TOP AFRICAN BLUES
GEORGE WEAH
Position Striker
Height (ft) 6'1"
Date of birth 1 October 1966
Place of birth Monrovia, Liberia
International caps / goals 60/22
George Weah came from
The Liberian star won almost all the major individual football awards in 1995. He is so far the only African player who has won FIFA world player of year and European player of the year awards. Sports journalists from across the world voted him the best African player of the 20th century. During his illustrious career, Weah represented a number of European clubs including AS Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain, A.C. Milan, Chelsea Manchester City
WAS HE WEARLY THAT GOOD!
EMMANUEL ADEBAYOR
Position Striker
Height (ft) 6'03"
Date of birth 24 February 1984
Place of birth Lome, Togo
International caps / goals 38 / 16
After being spotted in youth teams in his home land, the Togo international began his professional career in France at Metz in 1999 and from moved to Monaco from where he was signed by the Gunners.
Once there he made 104 first team league appearances and scored 46 goals. His record in cups for Arsenal was equally impressive as he found the net on 16 occasions in 38 starts.
He was named African Player of the Year in 2008 and has been Togo’s player of the year for the past four seasons. In 2007-08 he won the goal of the year top prize and was voted into the Premier League’s all-star eleven.
The 6’ 3” striker’s most productive season in the top flight came in that 2007-08 when he notched 24 goals in 36 starts.
He began his first season for the Blues on fire with a four in four blitz, before a 3 game suspension for falling on Robin Van Winker came into play. To early to say what his overall impact will be. Explosive but temperamental.
MARK-VIVIEN FOE
Position Midfielder
Height (ft) 6'02"
Date of birth 1 May1975
Place of birth Yaounde, Cameroon
International caps / goals 64 / 8
Marc-Vivien moved back to France to play for Olympique Lyonnais in 2000. In that same year, he missed a significant part of the season after suffering from a bout of malaria, but recovered and went on to win the French league Cup in 2001 and the French league title in 2002. He was part of the Cameroon squad in the 2002 World Cup. As in 1994, he played in all of Cameroon's matches, but though the team's performances were improved in comparison to 1994, once again they were eliminated at the group stage, after beating Saudi Arabia, drawing with Ireland and losing to Germany.
In June 2003, Foé was part of the Cameroon squad for the FIFA Confederations Cup, a tournament played between continental champions. He played in wins against Brazil and Turkey, and was rested for the match against the United States, with Cameroon having already qualified. On 26 June 2003, Cameroon faced Colombia in the semi-final, held at the Stade de Gerland in Lyon, France. In the 72nd minute of the match Foé collapsed in the centre circle, with no other players near him. After attempts to resuscitate him on the pitch, he was stretchered off the field, where he received mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and oxygen. Medics spent 45 minutes attempting to restart his heart, and although he was still alive upon arrival at the stadium's medical centre he died shortly afterwards, in spite of the efforts to save his life. A first autopsy did not determine an exact cause of death, but a second autopsy later revealed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and concluded that Foé's death was heart-related.
Foé's death caused a profound shock. Numerous tributes to his joyous personality and infectious humour were expressed in the media. Also Thierry Henry and other players pointed to the sky in tribute to Foé after Henry had opened the scoring against Turkey in France's Confederations Cup semi-final that evening. Many suggestions for ways to honour the life of Marc-Vivien Foé were made after his death: it was suggested that the Confederations Cup and the Stade Gerland could have been renamed after him, and former Manchester City manager Kevin Keegan announced that the club would no longer use the number 23 shirt Foé wore during his successful season there. David Beckham transferred from Manchester United to Real Madrid a week later with one of the reasons he took squad number 23 being in memory of Foé. At Manchester City's ground; the City of Manchester Stadium there is a small memorial to him in the stadium's memorial garden, and on the walls of the players' tunnel are plaques paid for by supporters, with their names, dubbed the Walk of Pride. The first plaque on the wall is for Marc and reads "Marc Vivien Foé - 1975 - 2003". His first club (Racing Club de Lens) has given his name to an avenue near the Félix Bollaert Stadium. Foé was given a state funeral in Cameroon.
REMEMBER HIM FOR HIS FOOTBALL
KOLO TOURE
Position Defender
Height (ft) 6'0"
Date of birth 19 March 1981
Place of birth Bouake, Ivory Coast
International caps / goals 70 / 2
Kolo Toure became City’s sixth signing of a busy summer when he arrived on July 29 from Arsenal for a fee of £14million.
Bizarrely for a man who has made his name as a high class central defender, Kolo began his football career as a winger and even when he first pitched up at Highbury (as it was known in 2002) he was deployed in an attacking midfield role.
When he was finally switched to the heart of the back four, those ball playing skills swiftly came into their own and he quickly established himself as one of the best around in his position.
In seven years with Arsene Wenger’s side he clocked up 225 appearances winning a Premier League title and two FA Cups. Until his move north he was the only surviving member of the Gunners ‘Invincibles’ who romped to the title.
He is also a regular for his country, the Ivory Coast, and in racking up 70 caps he helped them to a runners up spot in the 2006 African Cup of Nations.
CAPTAIN MARVEL
NEDUM ONOUHA
Position Defender
Height (ft) 6'0"
Date of birth 12 November 1986
Place of birth Warri, Nigeria
International caps / goals 0 / 0
The deal came just weeks after he made his full debut in the 2-1 Carling Cup defeat at the hands of Arsenal.
Onuoha made his first start in the top flight in the win over Portsmouth in November of that year playing at right-back in place of the suspended Danny Mills.
He earned an international call up to the England U-20s for their friendly against Russia at the Valley and scored in the opening five minutes of the game.
Onuoha was called into England Under-21 squad in the 2005/06 season and made his debut for that side as a substitute against Poland.
Since then he’s been a permanent fixture in City’s first team squad and at Under 21 level for England. He has signed a contract that will keep him with the Blues until 2011.
Thigh and knee injuries restricted the defender’s availability at the start of Mark Hughes’ reign in 2008/09, but after regaining full fitness he established himself as first choice clocking up 20 Premier League starts. His reward for an excellent season was a new, five-year contract, signed in July 2009.
Born in Nigeria, Onuoha was raised in Manchester, England. He went to Nelson Street Primary School Miles Platting followed by Hulme Grammar Private School in Oldham. He achieved an impressive two 'A*' and seven 'A' grades at GCSE. He then completed his studies at Xaverian College Manchester where he achieved three 'A' grades at A-level. An outstanding junior sprinter; aged 14 he finished in second place in the final of the 2001 English School's Athletics Association Junior 100 metres contest, clocking 11.09 seconds and beating current Great-Britain sprinter Craig Pickering.
He is also currently the co-national record holder for boys under 15 standing triple jump. He is also known to have supported Manchester City as a boy and attended the Manchester City youth academy.
Onuoha is a regular in the England U-21 side, making his debut on 12 October 2005. He was part of the squad participating in the 2007 European Under 21s Championship in the Netherlands. During the Championships Onuoha was subjected to racist abuse from Serbian fans, but received praise for maintaining his conduct amid provocation.
He played in each of England's four fixtures, but limped off in extra-time in the semi-final against the Netherlands after all three of the permitted substitutions had been made. England went out 13-12 on penalties in the semi-final. He will be eligible for the team until the summer of 2009. He captained the England Under-21 team for the first time in a 0–0 draw with Poland Under-21s.
In March 2007, Onuoha received an international callup from Nigeria, but has announced he would like to represent England at full international level.
SUPERNED
ALI BERNABIA
Position Midfielder
Height (ft) 5' 6"
Date of birth 8 October 1968
Place of birth Oran, Algeria
International caps / goals Unknown
Benarbia joined AS Monaco FC in 1995, winning a championship in 1997, and then moved to FC Girondins de Bordeaux in 1998. At Bordeaux, Benarbia won the championship again in the 1998-99 season and was crowned player of the year in France. Surprisingly he was sold to Paris Saint-Germain after this triumph, although he failed to capture the same form there.
Benarbia left France in 2001 and was signed on a free transfer by City, whose manager Kevin Keegan was familiar with him from when he scored two goals for Monaco against Keegan's Newcastle United. He became a firm favourite amongst the supporters as City won the Football League First Division and promotion back to the Premiership, winning the club's player of the year award and being named in the select side for the Division. He was made captain the following season, although he found the pace of the Premier League harder and was much less influential in his second season. He played his final game in a City shirt in 2003 against FC Barcelona in a game to mark the opening of the City of Manchester Stadium, before announcing his retirement.
ALI BABA'S DEBUT
5-1's Top Ten African City Players
(app-goals)
10 Hatem Trabelsi - Tunisia 20-1
9 Lucien Mettomo - Cameroon 31-1
8 Benjani Mwaruwari - Zimbabwe 25-6
7 George Weah - Liberia 9-4
6 Emmanuel Adebayor - Togo 6-4
5 Kolo Toure - Ivory Coast 6-1
4 Kizito "Kiki" Musampa - Congo-Kinshasa 45-4
3 Marc Vivien Foe - Cameroon 38-9
2 Ali Bernabia - Algeria 71-11
1 Nedum Onouha - Nigeria 100-3
Other African born City players include:
Jim and Jeff Whitley - Zambia
Dickson and Kelvin Etuhu - Nigeria
Colin Viljoen - South Africa
Thanks to YOUTUBE, MCFCstats and Wikipedia for resource info
Posts
excellent job simon!!
ReplyDeletekeep up the blogging on MCFC, really enjoying the read...
ReplyDeleteI am trying my hardest, even with all the rumour pap that hogs the headlines.
ReplyDelete