57 Africans set to conquer Europe!
Ivoirians Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou, current champions with Chelsea
To mark the occasion, MTNFootball.com presents the list of 57 African players currently excelling in Europe who have made selection for the competition, and who hope to follow in the footsteps of Ivoirians Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou and Nigerian John Obi Mikel, winners of the previous edition in the Blues’ jersey.
Nigeria boasts the most representatives with eleven players, followed by Cameroon (eight) and Ghana (six).
As for the participating clubs, Ligue 1 outfits Lille and Montpellier have called up the most African players (five), while Dinamo Zagreb, Zénith Saint-Petersbourg, Borussia Dortmund, Shakhtar Donetsk, Bate Borisov, Bayern Munich, Benfica and Manchester United do not have a single player amongst their ranks.
Take a look:
GROUP A
Dynamo Kiev
Taye Taiwo (Nigeria, defender), Lukman Haruna (Nigeria, midfielder), Ayila Yussuf (Nigeria, midfielder), Ideye Brown (Nigeria, striker)
Porto
Kadu (Angola, goalkeeper), Abdoulaye Ba (Senegal, defender), Christian Atsu (Ghana, striker)
Paris Saint-Germain
Mohamed Sissoko (Mali, midfielder)
GROUP B
Schalke 04
Joël Matip (Cameroon, defender), Chinedu Obasi (Nigeria, striker)
Montpellier
Henri Bedimo (Cameroon, defender), Younès Belhanda (Morocco, midfielder), Jamel Saihi (Tunisia, midfielder), John Utaka (Nigeria, striker), Souleymane Camara (Senegal, striker)
Arsenal
Gervinho (Côte d’Ivoire, striker), Marouane Chamakh (Morocco, striker)
Olympiacos
Drissa Diakité (Mali, midfielder), Djamel Abdoun (Algeria, midfielder), Rafik Djebbour (Algeria, striker)
GROUP C
Anderlecht
Cheikhou Kouyaté (Senegal, defender), Bedi Mbenza (DR Congo, midfielder), Dieudonné Mbokani (DR Congo, striker)
Malaga
Carlos Kameni (Cameroon, goalkeeper), Fabrice (Cameroon, striker)
AC Milan
Djamel Mesbah (Algeria, defender), Kevin-Prince Boateng (Ghana, midfielder), Kévin Constant (Guinea-Bissau, midfielder)
GROUP D
Manchester City
Yaya Touré (Côte d’Ivoire, midfielder)
Ajax Amsterdam
Eyong Enoh (Cameroon, midfielder), Thulani Serero (South Africa, midfielder)
Real Madrid
Michael Essien (Ghana, midfielder)
GROUP E
Juventus
Kwadwo Asamoah (Ghana, midfielder)
FC Nordsjaelland
Kamal Issah (Ghana, midfielder)
Chelsea
Aziz Deen-Conteh (Sierra Leone, defender), Daniel Pappoe (Ghana, defender), John Obi Mikel (Nigeria, midfielder), Victor Moses (Nigeria, striker)
GROUP F
Valencia
Sofiane Feghouli (Algeria, midfielder)
Lille
Barel Mouko (DR Congo, goalkeeper), Aurélien Chedjou (Cameroon, defender), Idrissa Gueye (Senegal, midfielder), Salomon Kalou (Côte d’Ivoire, striker), Ryan Mendes (Cape Verde, striker)
GROUP G
FC Barcelona
Alexandre Song (Cameroon, midfielder)
Spartak Moscow
Emmanuel Emenike (Nigeria, striker)
Celtic FC
Efe Ambrose (Nigeria, defender), Victor Wanyama (Kenya, midfielder), Lassad Nouioui (Tunisia, striker)
GROUP H
CFR Cluj
Modou Sougou (Senegal, striker)
Galatasaray
Dany Nounkeu (Cameroon, defender), Emmanuel Eboué (Côte d’Ivoire, defender), Nordin Amrabat (Morocco, midfielder)
Braga
Elderson (Nigeria, defender), Djamal (Libya, midfielder), Eder (Guinea, striker), Zé Luis (Cape Verde, striker)
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