FT 2017/18 African Transcendent XI: CF - Emmanuel Boateng [Levante]

Many African players have light up the European leagues ever since the days of George Weah. These include Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o, Yaya Toure, Okocha, etc. who have performed at an extraordinary level in the past decades. Mo Salah of Liverpool and Egypt has been the fan favorite this year for his record-breaking goals and guiding his club to the UEFA Champions League final. But this is not all the continent has to offer. There are other young players who are showing early promises of reaching these levels or even better them. Therefore, FirstTouch reflects on the next transcendent U23 players in each position.

CF - Emmanuel Boateng

21-year old Ghanaian striker made the headlines a few weeks ago after inspiring Levante into defeating Barcelona to end their undefeated run. The player scored a hat-trick in the match and many fans have been curious to know what he is about. The young African player joined Levante in the summer of 2017 from Portuguese side Moreirense and has a mixed start to life in Spain. He only started 11 matches for Levante and has scored 7 goals. Three of them coming on that historic night against Barcelona. He made a claim to the rest of the world that he is capable of performing against the very best just like Samuel Eto’o did after he was released by Real Madrid. He went on to make the move to Barcelona and became a legend for the club. Are we witnessing another story of an African player who proves his worth at a small Spanish side before moving to the biggest clubs in Europe? What we know for sure he has started to attract the attention that had been reserved for Kelechi Iheanacho who has stagnated ever since 2016.

FT Top World Cup Snubs: #1 - Mauro Icardi

The FIFA World Cup is the biggest individual sports tournament in the whole world. Russia successfully submitted a bid and are going to be hosting this year’s World Cup. Many players have given their all during the 2017/18 season in a bid to get a sit on the plane to Russia to represent their national teams. Since the decisions lie on the managers and their team, it was bound that many players would be shockingly dropped in teams especially with a lot of competition for places. Here, we look at the 10 players who failed to make the cut on the final squad list.

Mauro Icardi - Argentina

Mauro Icardi has been exempted from the FIFA World Cup 2018 Squad for Argentina. Many analysts have come out to say that the Inter Milan striker is so unfortunate to be playing in the age of great attacking options for the country with players like Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain, Paulo Dybala and Lionel Messi. Nonetheless, the player has done enough to deserve a place in the squad. The role of the striker is to score goals and Icardi has just done that for his club this season scoring 30 goals in 38 matches. This rate is better than Higuain and Dybala’s returns this season who played in the same competitions with the player but only managed 27 and 26 each respectively. There are not many players as gifted as the young 25-year old at finishing but Jorge Sampaoli could not trust that he would bring them success in the tournament which raises questions about how these decisions are made. The player evidently had a better season than many but is omitted from the squad which proves that he falling short because he represents a smaller club than his counterparts.

FT World Cup Focus: Players vs The Mental Side of Football

PENALTY! It is this one to win it for Ghana and they will make it to the semifinals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. Asamoah Gyan steps up to take the last kick of the match. 1-1 is the scoreline against Uruguay. The referee gives the greenlight…OH…HE MISSES!

This event sparked the abusive attacks that the player received in person and on social media blaming him for his country’s elimination from the tournament in the quarterfinals. The whole continent of Africa was rooting for Ghana to go all the way and they were on the verge of a record-breaking semifinal place for an African team only for him to mistakenly hit his shot against the crossbar and fail to score. What many might not know is what the player went through after walking off the pitch at the end of the penalty shootout. Asamoah Gyan’s confidence ran low. He also missed a great penalty for Ghana 2 years later at the 2012 African Cup of Nations against Zambia in the semifinals.

He said, “I'd like to apologize to the fans. It's been very difficult for me. I'd never miss a penalty on purpose. It's now two of the biggest penalties in my country's history and it's difficult to take. I've been unlucky. We all miss them. Fans should know it's not easy. (Didier) Drogba missed in the final. (Samuel) Eto'o has missed before. It's happened to the greatest before, I'm sorry.” He apologized deeply because he had received so much stick which could have caused depression.

Another player who eventually could not recover from this depression and psychological pressures that players experience as part of the game is Robert Enke. The German goalkeeper ended up committing suicide. His club’s president confirmed the Hannover player had been ‘unstable’ but it had not been noticed publicly. He left a suicide note after a culmination of a long struggle with depression which shocked the world of football. It is such extreme instances that brings sense to everyone that the players are also human. They experience a lot throughout their career and sometimes play with injuries just to avoid being attacked by the fans.

Just recently, Loris Karius of Liverpool was culpable for conceding two cheap goals in the UEFA Champions League final against Real Madrid. He immediately apologized at the end of the match. Today I lost my team the game and I feel sorry for everyone.

“I’m sorry for everyone – from the team, from the whole club – that the mistakes cost dearly. If I could go back in time, I would. I feel sorry for my team. I know I let them down today,” Karius said in the post-match interview with talkSPORT.

Memes have already been created by his mistakes and he is dubbed treacherous.

He is already being compared to Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ disciples who betrayed him for a bribe in The Bible. Many former players have come out to ask the fans to show the player some love. Mistakes are part of the game and he never intended to give away a win when he was also fighting for the title. It was a dark day for the player and the fans in the stadium clapped him at the end of the match. Their reaction proves that they understood what he was going through as a person and we only wish for that to spread across the world.

The FIFA World Cup is commencing in less than 3 weeks and it is almost certain that someone will make a big error leading to a goal. There are some players that will be psychologically challenged and our duty as fans of the game is to spread love in our messages to show support to the people that sacrificed their lives to entertain us in each and every 90 minutes of play. STOP abusing the players. They are human. They are like you and me. Let us support the game!

FT 2017/18 African Transcendent XI: RW - Keita Balde [Monaco]

Many African players have light up the European leagues ever since the days of George Weah. These include Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o, Yaya Toure, Okocha, etc. who have performed at an extraordinary level in the past decades. Mo Salah of Liverpool and Egypt has been the fan favorite this year for his record-breaking goals and guiding his club to the UEFA Champions League final. But this is not all the continent has to offer. There are other young players who are showing early promises of reaching these levels or even better them. Therefore, FirstTouch reflects on the next transcendent U23 players in each position.

RW - Keita Balde

The right-winger was born in Spain and chose to represent Senegal, his father’s country of origin. The 23-year old currently plays for Monaco having joined the club from Lazio in a £27.8m deal after the club lost their star forward Kylian Mbappe to PSG. They trusted that the African player has the right attributes to fill the boots of the most expensive teenager in world football. The player has been somewhat of a success. He scored 8 goals and created 7 in a season where he started 19 matches. If these statistics are not good enough, it shows that we already compare him to the best performers in Europe who have been consistent in providing assists more like Kevin De Bruyne. The Senegalese forward will be on the opposite side of another dangerous forward in Sadio Mane at the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018. Senegal will be a force to recon and this is thanks to how these African players have developed on the European scene.

FT World Cup Focus: Does Nigeria have three reasons to ‘Kelechi’ (Thank God)?

In Nigeria, particularly in the Igbo tribe, Kelechi happens to be a very common name given to children coming into this world. Loosely translated, the name means “thank God” or “glorify God” that speaks to a people expressing gratitude to a Higher power for the blessing in form of the child born to them. In the football media, we have been recently exposed to three Kelechis. Do they perhaps resemble the three positives that the green and white army can be cognizant of heading into the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals in Russia next month? Let us find out

Kelechi Iheanacho

The Leicester striker joined the foxes in the summer of 2017 from Manchester City in a £25 million which made him the third most expensive African player at the time, after Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah’s transfers to Liverpool. He had become famous for scoring goals from the bench at City, becoming the most prolific Premier League scorer in history at 1 goal every 96 minutes, a ratio higher than the likes of Thierry Henry and Sergio Aguero.

Things did not, however, go as planned at Leicester in the 2017/18 campaign as he continued to fall out of favor with coach Claude Puel for the better part of the season. Iheanacho got a nod from the coach in the closing stages for the season and did put in some applaudable performances, including a fine strike in Leicester’s win over Arsenal. For the entire campaign, he made only seven EPL starts but scored 3 goals and registered 3 assists, not bad at all for a striker. In my humble opinion, the 21-year-old is not too far away from being a seasoned goal poacher who would not become as great as Okocha but will certainly provide goals for his country and club when they need them the most. He is poised to make it to Gernot Rohr’s final 23-man squad and I strongly believe that he can deliver the goods for the Super Eagles if given the chance.

Kelechi Nwakali

He is the kid who has recently made the headlines after a man of the match display in Nigeria’s 3-2 loss to Atletico Madrid as part of the GOtv Max cup clash. Nwakali steered the Super Eagles in front on the 31st-minute mark by curling a beautiful shot into the net, beyond the reach of Jan Oblak. The 19-year-old has actually been crafting such crazy performances for quite some time now especially at the Dutch side MVV Maastricht where he is on loan from North Londoners, Arsenal. Prior to joining the Premier League club, Nwakali captained the Under-17 Super Eagles side to a 2015 FIFA World Cup title, winning the Golden Ball Award in the process. He is still yet to make an Arsenal debut and could soon join his compatriot, Alex Iwobi in the Gunners first team.

Even though he was not selected to be part of Rohr’s provisional 30-man squad for the World Cup finals in Russia next month, Nwakali represents a tantalizing prospect of youth who could continue building on Nigeria’s momentum and restore the nation’s position as a footballing powerhouse after the June finals.

Dr. Kelechi Anyikude

Popularly known as Kelechi, the Arsenal fan has become known for fanatically backing the Gunners. The Ph.D. holder currently resides in the United Kingdom and considers himself an Unofficial Nigerian Ambassador, Environmentalist, and SDG Advocate. He is a regular on the Arsenal FanTV YouTube channel and a symbol of the funny, opinionated and widely outspoken fan who is not shy to express his feelings. He sings and dances a lot on the channel using his native Igbo language and also shouts when times are rough.

Kelechi will be fully backing the Super Eagles team in Russia and his energy represents the population of Nigeria fans who are known for assuming the role of the 12th player with purpose and pride. Pre-orders for the Nigerian Nike kit has reached over a record 3 million and you are guaranteed that in Russia and elsewhere around the world, the Super Eagles fans will be behind their heroes. Could the off the pitch hype aid Nigeria’s 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign success?

FT Top 10 World Cup Snubs: #3 - Mario Götze

The FIFA World Cup is the biggest individual sports tournament in the whole world. Russia successfully submitted a bid and are going to be hosting this year’s World Cup. Many players have given their all during the 2017/18 season in a bid to get a sit on the plane to Russia to represent their national teams. Since the decisions lie on the managers and their team, it was bound that many players would be shockingly dropped in teams especially with a lot of competition for places. Here, we look at the 10 players who failed to make the cut on the final squad list.

Mario Götze - Germany

This one is quite shocking. Who would have ever thought that Mario Götze of all people, would be left out by Joachim Low. The attacking midfielder won Germany the FIFA World Cup in 2014 by scoring the goal that made the difference against Argentina in the final. He controlled the cross from the left and finished past Romero on the 112th minute. This gutted Lionel Messi who went on to retire from the national team. The young German became a hero for his goal which gifted Germany with the World Cup and many assumed that he would be repaid by a place in the final squad. The player has not had a terrible season either having made 38 appearances across all competitions which yielded 3 goals and 6 assists. Surely, Goetze deserved more from his team but the coach thinks otherwise. At the end of the day, Low probably sees that the player delivered when asked to but is now surplus to requirements. Such is the life of a footballer. One moment you’re idolized and the next, you’re insignificant.

FT 2017/18 African Transcendent XI: CM - Naby Keita [RB Leipzig]

Many African players have light up the European leagues ever since the days of George Weah. These include Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o, Yaya Toure, Okocha, etc. who have performed at an extraordinary level in the past decades. Mo Salah of Liverpool and Egypt has been the fan favorite this year for his record-breaking goals and guiding his club to the UEFA Champions League final. But this is not all the continent has to offer. There are other young players who are showing early promises of reaching these levels or even better them. Therefore, FirstTouch reflects on the next transcendent U23 players in each position.

CM - Naby Keita

Naby Keita made it in the German Bundesliga team of the Year in 2017 after guiding RB Leipzig to a second-place finish in the league. The following summer, Liverpool agreed on a deal in principle to take the Guinea international in the following year to the Anfield Stadium. The 23-year old has been the engine for one of the Red Bull franchise teams which have progressed in the past two years. The biggest headache that he will give to his new coach, Jurgen Klopp is his versatility. The player can play anywhere in midfield and can still be offensive. This season alone, he has scored 10 goals and provided 7 assists in all competitions according to WhoScored. He has been linked with clubs like Barcelona, Arsenal, and Liverpool before to show the caliber of player he is. He sure is destined to be a top, top player and it would be a mistake if Liverpool decides not to finalize the deal.

Women’s African Cup of Nations 2018 is around the corner

The FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 is making the headlines as expected for it is the biggest sporting event in the world. The African Cup of Nations comes in a close second for African countries and it is equivalent to the UEFA Euro in Europe and Copa America in South America. This tournament presents an opportunity for countries from the motherland to battle out for the title of being called the Kings of Africa.

The women national teams of Africa have their own AFCON tournament which FirstTouch will be covering between November 17 and December 1. Ghana are the hosts for this main event and have the automatic qualification to the tournament. 7 spots are up for grabs and many teams have been fighting it out to make it to the tournament finals in the qualifiers which started in April and will end in June. The top three teams from this year’s Total Women’s African Cup of Nations will qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup which will be hosted by France in 2019. It would be interesting to see who will earn a place for such a tournament after the likes of Zimbabwe surprised many when they qualified for the Olympic Games in 2016.

UCL Road To Kiev Final: Senegal’s Mane fires warning shots at Real Madrid

It is only two days before the winner of Europe’s elite club competition is decided in Ukraine. Record winners, Real Madrid will be looking to secure their third consecutive title when they face the challenge of the free-scoring Liverpool. A lot of talking points have been explored about this match, with the most popular one being that of the battle for supremacy as far as 2017/18 football matters are concerned, between the incumbent Cristiano Ronaldo and the Egyptian King, Mohamed Salah. The winner of the match is tipped to seal the fate of the 2018 Balon D’Or trophy for world’s best player.

Away from the noise of Salah and Ronaldo is the Senegalese who is just as dangerous. Mane scored 19 times in this campaign for Liverpool, behind Salah at 44 and the final third of the fab 3, Roberto Firmino weighing in at 27. Liverpool’s front three have become one of the fiercest attack flanked on both sides by the African connection and supported by the Brazilian. They seem not to be moved by the acclaimed BBC of Bale, Benzema, and Ronaldo and might perhaps turn the Champions League to a victim of an African rout. Mane has promised one thing come Saturday, goals galore! Liverpool has already smashed the record of goals scored in a single Champions League campaign having found the back of the net, 46 times already this season.

Here is what Sadio Mane had to say:

"I think more goals are coming. Of course, I am happy, but as a striker, you'd love to score every single game to help your team. Now we have one more important game, so why not try to do our best, score for the team and win the trophy?"

"The power of Liverpool Football Club is the collective. We always do everything together -- this is our power. Of course, it will not be easy because we know they have experience and also they have qualities in the team. We respect them a lot but we also have players and staff to beat any team in the world."

FT World Cup News: Super Eagles players to receive bonuses before Russia appearance

The disputes over non-payment of bonuses for national players which have plagued African teams at major tournaments might just be averted by a seemingly more determined Nigerian Football Federation. The NFF boss Amaju Pinnick told Kwese ESPN that the squad would receive their bonus payments before the friendly against DR Congo on Monday.  It is understood that the players already signed a graduated bonus structure last November, which is in line with the FIFA directive to deal with bonus disputes. FIFA has already paid (USD) $2 million to national associations to aid the process with NFF raising an additional (USD) $800 000 to further their cause.

"FIFA paid $2million and we have been able to raise an additional $800 000. That is what we need to pay the players and prosecute both the remaining pre-World Cup games and the World Cup itself.T he players will be paid their share of what we agreed with them as soon as they arrive for the friendly in Nigeria." - Amaju Pinnick, NFF President

This will undoubtedly go a long in increasing Nigeria’s chances of pulling off a formidable world cup campaign. In recent years, payment disputes stifled the country’s progress with an alleged incident in the 1994 World Cup where the Super Eagles stayed up the night before their 4-1 Round of 16 humiliation by Denmark, fighting for their bonuses. Even in 2013, the team refused to board a plane for FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil, before the issue intensified at the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals. It is not only Nigeria, Ghana had to fly (USD) $3 million cash in a private jet to Brazil after the Black Stars boycotted training.

Atletico Madrid narrowly beat Nigerian national team

The Europa League Champions were able to secure a win over the world cup bound, Super Eagles side by scoring a winner five minutes from time. The much anticipated GOTV Max Cup clash at Godswill Akpabio international stadium was off to a great start for the locals who grabbed the lead in the 31st minute. Arsenal young midfielder who is on loan at MVV Maastricht, Kelechi Nwakali (19) rounded off a defender before curling a majestic shot into the back of the net, beyond the reach Jan Oblak, one of the world’s best shot-stoppers.

Two minutes later, the inexperience of the Super Eagles B side was exposed as Ghanaian Thomas Partey stole the ball from the showboating Emem Eduok and slotted in a neat pass for Angel Correa who finished beautifully with his outside foot. After the break, veteran Fernando Torres stole the lead for Rojiblancos by firing in a fine header from a corner. A much more determined and performance boosted by the introduction of Tosin Omoyele of the Nigerian Professional Football League side, Plateau United paid dividends in the 80th minute. Usman Mohammed combined with Omoyele and left an Atletico man lying on the floor after some serious dribbling and confidently slotted the ball into the net. The 18-year-old Atletico player, Borja Garces broke Nigerian hearts with a fine shot, five minutes from time.

Should Gernot Rohr have included some standout performers of Tuesday’s friendly like Nwakali in his thirty-man provisional squad? I mean, It was not really a bad performance by the B side.

Zimbabwean teen signs Burnley deal

England born forward, Tinashe Chakwana, has signed his first professional contract with Premier League side, Burnley. Chakwana has been nothing less than phenomenal at the Turf Moor, shining for the club’s youth teams. The 19-year-old was the top scorer for the club’s Under 18 side in the 2016/17 and carried that momentum into the 2017/18 season where he again topped the scoring charts, this time for the Under 23 side. The Wigan-born striker is really showing signs of possibly breaking into the Sean Dyche ’s first team at the club who remarkably secured a seventh-place finish in the English top flight league, behind the acclaimed big six of Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham, Chelsea, and Arsenal.

He is one of only two players from the youth teams that were offered professional contracts by the Clarets. Chakwana and age mate, Mark Howarth signed one-year deals with an option to add another year. Speaking about Chakwana who has been at Burnley since 2015 on scholarship, his former coach, Michael Jolly at the Under-23 side said:

"Tinashe's quality is improving tremendously. He is scoring goals for the team and that's important for a forward player Our aim is to get more players into the first team and we have more players training as part of the first team group from the Under-21 side and Tinashe is one of those players who have the potential to break into the first team soon." - Michael Jolly

By virtue of being born in England, Chakwana is eligible to play for the Three Lions or his parents’ origin. Zimbabwe will most definitely be keeping tabs with this exciting talent.

FT Top 10 World Cup Snubs: #4 - Renato Sanches

The FIFA World Cup is the biggest individual sports tournament in the whole world. Russia successfully submitted a bid and are going to be hosting this year’s World Cup. Many players have given their all during the 2017/18 season in a bid to get a sit on the plane to Russia to represent their national teams. Since the decisions lie on the managers and their team, it was bound that many players would be shockingly dropped in teams especially with a lot of competition for places. Here, we look at the 10 players who failed to make the cut on the final squad list.

Renato Sanches - Portugal

Young Portuguese prodigy, Renato Sanches had a breakout season in the 2015/16 season which earned him a place in the Portugal national team at the UEFA Euro 2016. Ronaldo’s team went on to win the tournament for the first time and the youngster was influential with his second half cameos. Since then, the young midfielder joined Bayern Munich, failed to compete for a starting spot before being shipped out on loan to Swansea this season. The player struggled to make the first team at Swansea who were relegated. He had so much promise which persuaded Bayern Munich into paying £27.5m for his services from Benfica but his trajectory is gradually declining. He will not be a part of the Portugal team that will compete at the FIFA World Cup Russia and he has no one to blame. 20-years of age and is already regarded as an extravagant option. He would not have imagined this, not in a million years.

FT 2017/18 African Transcendent XI: CDM - Wilfred Ndidi [Leicester City]

Many African players have light up the European leagues ever since the days of George Weah. These include Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o, Yaya Toure, Okocha, etc. who have performed at an extraordinary level in the past decades. Mo Salah of Liverpool and Egypt has been the fan favorite this year for his record-breaking goals and guiding his club to the UEFA Champions League final. But this is not all the continent has to offer. There are other young players who are showing early promises of reaching these levels or even better them. Therefore, FirstTouch reflects on the next transcendent U23 players in each position.

CDM - Wilfred Ndidi

Nigerian midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi has already started to make a name for himself in the most competitive leagues in Europe. The 21-year old moved to Leicester in January 2017 for £15m from Genk. He has since proved his worth against some of the best tacklers in the game such as N’golo Kante and Idrissa Gana Gueye who are all of the African descent. Ndidi is leading the Premier League charts as the best tackler with 138 in his 33 league appearances. The player also proved that he is an all-round midfielder and can offer more in terms of goal creation as he has scored a goal and provided 3 assists for Leicester in the league and FA Cup. It is exciting to hear that the young Nigerian is being linked with clubs like Arsenal who have had many problems in midfield ever since Patrick Vieira left the club. Ndidi has the potential to be a Premier League great if he makes a wise decision which involves him moving to a bigger club that can take his game to the next level like the likes of Michael Essien did at Chelsea under Mourinho. The season has ended and his focus is on the FIFA World Cup where he will be representing his nation who will play their first match against Croatia. 

The 21-year old midfield enforcer is as good as anyone you can get in his position and will be looking to strike a formidable midfield partnership with former Nigerian teammate and Golden Boy Winner John Obi Mikel who used to play for Chelsea before he left for China. We expect Ndidi to be doing the ‘dirty work’ for the team before distributing the ball to the playmaker who will transition the play to attack and hurt teams like Argentina, Croatia and Iceland in Group D. Wilfred has a long career ahead of him and should be looking to prove his worth especially against Messi’s team if he hopes of moving from being considered a good player to a great player. Arsenal has been reported to be sniffing around the possibility of capturing the talented African midfield enforcer and making him their new Vieira who will shut opponents if they try to break them on the counter. Will Ndidi be ready by the time the tournament kicks off in 21 days?

Football Business: La Liga club Sevilla reach three-year kit sponsorship deal with Nike

Congrats to La Liga’s own Sevilla, as the have just announced a new three-year kit sponsorship with Nike.

Nike will take pole position as the Seville club’s technical sponsor until the end of the 2020/21 season, creating the squad’s match and training kit as well as a range of new merchandise for the clubs fanbase.

Rival and domestic brand New Balance has seen its five-year deal with Sevilla expire at the end of this 2017-18 season, with Sevilla providing confirmation over their impending partnership with Nike following several months of negotiation between both parties.

The financial terms of the contract have yet to be disclosed, but reports in Spain describe the deal as “more than favourable” for Sevilla.

Sevilla finished this past 2017/18 La Liga season in seventh place, ensuring qualification for the UEFA Europa League in the 2018/19 season. Even though they have won this competition three times in the last four years, we wonder if Nike will be pushing the club to have consistent top 4 aspirations in La Liga.

Do you think Sevilla will have the consistent performance needed in domestic and foreign competition to eventually keep their Nike partnership after 2021?

FT Top 10 World Cup Snubs: #5 - Shkodran Mustafi

The FIFA World Cup is the biggest individual sports tournament in the whole world. Russia successfully submitted a bid and are going to be hosting this year’s World Cup. Many players have given their all during the 2017/18 season in a bid to get a sit on the plane to Russia to represent their national teams. Since the decisions lie on the managers and their team, it was bound that many players would be shockingly dropped in teams especially with a lot of competition for places. Here, we look at the 10 players who failed to make the cut on the final squad list.

Shkodran Mustafi - Germany

Another World Cup winner, Shkodran Mustafi has been left out of the Germany squad to compete at this year’s tournament in Russia. The Arsenal defender has had a poor season this year which saw his club finish 6th in the English Premier League. Mustafi was culpable for a number of errors alongside his injury-prone partner, Laurent Koscielny and the pair summarize the defensive problems that the club has. Although Arsenal scored 74 goals, they also shipped in 51 which explains their position in Wenger’s final year in charge. Mustafi had been an international regular as he was also in defense when the country won the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2017. Many expected him to continue his fill-in role where he usually stands in at right-back, left-back or anywhere in defense. He had been getting away with murder by turning in better performances for his national side than at Arsenal and his luck has finally run out. Joachim Low chose to drop the out of form defender and chose Rudiger instead who has had a slightly better season. Mustafi will not play at this year’s tournament. Ask the Arsenal fans for more.

FT 2017/18 African Transcendent XI: CDM - Franck Kessie [AC Milan]

Many African players have light up the European leagues ever since the days of George Weah. These include Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o, Yaya Toure, Okocha, etc. who have performed at an extraordinary level in the past decades. Mo Salah of Liverpool and Egypt has been the fan favorite this year for his record-breaking goals and guiding his club to the UEFA Champions League final. But this is not all the continent has to offer. There are other young players who are showing early promises of reaching these levels or even better them. Therefore, FirstTouch reflects on the next transcendent U23 players in each position.

CDM - Franck Kessie

The Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire) international currently plays as the holding midfielder for Italian giants, AC Milan. The 21-year old is on-loan from Atalanta but looks set to be the heir of long-retired Gattuso who is coincidentally coaching the player at AC Milan. Many comparisons have been drawn between the player and another football legend in Yaya Toure who enjoyed his best years of football in Manchester, England. Kessie has been dubbed the long-term replacement of Yaya Toure in the national team and he has not disappointed. Although the club has had a poor season, Kessie appeared in 36 appearances scoring 5 goals in the process as well as providing 5 assists. Kessie shows early promises of being a dominant enforcer in midfield who can drive his team forward at his own will just like Yaya Toure did in England. He looks ready for the next big challenge, clubs like Arsenal should definitely have the player on their radar.

FT African Legends Series: Austin Jay Jay Okocha [Nigeria]

As we continue with the FirstTouch African Legends series, we drift to the western part of the continent and reminisce the career of whom I consider being one of the greatest dribblers that ever played professional football - Mr. Austin Azuka “Jay Jay” Okocha. I think it’s no coincidence that he and Zimbabwe’s Peter Ndlovu were born in the same year - they were perhaps born for the same purpose in their respective countries. In my mind, Peter Ndlovu, the first black African footballer in the English Premier League was a goal scoring machine while Okocha was a rabid entertainer.

The Beginning

Born in Enugu, Enugu State in Nigeria, Okocha started playing football on the streets with what he described in the following statement, “As far as I can remember, we used to play with anything, with any round thing we could find, and whenever we managed to get hold of a ball, that was a bonus! I mean it was amazing!" I mean, if the guy could control let’s say a mango with his feet, how about a proper soccer ball with a 68-70 cm circumference and a 22cm (8.56 inches) diameter. Perhaps that’s why he was ever so comfortable with the ball. He got the first touch of professional football in 1990 when he joined Enugu Rangers at just 17 years of age. He immediately made a big impression with his slick movements and became guilty of handing some experienced players a run for their money and a taste of the dust, once in a while.

Club career in Europe

Okocha’s big break came later that year when he visited West Germany on holiday after the 1990 FIFA World Cup. He stopped by a third division side, Borussia Neunkirchen’s training ground with a friend and asked to join in, only to find himself getting pinned to a contract after mesmerizing the coach with his arm-like legs that caressed the ball effortlessly. In the following year, he would join FC Saarbrucken before completing a move to the top flight Bundesliga side, Eintracht Frankfurt where he linked up with the Ghanaian striker, Tony Yeboah. He appeared 90 times for Frankfurt and scored 16 goals, including the 1993 goal which attracted the Goal of the season recognition by numerous magazines after he had rounded some players in the box twice and slotted the ball past the infamous German international goalkeeper, Oliver Kahn. Jay-Jay then moved to Turkey after Eintracht Frankfurt got relegated, he had a feud with the manager Jupp Heynckes before relegation. Whilst in Turkey, Okocha attained citizenship status as “Muhammet Yavuz” and scored 30 goals in only 62 appearances with a number of them being direct free kicks.

In 1998, French Ligue 1 side, Paris St-Germain broke the bank and paid £14 million for Okocha who became the most expensive African player at the time, in a four-year deal. Other than his continued displays on the pitch, Okocha also mentored the Brazilian football icon, Ronaldinho - who in my opinion rivals him when it comes to dribbling. After the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he joined English Premier League side, Bolton Wanderers whom he helped survive relegation and also steered them to their first cup final in nine years as Captain, where they finished runners-up to the 2004 Football League Cup. He did score some memorable goals and became a crowd favorite. Bolton fans would wear t-shirts with the inscription, "Jay-Jay – so good they named him twice." He was stripped of the Bolton Captaincy in 2006 after speculation of him moving to Qatar intensified. Jay-Jay eventually left Bolton that year for Qatar, where he played one season before returning to England in Hull City colors on a free transfer. He hung his boots after a short spell with the Tigers where he scored no goals in eighteen matches as a result of fitness and injury challenges. He still was a part of the Hull troops that won the first Premier League promotion in their 104-year history.

The Super Eagles Years

Okocha won Nigerian hearts in only his second cap for the country. After losing 2-1 to Ivory Coast on his debut in a 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier, Jay-Jay came on strong against Algeria where the Super Eagles came from one goal down to secure a 4-1 victory in a must-win match that secured their first ever FIFA World Cup qualification. The match was pretty much an Okocha-show. He also won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations and the Olympic Gold Medal at USA 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, as part of the Nigerian team dubbed Dream Team.

The step-over king’s antics on the pitch cannot be rightfully described in words. He even indirectly led to the sacking of Zimbabwe’s famous football commentator, Charles Mabika after he got his dribbling displays stuck on replay underscored by unapologetic juicy commentary with the words, “Just look at Okocha,” - on national television when the Super Eagles visited Harare for a friendly.

In April 2015, Okocha expressed interest in becoming the president of Nigerian Football Federation, a dream he happens to be chasing as we speak. Feeling nostalgic? Check his displays in the video below, where at 43-years of age, he turned a Joseph Yobo testimonial match to a Jay-Jay Okocha Exhibition in May 2016.

Do you think his cousin, Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi could follow the footsteps of the veteran?