With many of Africa's new budding stars poised for a return to UEFA Champions League action later this week, we look back at those who have already cemented their place as the highest-scoring footballers from the continent in the tournament.
Check Out: Linked With Chiefs – Who is Caneda?
Plenty of players from the planet's second-largest continent are beginning to make a name for themselves in European club football's most illustrious competition. As they write their own story, some of Africa's best-ever players have provided some iconic moments in the history of the Champions League.
Didier Drogba is one such man. The Ivorian provided Chelsea supporters with a memorable night in Munich in 2012. At the Allianz Arena, against Bayern Munich, with a depleted Blues side, the two-time CAF Men's Player of the Year scored a last-minute equaliser, before ultimately slotting away the decisive penalty that won the west Londoners their first UCL title. That near-post header was one of the 44 goals the Abidjan native managed to score in Europe's premier club competition.
Drogba, however, currently shares that top spot with Mohamed Salah. The duo were actually teammates briefly at Stamford Bridge, but it wasn't until the Egyptian left the English capital, went to Italy, and eventually returned to the Premier League with Liverpool that Salah began to illustrate the levels once shown by his west African counterpart.
The Pharaoh has also scored a goal in a UCL final, doing so against Tottenham Hotspur in 2019 as the Reds went on to secure their sixth European title at the Civitas Metropolitano. It was a massive feat for the winger that night in Madrid.
Africa's all-time top UCL scorers:
An African legend who was not successful in the Spanish capital, though, was Samuel Eto'o. The Cameroonian began his European career with Real Madrid as a youngster, but was unable to establish himself in the first team. A brief spell at Mallorca coincided with his first Champions League goal, but it was at Barcelona that he truly took off. The Douala native scored 16 of his 30 UCL goals for the Catalan club as he helped the Blaugrana add a second European title to their name in the 2005/06 season.
Check Out: Saleng Linked – Analysing Monaco's Attackers
He would help them win another one in the 2008/09 season as well, and scored in both finals. That clash in Rome was his final act as a Barca player as he would go on to become the African with the most UCL winner's medals the following season after he joined Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan. The two-time Africa Cup of Nations winner was now a back-to-back treble winner, and also became the third-highest goalscoring African footballer in UCL history.
You must be SIGNED IN to read and post comments.
WATCH VIDEO:
