious one like Nick Barmby, and ended up sneaking up for the play-ofss of promotion to the Premier League, where he previously eliminated in the semifinals the favorite Crystal Palace, and finally realized Bristol City to achieve the Club's first ascent, founded 104 years ago, from the working city of East Yorkshire, north of England, to the Division of Honor. It is characterized by being totally skilled, by having that hidden magic, and a talent of its own that has characterized it for many years.Possibly Jay-Jay is remembered for his great dribbling or for simply being one of the best African players of all the history.

His football career began in his country, Cameroon at age 14 Ben el Eclair de Douala, where he played the first five years of his premature career. With 19 years he was transferred to the Léopards of Douala. There he changed the last name Miller to Milla so that it sounded more African. At just 18, he wins the Cameroon league and begins to show why he would be named the best African player of all time. In the Eclair plays 117 games and scores a whopping 89 goals. In 1974 he joined the Tonnerre de Yaoundé where he became champion again, winning 2 African Cups and making himself known internationally, re-registering large numbers (69 points in 87 games). Like the vast majority of African soccer players, Milla leaves the black continent towards France, where she signs for Valenciennes, where she is not able to curdle as expected, scoring 6 goals in 28 games. In 1979 he is transferred to Monaco, where he also fails to prove his quality by scoring only 2 goals in 17 games. Of course, in the team of the principality he achieves his first title in Europe, the 1980 French Cup. In the summer of that same year, Bastia is done with his services and it is in this club where he enjoys the necessary confidence to demonstrate the numbers he recorded in Cameroon. He scored 35 goals in 113 games and won his second French Cup, in 1981 (one year after winning the first with Monaco). In 1984, Milla signed for the legendary Saint-Étienne with whom he signed 31 goals in 59 games and won a French Second Division league (Ligue 2) with that team. He finished his French career at Montpellier, where he becomes an idol, scoring 37 goals in 95 games. After passing through French football he decides to return to his country to play in the team in the spotlight, the Tonnere de Yaoundé where he remains until 1995, year in which he goes to Indonesia to play in the Pelita Jaya of Indonesia where he retires a year later Anecdotally, in this Indonesian club the Argentine Mario Kempes also retired. With the national team of Cameroon, Roger Milla debuted in 1976, won 2 African Cups and attended three World Cups, 1982, 1990 and 1994. The '82 World Cup in Spain was especially bitter for Milla. The African team fell off the competition without losing a single match. Especially bitter because Milla and her country suffered quite controversial arbitrations. Against Peru (0-0) Milla scored a goal at 39 minutes, but Austrian referee Franz Wöhrer canceled the play for an offside. And, four days later, before Poland, the selection of Cameroon again signed another unfair tie to zero and remaining without pointing out an obvious penalty to Milla that would have tipped the balance in favor of Cameroon. His great performance in Italy '90 was also well remembered with the two goals he scored for Colombia in overtime in the round of 16. Those two goals he celebrated dancing around the corner flag, which marked a milestone in the celebrations of goals inspiring many subsequent celebrations and advertising. [1] With 38 years, Milla scored four goals in this World Cup and led Cameroon to the quarterfinals, where he lost to England (2-3 in favor of the pross) in extra time at the legendary San Paolo stadium in Naples. In 1994, Henri Michel includes Milla among the 22 chosen to compete in the United States World Cup. The inclusion of Milla generated much controversy in Cameroon, since then, the historic African battering ram was already 42 years old and many people thought that his international career was over. The lions had no luck in that World Cup but Milla scored against Russia and became the most veteran player to score a goal in a final phase in the history of the World Cups. He left the team after that World Cup. Upon his retirement, the Cameroonian Federation offers him the position of administrative director of the national team and subsequently held positions in the Ministry of Sports of Cameroon. Currently, Roger Milla is a UNICEF ambassador to his country, although on more than one occasion he has stated that he would like to be President of Cameroon.

After playing in several teams of his native country and Cameroon, in 1988 he signed for AS French Monaco, which in 1992 went to PSG, with which he won a French Cup (1993) and a League Cup (1994 ). His performance in the European Champions League earned him to be signed in 1994 by AC Milan, for about 1,250 million pesetas. With this team he won several scudettos, the last one in 1998-99. He also won three times the African Golden Ball (1989, 1994 and 1995), once the European Golden Ball (1995), and was chosen by FIFA the best footballer in the world in 1995. He remained in the rossonero cast until 2000 , the year he signed for Chelsea FC English. Then he went to Manchester City, and from there he returned to France; Marseille Olympique would be his last team in Europe. After playing in the UAE's Al Jazira, he retired from the activity in 2003.

Gnégnéri Yaya Touré (Sokoura Bouaké, Ivory Coast, May 13, 1983), called Yaya Touré or Touré Yaya, is an Ivorian footballer. He plays midfielder and his current team is Manchester City of the English League. Yaya Touré is the brother of the soccer players Kolo Touré and Ibrahim Touré.

Samuel Eto'o Fils (Nkon, Douala, March 10, 1981) is a Cameroonian footballer, of the Bamoun ethnic group. He also has Spanish nationality. He is currently the central striker of Inter Milan of the Italian Serie A and the Cameroon national team, and has been awarded the Footballer of the Year award in Africa in 2003, 2004 and 2005, being the only player to have achieved it three times. In addition, he is the only player in history to have won two consecutive "triplets", with FC Barcelona first (2009) and Inter Milan the following year. He is currently No. 12 in the ranking of the top scorers in the history of the League with 161 goals in 278 games and the top scorer in the history of the Cameroonian National Team with 41 goals in 86 games. He is the fourth top scorer in the history of FC Barcelona.

Didier Yves Drogba Tébily, (Abidjan, Ivory Coast, March 11, 1978), is an Ivorian footballer. He serves as a forward and currently plays for Chelsea FC in the Premier League of England. He is also the current captain and current scorer of the Ivory Coast football team. With Chelsea he has scored more goals than in any other club and is the sixth leading scorer of this team, having scored 136 goals. As a child, Drogba moved to France. After playing in youth teams, Drogba made his professional debut at age 18 in Ligue 2 with Le Mans. After showing up with this team, he signed a professional contract at age 21, but it wasn't until the 2002-03 season that he showed his full potential, having scored 17 goals in 34 games with Guingamp in Ligue 1. During that season, Drogba was first called to the Ivory Coast football team on September 8, 2002, scoring his first goal with this selection in February 2003. He was then hired by Olympique de Marseille in 2003 for £ 3.3 million Drogba quickly became the team's scorer, finishing as the third leading scorer of the 2003-04 season, with 19 scores. He also scored 6 goals in the UEFA Cup, helping Olympique achieve the final of the competition, where he was defeated by Valencia CF. Drogba arrived at Chelsea FC in the 2004-05 season after the club paid £ 24 million to Olympique, becoming the most expensive Ivorian footballer in history. Immediately after his arrival, Drogba became the favorite striker of the fans, having scored decisive goals in the Community Shield and in the final of the Football League Cup and having helped Chelsea get his first Premier League title. Drogba came to prominence as one of the best strikers in the world in 2006, having won the two-time championship with Chelsea in the 2005-06 season and having been elected undisputed captain of the Ivory Coast football team. In the 2006 World Cup, Drogba scored only one goal, but after the World Cup he was chosen as the Footballer of the Year in Africa. In the 2006-07 season, Drogba finished as top scorer in the Premier League, having scored 20 goals. In that season, Drogba was the champion of the Football League Cup and the FA Cup. It was not until 2009 when Drogba became champion of the FA Cup again, scoring a goal in the final. In that year, Drogba was again elected as the Footballer of the Year in Africa. In 2010, Drogba won his third league title in the 2009-10 season, as well as the scoring champion title, having scored 29 goals. He also won his third FA Cup that year, after scoring the goal that gave Chelsea the victory. Drogba has been recognized for his vital role in the battle for peace in his country. After Ivory Coast qualified for the 2006 World Cup, Drogba made a desperate plea to the rebel movements, asking them to lay down their weapons, a plea that was answered with a ceasefire after 5 years of civil war. Then, Drogba got the qualifying match for the 2008 African Cup of Nations between Ivory Coast and Madagascar to be played in Bouaké, a city where some of the most dangerous rebel movements in Ivory Coast are located. This was an action that reaffirmed the struggle for peace in that country. His participation in the fight for peace in his country made him elected as one of the 100 most influential people of 2010 by Time Magazine.

Very few players in the world can match the successes that the legendary Egyptian Hossam Hassan has enjoyed during his long and distinguished career. Hassan, the player with more internationalities and more goals marked with his selection in the history of African football, accumulated 83 goals and 170 matches as an international during the whopping 21 years wearing the shirt of the Pharaohs.