On December 20, CAF (Confederation of African Football ) named Samuel Eto’o as African footballer of the Year for the 4th time, beating out World Cup standout player- Asmaoh Gyan & one of Africa & the world’s most famous players -Didier Drogba. I don’t think anyone can possibly dispute that Samuel Eto’o is one of the best footballers in the world not just best African footballer, but while many thought Gyan would come out on top for CAF, they passed on him & instead awarded Ghana’s ex-coach Milovan Rajevac for taking Ghana on an exceptional winning streak during his tenure. All I can say is Coach Milo owes his entire career & future legacy to Ghana even though he went for the money in Saudi Arabia instead of remaining loyal to those who made him a household name in the world of football as he allowed his allegiance to his birth nation of Serbia to override his obligation to not bite the hand that feeds him by refusing to celebrate Ghana’s victory over Serbia during the World Cup- Yes I am still salty over that because I am African & Black Star to the core! The fact that Milo is struggling in Saudi Arabia & begging Ghana to take him back perhaps has finally sunk into his head that the Black Stars made him & not the other way around, as Jay Z said ”heard motherfuckers saying they made Hov..Made Hov say, “OK so, make another Hov“, but I don’t see Milo making another stellar young Black Star team like the one he had anytime soon- so Milo just remember you LOST ONE!
Fans of Asamoah Gyan AKA Baby Jet need not fret because he will not be finishing out the year without recognition for his accomplishments in playing the beautiful game because the BBC thought differently from CAF & awarded Gyan as BBC’s African Footballer of the Year 2010. Both Gyan & Eto’o deserve their accolades as ambassadors for Africa in their exemplary play on the field along with holding Africa & their individual nations high even through the many trails & tribulations that African players must go up against in a Eurocentric world of football that often sees them as a commodity with little respect for them as men/human beings! African footballers, particularly these two men, have shown great strength, mental prowess, grace, poise & patience in becoming the winners that they are seen as off & on the field! Samuel Eto’o & Asamoah Gyan -Global Africa salutes you!
“Samuel Eto’o has been crowned African Player of the Year for 2010 at a glittering awards ceremony in Cairo. The Cameroon striker, who enjoyed little success with his country but won the treble with his club Inter Milan last season, becomes the first player to win the award four times…However, his exploits with the Indomitable Lions were limited as they were bundled out early in both the African Nations Cup and World Cup in South Africa. In some quarters that made him second favourite to Gyan, whose goal-scoring exploits took Ghana to the World Cup quarter-finals, where they were eventually beaten on penalties by Uruguay. Former Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac was named coach of the year, the Serbian seeing off strong competition from TP Mazembe boss Lamine N’Diaye and Egypt’s Hassan Shehata…” READ MORE
“The Inter Milan striker said : “It is a pleasure to be a winner again, to take it for the fourth time against such top opposition. It is true now that Africa has so many good players and there is lots of talent coming up, so this might be a last chance for me.” READ MORE
“Sunderland striker, Asamoah Gyan, has been voted by football fans across the world as BBC African Footballer of the Year 2010. The results were announced live on BBC World Service’s flagship sports programme for Africa, Fast Track. The search for BBC African Footballer of the Year 2010 began in November when fans were given a chance to choose their African football hero from a shortlist selected by experts from across the continent…On discovering he had won the award, Gyan was overwhelmed. He said: ‘I’m so happy, l can’t believe it. I’m so thankful to all the fans who voted for me. It really was hard to win this award especially because of all the other players I was up against ‘So I’m so appreciative to all my fans in Africa, especially my family and fans in Ghana.” READ MORE