Samuel Eto'o and 5 African Players to Make an Impact on Major Derby Matches
There are a number of engrossing derbies taking place in the football world this weekend.
In the Premier League, Merseyside pair Liverpool and Everton will lock horns on Saturday lunchtime, while Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal renew their acquaintance later in the day.
In France, AS Monaco and Nice, both of whom sit in mid-table, will meet in the derby of the Cote d’Azur on Saturday afternoon. In the Bundesliga, Schalke and Borussia Dortmund resume their rivalry at the Veltins Arena.
As ever, numerous African players are set to play their part in the clashes; in this feature, Bleacher Report’s African expert Ed Dove profiles five players who may well be key protagonists and the talk of the town this weekend.
It is important to note that while all of the players listed here are eligible to represent African nations, some currently feature (or have featured) for the youth sides of European countries.
We begin with a player who is no stranger to a big match…
Samuel Eto'o
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Come the Merseyside derby on Saturday, Liverpool will doubtless look to exploit Everton’s high-profile defensive frailties.
Roberto Martinez may not be concerned [via the Daily Post], but having conceded 17 goals in their last seven games, the Toffees certainly need to take extra measures to keep a clean sheet against the old enemy.
However, should the Reds focus on exploiting Everton’s perceived weakness, they may reveal one of their own.
Despite the signing of Dejan Lovren, Liverpool haven’t looked convincing in defence this season and shipped three against West Ham United on Monday night.
On Saturday, they might find themselves up against a striker who loves nothing better than finding the net.
This game looks like it was made for Samuel Eto’o. As he demonstrated last season for Chelsea, he remains a man for the big occasion—Eto’o scored against Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and in the Champions League against Galatasaray. When the pressure is on and when the Sky Sports cameras are in town, Eto’o usually delivers.
He managed a goal against former club Chelsea on his Everton debut, and I am backing him to make a pertinent contribution—perhaps as an impact substitute—against the Reds on Saturday.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
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Last season, Aubameyang started life at Borussia Dortmund strongly, before fading after Valentine’s Day. On the African Football Weekly podcast, we briefly discussed contenders for the African Footballer of the Year Award—had Aubameyang kept up his early season form, he surely would have been in the running.
This year, he needs to prove to club management that he can slip into Robert Lewandowski’s shoes and replace the Pole’s superb scoring record. From an African perspective, he needs to reassert himself as the continent’s preeminent young forward.
So far, he is doing a pretty good job.
He has performed outstandingly in Dortmund’s biggest games this season—scoring in victories against Arsenal and Bayern Munich. Similarly, there was a brace against Stuttgart Kickers in the German Cup and another, when entering as a late substitute, in the 3-1 victory over Freiburg.
This weekend, Dortmund face another big match, with the Rhine-Ruhr derby against Schalke 04. Can Aubameyang continue his excellent form with a valuable contribution against the Royal Blues?
Tiemoue Bakayoko
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In France this weekend, Monaco and Nice are to meet in the derby of the Riviera.
Intriguingly, the two sides head into this one with near-identical records so far this term. Both have played seven, won three, lost three and drawn one, giving them ten points apiece.
While both have averaged one goal-per-game, AS Monaco have the better defensive record, having conceded nine to Nice’s eleven.
So far this season, new recruit Tiemoue Bakayoko has made a limited impact following his big-money move from Stade Rennais. The central midfielder has been almost exclusively resigned to the bench this term, making only one senior league appearance, playing half an hour in the opening-day defeat to Lorient.
Bakayoko is a tenacious, disciplined player who will sit diligently in front of the defence, look to break up the game and launch attacks.
It’s only a matter of time until the Ivorian integrates himself into the first team, perhaps the contest with Nice could be an ideal occasion for him to enter in the second half and demonstrate his ability to kill off opposition assaults.
Emmanuel Adebayor
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In England, the second big derby of the day on Saturday is in north London, where Tottenham Hotspur are set to make the short trip to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal.
Things started well for Mauricio Pochettino at Spurs, where victory over local rivals West Ham United was followed up by a dominant win against Queens Park Rangers, another London-based club.
Since then, however, things have taken a turn for the worse. Another beating at the hands of Liverpool didn’t go down well, nor did an uninspiring draw away against Partizan Belgrade. The home defeat to West Bromwich Albion last weekend, however, has completely taken the wind out of the sails of the new boss.
Those optimists among you may argue that now is the ideal time for a match-up with Arsenal. Win this and all is forgotten, all is forgiven.
However, with great potential reward comes great potential pressure; lose to the Gunners and Spurs fall five points behind their fierce rivals.
Could Emmanuel Adebayor be the hero Spurs need? The Togolese forward has scored against Arsene Wenger’s side for both Tottenham and Manchester City and will surely see the derby as the perfect occasion to make some headlines against his former club.
However, Adebayor is also capable of letting a team down, as he did with a stupid red card in Spurs’ 5-2 defeat against the Gunners in November 2012.
Eric Choupo-Moting
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Cameroon midfielder Eric Choupo-Moting took a major step up this summer when he left Mainz for Schalke 04.
The winger performed well last season, but his encouraging goal haul in the Bundesliga—he managed ten goals for the Carnival club—was no guarantee that he would transition successfully to a bigger stage.
While he performed well in Cameroon’s pre-World Cup friendlies, like so many of his compatriots, he flopped on the big stage.
It was a bad omen, but fortunately the Indomitable Lion has started life well. He contributed an assist on his debut against Hannover and scored against Borussia Monchengladbach. However, while draws against Chelsea and Bayern Munich deserve praise, Schalke will have been disappointed to have lost to both Gladbach and Hannover.
A home draw against Eintracht Frankfurt will also have been below expectations, but Choupo-Moting demonstrated why the Miners saw fit to recruit him in the summer.
A converted penalty and another assist have fuelled belief that the Central African can help the club to their second victory of the season, against local rivals Dortmund, and pull them into the top half of the table.
