Connect with us

Trending

George Weah, Eto’o divide Twitter as fans debate greatest African footballer of all time

Published

Weah Eto'o



Football fans on social media are presently struggling to outdo themselves in a debate sparked by a poll on the greatest African footballer of all time.

Sports website, Goal.com had posted the question on their Twitter page on Monday to seek the opinion of social media users on who they believe best qualifies to be named as the greatest footballer ever from the African continent.

The question has generated a debate on Twitter as fans are divided over former footballer turned Liberia’s President George Weah and his Cameroonian counterpart Samuel Eto’o as their choice for the honour.

George Weah, the only African player to ever win the Balon d’Or, started his football career in 1985 and called hanged the boot in 2003.

In his prime, aside from representing Liberia at the African Cup of Nations, Weah played for Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan, Chelsea, Manchester City and ended his career with Al-Jazira in 2003. He won the UEFA Champions League with PSG and also won local leagues with Monaco, PSG, AC Milan.

In 1995, following an excellent season performance, Weah was named FIFA World Player of the Year and won the Ballon d’Or, becoming the first only African player to ever win these awards. In 1989, 1994 and 1995, he was also named the African Footballer of the Year, and in 1996, he was named African Player of the Century. In 1996, Weah finished second in the FIFA World Player of the Year ranking.

Samuel Eto’o, on the other hand, also registered his name among the greatest players ever from the African continent.

The striker won the African Player of the Year for a record four times: in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2010.

In his prime, he was part of the Cameroun national team that won AFCON in 2000 and 2002. At the club level, he played for Real Madrid, Mallorca, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Anzhi Makhachkala, Chelsea, Everton, and Sampdoria.

Eto’o won three Champions League titles, two with Barcelona and one with Inter, and became the first player to win two European continental trebles with his back-to-back achievements with Barcelona and Inter.

He came in third for the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2005 and was twice named in the FIFA FIFPro World XI, in 2005 and 2006.

 

While some believe Weah’s feat as the only African player to ever win the World Best player of the year award puts him ahead of other players from the continent, others were of the opinion that Eto’o had a better football career and won more laurels than Weah.

See some of the reactions:

Advertisement
Comments



Trending