Africa Is a Country

Africa Represent

Africa Is a Country Podcast
African Five-a-Side Podcast

Africa Represent

By
Sean Jacobs

If the criteria is the number of African players each team had on the field, you need to root for Inter Milan in the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final.

Samuel Eto'o when he played for Serie A club, Inter Milan (Wiki Commons).

If the choice of which team to root for in 22 May 2010 UEFA Champions League final was based on how many African players they fielded, then apparently you should root for Inter Milan. Milan has three African players on its roster: Samuel Eto’o, Sulley Muntari and McDonald Mariga. That’s of course if Muntari and Mariga get to play.

In contrast, Bayern Munich has zero African players in its team, argues Piers Edwards in his football blog on the BBC’s site.

Didier Drogba in action for Chelsea FC vs Juventus in February 2009. Image: Crystian Cruz, via Flickr CC.

Edwards adds: “…  As excitement mounts across Africa about the looming World Cup, the European final should be the perfect curtain-raiser for the big one and affords Muntari and Mariga the chance to join the select group of Africans to have won the trophy – Bruce Grobbelaar, Abedi Pele, Rabah Madjer, Sammy Kuffuor, Kanu and Djimi Traore prominent amongst them …”

And Milan manager, Jose Mourinho, has a history of trusting African players (even if he inherited them from a previous manager) in key positions–think Benni McCartyhy at Porto or Didier Drogba, Michael Essien and John Mikel Obi at Chelsea.

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