AFCON 2015: Top Bundesliga stars storm Equatorial Guinea in search of continental glory
As many as seven players will be representing the Bundesliga at this year's African Cup of Nations, with the tournament set to take place between 17 January and 8 February in Equatorial Guinea.
Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Salomon Kalou and Co. are only the latest Africans to leave a lasting impression on the German top flight, however. Lets fill you in on some of the continent's players to have made the biggest splash...
Most appearances
The Bundesliga's longest-serving African is Guinean Pablo Thiam (pictured), who scored 23 goals in 311 games for 1. FC Köln, FC Bayern München and VfL Wolfsburg. After him come Togo’s Bachirou Salou (51 goals in 253 games), Egypt's Hany Ramzy (15 goals in 228 games) and Ghana's Anthony Yeboah (96 goals in 223 games).
Cedric Makiadi (DR Congo) is the player with the most appearances currently plying his trade in the Bundesliga. The 30-year-old has racked up 218 matches and 17 goals with Wolfsburg, SC Freiburg and current club SV Werder Bremen.
Most goals
Antony Yeboah (Eintracht Frankfurt and Hamburger SV, r.) is the highest-scoring African player in Bundesliga history with 96 goals, and is also the only African to be Bundesliga top scorer. In 1992/93 he scored 20 times for Eintracht Frankfurt , sharing the Torjägerkanone with Ulf Kirsten, before scoring 18 the following season and jointly winning the prize again, this time with Stefan Kuntz.
The second-highest African goalscorer in the Bundesliga is former Nigerian international Jonathan Akpoborie (61 goals for FC Hansa Rostock, Stuttgart and Wolfsburg).
Top scorer in a season
The most goals scored by an African player in a single Bundesliga campaign is 22, notched by Papiss Demba Cisse (l.) for SC Freiburg in 2010/11. He finished second in the top scorers’ list that season behind FC Bayern’s Mario Gomez. After 37 goals in 65 games for Freiburg, the Senegalese marksman moved to Newcastle United FC in January 2012.
First African
Ibrahim Sunday was the first-ever African player to feature in the Bundesliga. The Ghanaian made his only top-flight appearance in Germany in a 2-0 defeat for SV Werder Bremen at Rot-Weiss Essen, being withdrawn at half time.
Most championships
Only ten African players have won the Bundesliga title. Ghanaian defender Samuel Osei Kuffour (r.) accounts for six of those from his time at Bayern between 1994 and 2005. Additionally, Kuffour also won five DFB Cups, four German League Cups, the UEFA Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup.
The first time African players were crowned Bundesliga champions was in 1994/95. Ibrahim Tanko (Ghana) made 14 appearances, Marc Arnold (South Africa) turned out nine times and Yahaya Mallam (Ghana) played twice to help BVB win the Meisterschale.
Last title winner
The last African player to win the Bundesliga is Egyptian striker Mohamed Zidan, who notched the title with Borussia Dortmund in 2010/11. Zidan also represented Bremen and Hamburg and had two spells with 1. FSV Mainz 05, scoring 47 times in 155 appearances between 2005 and 2012.
The other African players to have clinched the league title are Arthur Boka (Stuttgart, 2007), Otto Addo (Dortmund, 2002), Ahmed Reda Madouni (Dortmund, 2002), Andrew Sinkala (Bayern, 2000) and Pascal Ojigwe (1. FC Kaiserslautern, 1998).
Source: Bundesliga.com
Readers Comment
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Troy
9 years ago
Look GSN you people better start being professionals. What is this Article with no caption?
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Yahuuz
9 years ago
Oh no why Tittle defferent from article please be proffersional
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