Three of the favourites for the greatest individual title in Africa continental game
The Confederation of African Football have released their shortlist of 25 names for the African Player of the Year award.
Of the three highest-placed players for
the 2013 prize, only one, Yaya Toure, has been nominated once again. Chelsea pair John Obi Mikel and Didier Drogba came second and third respectively last year, but have not done enough to make the final 25 this time around.
The winner will be announced, following votes from the head coaches and technical directors of CAF nations, at the Awards Gala in Lagos, Nigeria on January 8 2015.
In this feature, we predict the final three names to be celebrated at the CAF awards evening early next year.
Remarkably, Yaya Toure has won the African player crown for the last three years.
Putting this into context, only one player, Samuel Eto’o, has won the title more often (four times), while Eto’o and Ghana legend Abedi Pele are the only men to have managed Toure’s three-in-a-row feat (the Everton striker won the title every year from 2003 to 2005, the Black Star, from 1991 to 1993).
If Toure can retain his title once again, he would be moving into uncharted waters as far as individual African dominance is concerned.
Had the second half of 2014 been like the first there would be little doubt that he would win the continental crown once again.
Toure was at his devastating best last season. Only Liverpool pair Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge scored more in the Premier League, while Yaya became only the second central midfielder (after Frank Lampard) to break the 20-goal mark.
Between New Year’s Day and the season’s end he scored 13 goals and contributed nine assists in all competitions. His efforts brought a tangible reward as well, as City lifted their fourth-ever English championship (Toure’s second).
However, one cannot deny that since the end of May the midfielder's output has been lacking. He flopped at the World Cup as the Cote d’Ivoire fell at the first hurdle (again), and has largely looked off his best this season as a mixture of controversy and tragedy have undermined his place at the Etihad Stadium.
Will Yaya break and extend his record, or will Africa’s king be deposed?
| Yacine Brahimi |
Unlike other world football awards, the African Footballer of the Year hasn’t always been particularly influenced by the World Cup in years when the grandest sporting event of them all has been held.
Admittedly, Mustapha Hadji and El-Hadji Diouf won in 1998 and 2002 respectively on the back of splendid performances at the global footballing showcase, but Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o won in 2006 and 2010 after first-round eliminations.
It’s important to acknowledge, however, that in the past, World Cups and Cup of Nations competitions have always fallen on the same year.
2014 is the first year since 1966 that the Mondial hasn’t been preceded directly by the Afcon.
So will Algeria’s efforts in Brazil be reflected in the individual awards?
The presence of four Desert Foxes in the 25-man shortlist would indicate so; Islam Slimani, Rais M’Bolhi, Sofiane Feghouli and Yacine Brahimi all impressed this summer and find themselves celebrated by CAF.
Of these four, Feghouli was possibly the most influential in Brazil, but Brahimi shone as well, and has followed up his superb performances with some impactful displays in the Champions League.
He has scored four in four in FC Porto’s group-stage matches (contributing two assists) and also starred in the decisive play-off match against LOSC Lille, scoring and assisting to ensure the Portuguese champions’ spot in the tournament proper.
One would expect that the Player of the Year award is somewhere in Brahimi’s future…but has he done enough this year?
| Gervinho |
Gervinho has been a new man since leaving Arsenal and moving to AS Roma in the summer of 2013. Few could have expected that the forlorn figure who left the Emirates Stadium after losing his way in London would flourish so immediately and so profoundly in Italy.
A reunion with his former boss at Lille, Rudi Garcia, has clearly helped and Gervinho, renewed with confidence, has been one of the star men in Serie A over the last 18 months.
The side benefited from a stable backline—and indeed, Morocco centre-back Mehdi Benatia could be another contender for these awards—but in attack they have been a delicious prospect as well.
The Ivorian was influential last term, contributing a joint-league-high 10 assists, and already has three so far this term.
Since the beginning of 2014, there have been man-of-the-match performances against Juventus, Napoli and Hellas Verona, while the West African has shone upon Roma’s return to the Champions League.
He has bagged three-in-three so far in Europe's elite club competition and delivered an outstanding performance in the fixture against CSKA Moscow.
Despite his teammates’ failings, he also starred in Brazil this summer. He scored in a pre-tournament friendly against El Salvador, before following that up with an assist against Greece and goals against Colombia and Japan.
I would argue that no African player scored a better goal at the World Cup than Gervinho’s effort against the South Americans. Simply stunning.
For the displays, for the numbers, for the achievements, but most of all, for the turnaround in fortunes, Gervinho deserves to be a contender for the Player of the Year title.
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