Mohamed Aboutrika (AFF)

Jan 28, 2010 |

Sadly unavailable for the Egypt national team at the Africa Cup of Nations due to injury, 31 year old Mohamed Aboutrika is a true African football phenomenon who has been dubbed the Egyptian Zinedine Zidane. Visionary and smooth on the field, he is a joy to watch. Born into a poor, humble neighbourhood, Aboutrika joined the then-second division team, Tersana Club, at 12 and was promoted to the first team at 17. As top scorer for two seasons, he was key in their promotion to the Egyptian league. His high impact on the Egyptian League won him call-ups to the Egyptian National Olympic team as...

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Yaya Touré (AFF)

Jan 11, 2010 |

The Ivory Coast, over the last decade or so, has had a number of wonderful footballers establish them on the international stage - the biggest is probably Didier Drogba. For me, one of the first names to gain prominence was Kolo Touré, who formed the backbone of Arsenal’s defense before his recent move to Manchester City. While Kolo is a great player, it is his youngest brother, Gnégnéri Yaya Touré, who stands out for me. I’m not sure where I first came across him, but it was more than likely at the 2006 Africa Cups of Nations were he formed the heart of Cote D’Ivoire’s midfield - tough,...

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Africa’s Football Finest

Jan 8, 2010 |

For as long as I can remember, I have loved the beautiful game – football. I try to watch as much as I can and there are certain teams that I have supported since I was a child, like Liverpool and Bayern Munich. From a national perspective, it has always been Germany and, Africa’s first national team, the Black Stars – Ghana. During my younger years, one rarely heard of African players making it in the more resourced and developed leagues, like the English Premier League, Spain’s La Liga or Italy’s Serie A. African football was considered the poor little cousin everyone tolerated, despite...

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Kaizer Chiefs @ 40

Dec 10, 2009 |

For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved football. Growing up in Lesotho, my father would take me to the occasional games. He bought our first television when I was 11 but they didn’t always show the games that I wanted to watch. I am not that old, but I spent many an afternoon or evening hunched up next to a radio listening to the games. The teams I support have been influenced by my father, in some instances. These teams, in leagues across the world, have brought me much pain and joy and probably will do so for many years to come. I have always been a Kaizer Chiefs fan and some of my...

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It’s About The Game

Oct 12, 2009 |

They don’t call it ‘the beautiful game’ for nothing. For some reason, intangible to many, there is something amazingly poetic about 22 men, on a football field, making a ball do things that go beyond the magical. It is the culmination of so much that happens before and beyond that very field of green grass and white lines and it can be an experience of so much beauty. There is an army of passionate souls, all working towards that 90 minutes (plus extra time, if need be) and their eleven men (and women) on that field. The training, the planning, the strategy …. a chess game on green grass...

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