Africa is blessed with so many talents and few have ever stood out since the beautiful game of soccer became popular on the African continent.
In this article, Ghgossip.com features the five greatest African footballers of all time witnessed by the continent .
5 Jay Jay Okocha (Nigerian):
Augustine Azuka “Jay-Jay” Okocha, born in Enugu, comes from a family of footballers and the name Jay-Jay was inherited from his older brother James, who was also a footballer.
Jay Jay Okocha is a street kid who started playing in the streets like many other African soccer stars, usually with a makeshift ball.
Okocha started his career when he joined Enugu Rangers in 1990 and made great strides with the club before moving to Borussia Neunkeirchen, a German third division team.
In 1991 Austin Okocha joined Ghana’s international striker at Eintracht Frankfurt in the German Bundesliga. He transferred to Turkish giants Fenerbahçe for approximately £ 1 million, where he spent two seasons from 1996 to 1998 and then moved to French team Paris Saint Germain for a fee believed to be around £ 14 million in 1998.
Jay Jay Okocha also played for Bolton Wanderers where he helped the team survive relegation and his goal against Westham United was even voted by fans as the club’s best goal of 2008.
Okocha also had a season with Qatar SC and then moved to Hull City in England in 2007.
At international level, Augustine Okocha won the most prestigious tournament in Africa (Afcon) in 1994 with the super green eagles of Nigeria and was runner-up in 1998; third place: 2003, 2004 in the awards for the best African player of the year organized by the Confederation of African Football (Caf).
He was also voted Nigeria’s best footballer in 1995, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and was runner-up in 1996.
4 Didier Drogba (Ivorian)
Ivorian retired professional footballer Didier Yves Drogba Tébily was born in Abidjan and at the age of five was sent to France by his parents to live with his uncle, Michel Goba, a professional footballer.
Tito, as his mother called him, started his youth career in 1988, where he played for Tourcoing and then moved to Abbeville in 1989.
Drogba joined Le Mans from Ligue 2 in France and made his first team debut at Le Mans shortly thereafter and signed his first professional contract in 1999. That same year, he and his Malian wife Alla they had his first child, Isaac. Droba spent four seasons with the Ligue 2 team before moving to Guinguamp for a fee of £ 80,000, where he spent just one season from 2002 to 2003.
Didier Drogba moved to Olympique de Marseille from Ligue 1 for a fee of £ 3.3 million and became a fan favorite due to his excellent performances.
Droba’s performance attracted Chelsea and he went on to sign for the club for a record £ 24 million fee and scored his first goal against Crystapalace in the 2004 season.
The Ivorian international spent eight seasons with Chelsea, earning them four Premier League trophies with three FA Cups and the most prestigious UEFA Champions League trophy in the 2011/2012 season.
After a stellar career with Chelsea, Drogba went through Shanghai Shenhua in China, Montreal Impact in America and Galatasaray in Turkey.
Drogba won the African Footballer of the Year award in 2006, 2009 and was fourth at the Ballon Dor in 2007.
Drogba is credited with leading Côte d’Ivoire’s qualification for their first FIFA World Cup, held in Germany in 2006.
3) Samuel Eto Fils(Cameroonian)
Samuel Eto’o Fils, born in Douala, is a Cameroonian retired professional footballer who played as a forward. In his prime, some football lovers and experts considered Eto’o one of the best strikers in the world.
Samuel Eto’o moved to Real Madrid at age 16. Due to competition in his position with more experienced players, he was forced to go on loan before joining Mallorca in 2000, where he scored 70 goals. His consistent and impressive form saw him join Barcelona in 2004, where he scored 130 goals in five seasons and also became the record holder for the most appearances by an African player in La Liga.
After moving to Inter Milan in 2009, the Cameroonian became the first player to win two European continental triples following his back-to-back achievements with Barcelona and Inter.
After brief spells with Anzhi Makhachkala, Chelsea, Everton and Sampdoria, Samuel Eto again found prolific form in the Süper Lig.
In the Cameroon national team, Eto’o won the African Cup of Nations in 2000 and 2002 and also participated in four World Cups and six African Cups of Nations.
2) YaYa Touré(Ivorian)
Born in Bouake, Ivory Coast, Gnégnéri Yaya Touré is an Ivorian professional footballer who started his career at the Ivorian club ASEC Mimosas. His performances attracted the attention of Europe and he was in Beveren, Metalurh Donetsk, Olympiacos and Monaco before moving to Barcelona in 2007. He played more than 105 games for the club.
Yaya Touré was part of Pep Guardiola’s historic Barcelona 2009, which won six trophies in a calendar year. In 2010, Touré moved to Manchester City from the Premier League and helped the team win its first Premier League trophy in 44 years.
On the national team, he was a highly influential figure from 2004 to 2015, representing the nation in the 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup tournaments.
He also represented them in six African Nations Cups in 2006, 2008, 2010 , 2012, 2013 and 2015, helping them finish runner-up in 2006 and 2012, while leading them as captain to victory in 2015 where they beat Ghana in the finals.
1) George Oppong Weah(Liberian):
George Manneh Oppong Weah started after his career in his home country of Liberia, where he played for Bong Range United, Mighty Barrolle and Invincible Eleven Africa Sports.
Oppong Weah spent 14 years playing for clubs in France, Italy and England.
Legendary former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger first brought him to Europe and signed him for Monaco in 1988. Weah moved to Paris Saint-Germain in 1992, where he won Ligue 1 in 1994 and became the top goalscorer in the 1994-1995 UEFA Champions League.
Following his constant and impressive performances, George Oppong Weah signed for A.C. Milan in 1995, where he spent four successful seasons, winning Serie A twice.
He moved on to the Premier League towards the end of his career and was in Chelsea and Manchester City, where he won the FA Cup trophy with Manchester City.
The world’s best FIFA player of 1995 returned to France to play for Marseille in 2001 and ended his career with Al-Jazeera in 2003.
George Oppong Weah is one of the most unfortunate players to ever win the UEFA Champions League despite his burgeoning football career.
Oppong Weah represented Liberia in two African Cup of Nations tournaments and became involved in politics in Liberia after his retirement from soccer.
He is the founder of the Congress for Democratic Change and ran for president in the 2005 election, but was unsuccessful losing to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in the second round of voting.
In 2017, George Oppong Weah was elected President of Liberia, defeating the acting Vice President, Joseph Boakai, and he took office on January 22, 2018.
Below is the video of Africa’s all time best footballers;
Source:www.Ghgossip.com
