Numerous great African footballers have made enormous contributions to the game on both the national and international stages....CONTINUE READING
Many of these great African players never won the coveted African Nations Cup, despite their many accomplishments on the international stage. The best African footballers who fell short of lifting the African Cup of Nations trophy are discussed here.
5. Sammy Kuffour
Kuffour won the Champions League and multiple Bundesliga crowns with Bayern Munich, but he was never able to repeat that feat with Ghana at the international level.
Kuffour was a part of the Black Stars group that made history in the 2006 World Cup, but his career was winding down by the time the West African team began its streak of four straight appearances in the Afcon semi-finals.
4. Michael Essien
Perhaps the Black Stars’ near miss at the Nations Cup could have been turned into a title win if the Bison’s career hadn’t been so severely hampered by injuries in the latter years of his playing career.
Although he competed for Ghana in two World Cups (2006 and 2014), injuries prevented him from playing during the team’s 2010 journey to the quarterfinals.
3. Nwankwo Kanu
Although he won the Champions League, the Uefa Cup, the Premier League, and the Olympic gold medal, Kanu was unable to bring home the Afcon.
He made three World Cup appearances for the Super Eagles, although his record is marred by Nigeria’s inability to win the tournament. Five times the striker made it to the semifinals, just one win away from the championship.
2. George Weah
Although Weah holds the distinction of being the only African player to win the Ballon d’Or (to date), his lack of club and international honours belies his undeniable brilliance on the field.
Despite the president of Liberia’s best efforts, the Lone Stars never managed to win the continental crown despite making it to the Nations Cup on two separate occasions.
1. Didier Drogba
The Chelsea legend qualified his team for 2006, 2010, and 2014 World Cups. He also won a hatful of trophies at Stamford Bridge. Even though he led all scorers at the 2012 Afcon, he never won the tournament’s top trophy because he retired before the Elephants’ 2015 triumph in Equatorial Guinea.
