Rough diamonds: The search for the next big African star

While Manchester City, Arsenal, Newcastle and Co battle it out in the wintry weather that marks January and February in the Premier League, a select number of their squad players have been summoned to answer the call of their homelands as sixteen teams battle it out for the title of African Champions at the Eighteenth African Nations Cup being jointly hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Like the World Cup, the European Championships, the Gold Cup, the Asian Cup and the Copa America, the ACN — which is held in January because June and July are the monsoon months for many African nations — presents an opportunity for many players to put themselves in the Transfer Shop window. The following is a list of eleven players — some of whom will be featuring at the ACN — who have the potential to become great players. 1.) Itumeleng Khune - Goalkeeper, Kaizer Chiefs and South Africa Not much was known of Khune until South Africa hosted the Confederations Cup in 2009 as a dress rehearsal to next year’s World Cup. The Kaizer Chiefs stopper was solid if not spectacular in the Group Stages as the Bafana Bafana kept Iraq and New Zealand at bay, but conceded two to Spain to finish Group Runners-up. It was in the knockout stages against Brazil that he was put to the test, which he passed with flying colours as he saved shot after shot from Kaka, Fabiano and Co only to finally concede to Dani Alves in the 88th minute. He matched the same credentials during the World Cup, but the quality of Mexico and Uruguay proved to be too hot for the hosts to handle, before grabbing a consolation victory against France. [caption id=“attachment_201628” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Khune is a confident keeper with great reflexes, and at age 24, could be the answer to many a European Club’s problem between the posts. Reuters”]  [/caption] Khune is a confident keeper with great reflexes, and at age 24, could be the answer to many a European Club’s problem between the posts. 2.) Daniel Opare - Right Back, Standard Liege and Ghana A product of the Real Madrid Castilla Academy, Opare was already slated for greatness when at the age of seventeen, he was featured by World Soccer Magazine in their ‘50 Most Exciting Teenagers on the Planet’, with his marauding pace and precision crosses receiving rave reviews as Ghana finished fourth at the 2007 U-17 World Cup. Now a full Ghanaian international, Opare is representing the Black Stars at the ACN, having made the right-back position his own, and could be courted by one of the Big European Clubs in the future. 3.) Samuel Inkoom - Centre Back/Right Back, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk and Ghana At age eighteen, Inkoom was linked to European giants FC Barcelona when he was still playing for local side Asante Kotoko. His move to Europe materialised soon after, however, when Swiss side FC Basel came calling for his services. Two years later he moved further east to Ukranian side Dnipro, where his physical strength, pace, tactical awareness and versatility meant he was always guaranteed a place in the team. But Inkoom has stated that he would like to leave Dnipro due to differences with coach Juande Ramos, who has often denied him permission to go on international duty and has threatened to sign a replacement if he continues to disobey his coach. Finding another club shouldn’t be a problem for 22-year-old Inkoom, with his skills surely in demand by Clubs throughout the continent. 4.) Bakary Kone - Centre Back, Burkina Faso and Olympique Lyonnais Of dual Ivorian and Burkinabe nationality, Bakary Kone began his career at CFTPK Abidjan, which has produced several players who now ply their trade in Europe. In 2006, he signed with French Ligue 2 side En Avant Guingamp —  the same side that was the springboard for Florent Malouda, Didier Drogba, Fabrice Abriel and Vincent Candela — where he grew as a player, spending five years with the side with which he won the 2008-09 Coupe de France. Given his height, physical strength and aerial dominance on the field, a move to a bigger club was always on the cards, and Lyon came calling in the summer of 2011. Now a regular at the Stade Gerland, Kone is serving his first tour of international duty at the ACN and will be hoping Europe’s elite will take notice of him. 5.) Cheikh M’Bengue - Left Back, Senegal and Toulouse A product of the Toulouse FC youth Academy, M’Bengue has been earmarked as the successor to Jeremy Mathieu— now at Valencia. While Mathieu was still at Toulouse, he made the starting left-back spot his own, in part due to Mathieu wanting to play a more advanced role in midfield. At six feet tall with pace to burn and an athleticism that makes African players stand out, M’Bengue is now a full fledged Senegal international and could be on a plane to greener pastures if he continues to show the development which has seen him climb the Toulouse ranks. But he has shown a penchant for committing dangerous fouls in the past. In 2007-08, while with the Toulouse reserves in a match against a second-string Monaco side, M’Bengue was sent off when he severely injured an opposition player and was handed a ten-match ban. In March of 2009, against the Monaco senior side, he injured Alejandro Alonso, ruling the Argentine out for the rest of the season. The French Football Federation (FFF) slapped him with a four-month domestic suspension Continues on the next page 6.) Sidy Kone - Defensive Midfielder, Mali and Olympique Lyonnais After three years of playing in the relative obscurity of the Malian Premier League, Kone was spotted by Lyon scouts while he was at local club Jeanne D’Arc FC. As part of his blooding into European football, Kone spent the 2010-11 season — his first at Lyon — with the reserve side, winning the French fourth division title in the process, playing thirteen games and scoring a goal. Lyon coach Remi Garde promoted him to the first team squad for the current season, having being suitably impressed by the 6'1" nineteen-year-old’s talent with the reserves. Kone made his senior debut in a league game with Brest, which finished 1-1. In the same game, Kone was awarded his first red card. Kone has featured for the Mali U-20 team, playing in 2011 African Youth Championship qualifiers and the tournament itself, helping Mali to a fourth-paced finish, and made his full senior bow as a substitute in a friendly game against Tunisia. 7.) Thulani Serero - Attacking Midfielder, South Africa and AFC Ajax Serero is a product of South African feeder club Ajax Cape Town, and prior to making the move to parent club Ajax Amsterdam, had several trials with the Dutch giants, finally signing a four-year contract in May 2011, with Serero describing the move to the Netherlands as a ‘dream come true’. Aged 21, the diminutive midfielder has great creativity, is an excellent box to box player and is a fantastic set-piece taker. His versatility means he can also play on either flank, or as a support striker in the hole. [caption id=“attachment_201655” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Serero was a constant fixture in the South Africa U-20 National team, and made his senior debut against Kenya on the 9th of February last year. Reuters”]  [/caption] Serero was a constant fixture in the South Africa U-20 National team, and made his senior debut against Kenya on the 9th of February last year. His first Bafana Bafana goal came against Swaziland in a pre-World Cup warmup game. 8.) Charles Kabore - Attacking Midfielder, Burkina Faso and Olympique de Marseille Having being plucked from his homeland by Marseille four years ago at the age of nineteen, Charles Kabore is now a regular in the Marseille first team. Like many Africans who make the move to Europe, Kabore proved his credentials to Les Phoceens when he spent half a season on loan at the French Riviera, playing 12 games in the process. His skills must have impressed Marseille because he has gone on to clock 82 league appearances since then. Blessed with eagle-eyed vision, and bags of pace, 23-year-old Kabore is a tidy and efficient passer of the ball and has a workrate that would put a draught horse to shame. Kabore made his debut for Burkina Faso in 2006 and featured 25 times since. 9.) Papiss Demba Cisse - Striker, Senegal and Newcastle United Fans on Tyneside will be hoping that Cisse settles in quickly and provides bags of goals like his compatriot Demba Ba, who’s been an absolute revelation for the Magpies this season. A late bloomer spending much of his time plying his trade in the mid-table clubs and lower leagues of France and Germany, Cisse has finally found his calling in the big leagues now that Newcastle have swooped for the 26 year old’s signature. [caption id=“attachment_201662” align=“alignright” width=“380” caption=“In his first full season in the Bundesliga with Freiburg, Cisse scored 22 goals, the highest ever goal haul for a Freiburg player. Reuters”]  [/caption] In his first full season in the Bundesliga with Freiburg, Cisse scored 22 goals, the highest ever goal haul for a Freiburg player, and he was only second in the goalscoring charts that season, with Bayern Munich’s Mario Gomez having scored 28. Like Ba, Cisse has the physicality to cope with the Premier League’s demands, great pace and is dominant in the air. He comes to Newcastle with an understanding already forged between him and Ba, who will both be turning out for Senegal this and next month. 10.) Moussa Ma’azou - Striker, Niger and FC Metz, on loan from CSKA Moskva When Niger qualified for the current edition of the AFCON, they did so in their last game over much fancied South Africa, with Ma’azou scoring the winner that would take the shock winners to Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Although he is only 23, Ma’azou has been playing in Europe since the age of eighteen, signing with Belgian side Lokeren in 2008, and moving to CSKA Moskva a year later. The Moscow side have farmed him on loan to several clubs since, notably in France, with Bordeaux, Monaco and Metz all having the striker on their books. The fact that he has been loaned out so often could mean his future at CSKA might be under a cloud of speculation, and with the hopes of a nation resting on Ma’azou’s shoulders, it wouldn’t be surprise if another European club came calling - this time for a permanent deal - over the summer. 11.) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - Striker, Gabon and St. Etienne A product of the AC Milan Youth Academy, Aubameyang has spent nearly all of his professional career in France. After spending successive seasons on loan with Dijon, Lille and Monaco, St. Etienne decided to take him on loan last season, and signed him permanently during the current transfer window before he went on international duty. As a resident of Italy during his time with AC Milan, Aubameyang was invited to play with the Italian U-19s, but chose France - his place of birth - instead, making his debut for the French U-21s in 2009. He then followed in his father’s footsteps and chose Gabon when he made the jump to senior international football. Now the face of Gabonese football, Aubameyang may be settled at St.Etienne for now, but a bigger club will always be looming on the horizon for someone as talented as the 22-year-old.