11 Players to Watch at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations

January 13th, 2010 | by: Daryl | Comments (17)

Everyone knows about Ivory Coast’s Didier Drogba and Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o. The superstars of African football. Most will know about Mali’s Fredi Kanoute and Seydou Keita too. You don’t need WorldCupBlog to tell you about them. So we thought we’d compile a list of 10 players to watch at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, featuring talented youngsters and other players with slightly lower profiles than those listed above.

The list obviously isn’t definitive. We’re not saying only watch these 11. That would be madness. It would make viewing most games very very difficult. We’re just saying keep an eye out for these guys. If there’s anyone else you think is worth watching, please let us know in the comments.

Note: We’re a little late in publishing this list as the tragedy involving the Togo team dominated the news in the days before kickoff.

Dominic Adiyiah (Ghana)

Ghana needs a striker. They have that ridiculously talented midfield (Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari, Stephen Appiah etcetera) and a fairly solid defence. But my main memory from the 2008 tournament was that the Black Stars needed someone slightly better than Matthew Amoah and Asamoah Gyan to turn possession into goals. That man could be Dominic Adiyiah. The 20 year old striker lit up the 2009 U-20 World Cup, finishing as top scorer and player of the tournament as Ghana lifted the trophy. He’s just now signed for Milan. Not sure if he’ll start, but Adiyiah will likely play some part in Ghana’s title challenge. Watch the above vid of the young man in action, if only for that magnificent dancing goal celebration.
- More on the Black Stars at Ghana World Cup Blog

Chinedu Obasi (Nigeria)

When discussing this list with Chris, I commented that Nigeria didn’t have anyone that got me excited. The squad looked like the usual names: Yakubu, Martins, Mikel etcetera. But then Chris wised me up to 23 year old Hoffenheim forward Chinedu Obasi. Or “Edu” as he’s sometime known. Obasi was originally left out of the Nigeria squad by coach Shaibu Amodu, but was then called up at the last minute. Obasi has already rewarded that faith by scoring Nigeria’s first goal of the tournament in the 3-1 loss to Egypt (above). Before you ask, the answer is yes, Obasi was on this list before he scored that goal. Promise.
- More on the Super Eagles at Nigeria World Cup Blog

Idriss Carlos Kameni (Cameroon)

The standard of goalkeeping at the African Nations Cup is often – fairly or unfairly – derided. It’s probably true that certain goalkeepers aren’t quite up to the same standard as their illustrious outfield teammates. This isn’t true on the Cameroon team, where Espanyol’s Kameni was quite literally in the same league as Samuel Eto’o until Eto’o traded La Liga for Serie A this summer. Kameni had a sterling 2008 tournament, especially in the final, with Run of Play’s Brian describing him as “Like Iker Casillas crossed with Optimus Prime” in our comments. Look out for a similar performance this time round.
More on the Indomitable Lions at Cameroon World Cup Blog

Mohamed Aboutrika* (Egypt)

*Unfortunately, Aboutrika will not be at Angola 2010. Egypt blogger Tamim pointed out in the comments that Aboutrika is injured and so didn’t make the squad.

Or “the Egyptian Zinedine Zidane” as he’s sometimes called. And not because of any follicular problems. The 31 year old Al-Ahly man is a proper playmaker, with fine technique and a full compliment of both passing and shooting skills. Also, the man isn’t afraid of a little controversy, as his 2008 “Sympathize with Gaza” t-shirt proved. It’s a shame Aboutrika won’t be featuring at World Cup 2010 or Angola 2010, so please enjoy the highlight video above instead.

Mohamed Zidan (Egypt)

Since Aboutrika won’t be featuring, striker Mohamed Zidan is another Egyptian worth watching, and not just because he’s only one “e” away from sharing a name with Zizou. This Zidan plays for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga. See above for skills and goals.
- More on the Pharaohs at Egypt World Cup Blog

Stéphane Sessègnon (Benin)

The Squirrels don’t have a wealth of household names like Ghana or Cote d’Ivoire. But they do have 25 year old Stéphane Sessègnon, who’s big news in France’s Ligue 1. First with Le Mans and then with Paris St Germain after his €10m or so move, Sessègnon has impressed as a playmaker.

According to my copy of World Soccer magazine, “there are often complaints over his alleged lack of dedication to the national cause. That he is originally Ivorian probably plays some part in this.” With this skills like this though, Benin should be glad he wears their shirt.
- More on The Squirrels at Benin World Cup Blog

Domingues aka Elias Pelembe (Mozambique)

I must confess, I haven’t seen Domingues in action, and had never heard of him before doing a bit of research for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. I mostly just like the sound of him. A tiny right winger who can apparenlty dribble at pace. This I want to see.

When this little winger plays in the South Africa’s Premier Soccer League for Mamelodi Sundowns, he plays under his real name of Elias Pelembe. But when he plays for Mozambique he’s Domingues. So basically he’s a superhero.

The only video I could find is the above Nike commercial. Which is at least 50% animation. And to be honest I’m not 100% sure it’s him and not some other Elias. Still. Enjoy!

Flavio (Angola)

Now this player I know. It was Flavio’s lanky strike partner Manucho who got the big move to Man Utd following Angola’s run to the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals in 2008. But Flavio arguably deserves more credit. The 30 year old, who recently moved from Egypt’s Al-Ahly to Saudi Arabia’s Al-Shabab is tiny. Just 5′8″ according to his Wiki page. Yet somehow he scores a frightening amount of goals with his head. Keep an eye on him.
- More on the Black Antelopes at Angola World Cup Blog

André Ayew (Ghana)

Having a famous dad must be hard enough. But André “Dede” Ayew is following in father Abedi “Pele” Ayew’s footsteps by playing for both Olympique Marseille and the Ghanaian national team. No pressure then.

Dede is an attacking midfielder with a fine left foot. He saw some playing time at the 2008 tournament as an 18 year old. Now he’s back as a 20 year old, having just captained the U-20 team to World Cup victory in 2009. That Ghanaian midfield is still a tough nut to crack though.

The reason I like this guy isn’t just because his dad was famous. It’s also because he’s such an exciting talent in his own right. Unfortunately the video of his left footed strike vs England in the U-20 World Cup has been eaten by the internet police, best we can do is the slightly blurry footage above. Hopefully we’ll see more of Dede in Angola.

Kwadwo Asamoah (Ghana (again))

If Dede doesn’t get a start in Ghana’s midfield, then Udinese’s 21 year old Kwadwo Asamoah might. The central mid played a big part in Udinese’s 2-1 win over Roma this season, causing Roma fan Chris to label him, and I quote, “A f*cking beast. He’s the next Essien.” Hard to think of higher praise really, and frightening to think of the potential in the current Ghana squad.

A strong enough midfielder with a lethal left foot, Asamoah went to the 2008 tournament as a 19 year old but didn’t get on the pitch. He’ll surely have a part to play this time.

Karim Ziani (Algeria)

Algeria have made a horrible start to Angola 2010, losing 3-0 to Malawi in their opener. If the Desert Foxes are going to turn their tournament around, then main man Ziani will likely be at the centre of it. He’s an attacking playmaker type, but he’s also unafraid to put the effort (and tough tackles) in. The Algerian Steven Gerrard maybe? Ziani currently plays for Bundesliga champs Wolfsburg after joining from Marseille this summer.
- More on the Desert Foxes at Algeria World Cup Blog

Amine Chermiti (Tunisia)

Word has it that Tunisia will be lining up in a midfield-flooding 4-5-1 formation. Not 100% sure who the lone striker will be, but I’m hoping it’s Hertha Berlin’s Armine Chermiti (currently on loan at Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia). The 22 year old was key to Etoile du Sahel’s Champions League win in 2007 before moving to Europe and already has an impressive 10 goals in 29 games for the Eagles of Carthage (that’ll teach me to trust Wikipedia goal stats).
- More on the Eagles of Carthage at Tunisia World Cup Blog

Does anyone out there have any more information on the above players? Please share in the comments. Also, if you know of any other players worth keeping an eye on at Angola 2010, please let us know.