Ranking the 15 Best African Footballers in 2014
In this feature, Bleacher Report will celebrate the finest African performers of the last 12 months.
Despite some disappointing showings for at least three of Africa’s representatives at the World Cup, various individuals shone on the grandest stage of all.
Similarly, there were numerous key performers from the continent at club level across the major European leagues and competitions.
The players featured have all been recognised for their quality, their form, their consistency and their achievements in 2014. Naturally, performances at the World Cup, the grandest stage of all, have been given particular consideration.
The Players Who Missed out
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There were many key African performers across the world during 2014, and they cannot all make the Bleacher Report Top 15.
The players featured in this slide fell just short of our elite selection. However, those listed here can take pride from some excellent showings over the past 12 months. It’s not unthinkable for any of the players named here to break into the main list next year.
Yannick Bolasie: Some glorious showings in the Premier League and a devastating display against the Ivory Coast have set Bolasie up as the “One to Watch” for Africa in 2015.
Nicolas N’Koulou: 16th place in my list at the end of 2013, N’Koulou can feel hard done by not to feature in the top 15 this time around. He remains one of the continent’s finest centre-backs, but he disappointed at the World Cup. His performances have been exceptional so far this term, and a big Cup of Nations could propel him into the top 10.
Sadio Mane: Growing into his role at Southampton after 13 goals in 33 appearances in the Austrian Bundesliga last term. Could be set for a big performance at the Cup of Nations.
Rais M’Bolhi: Outstanding showings as an ever-present for Algeria at the World Cup, but clumsy performances in Major League Soccer count against him.
Victor Wanyama: A slow start at Saints, but Wanyama is now looking like a Premier League natural and developing into one of the Premier League’s finest defensive midfielders.
Obafemi Martins: A stunning scoring record in Major League soccer with 17 goals in 33 starts. However, it wasn’t enough to earn a recall to the Nigeria squad.
Nabil Bentaleb: The Algerian youngster enjoyed a magnificent year; he took the first impressive steps of his club career at Tottenham Hotspur, made his Algeria debut, played at the World Cup and is flourishing under Mauricio Pochettino.
15. Stephane Mbia
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While no African player won the Champions League in 2014, Cameroon’s Stephane Mbia escaped his Queens Park Rangers nightmare to play a key role in Sevilla’s Europa League triumph.
Not only did the Indomitable Lion lift the title, he was also influential in the victory over Benfica, converting his penalty in the shootout.
While Mbia featured in midfield for the Red and Whites, he forged a key central-defensive partnership with Nicolas N'Koulou in the Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The pair ensured the Central Africans ended the qualification programme with the joint-best defensive record. They will be hoping to complete their post-World Cup redemption at the Cup of Nations in 2015.
14. Ahmed Musa
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For a player who has been around for so long, it’s easy to forget that Ahmed Musa is only 22. Remarkably, he has already accrued more than 40 Nigeria caps, but he was powerless to prevent the Super Eagles missing out on the 2015 Cup of Nations.
Musa’s greatest moment in 2014 came during the World Cup, when he matched Lionel Messi to bag a brace in the Group F contest with eventual finalists Argentina.
He is a regular scorer with CSKA Moscow in Russia and is benefiting greatly from increased playing time in the Champions League.
At the time of writing, Musa sits third in the Russian Premier League scoring charts, having averaged just under a goal every other game.
13. Serge Aurier
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Serge Aurier has fallen from the limelight in the final few months of 2014.
Admittedly, it’s not all been plain sailing for the Ivorian right-back since swapping Toulouse for Paris Saint-Germain in the summer, due to the much-improved showings of Gregory van der Wiel.
Aurier is young and his move to PSG represented a major step up.
However, he is a precocious and well-rounded full-back who demonstrated his qualities during the first half of the year.
He scored six goals and contributed six assists for Toulouse last term and shone at the World Cup with his relentless adventure down the right side.
12. Sofiane Feghouli
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During Algeria’s excellent World Cup showing during the summer, Sofiane Feghouli was the only outfield player to play every minute of the campaign. He was a model of consistency and also managed to make some vital contributions—including two assists and one goal.
Ahead of the tournament, he impressed with Valencia, helping them to the Europa League semi-final, but he has struggled since. A combination of a new coach and post-World Cup fatigue have meant that he hasn’t been as influential as he would have liked.
Having been outshone slightly by Yacine Brahimi over 2014, Feghouli will look to reassert himself as Algeria’s key man at the Cup of Nations.
11. Eric Choupo-Moting
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Eric Choupo-Moting has progressed a great deal over the last 12 months.
He stuttered at Hamburg as a young player but earned his spurs with Mainz and demonstrated he could be a key force in the Bundesliga.
Schalke 04 took the gamble on him this summer, and the Cameroon international hasn’t looked back, adapting seamlessly to a bigger stage.
At the time of writing, Choupo-Moting (who started every game at the World Cup) is the third-highest scorer in the German top flight with nine goals in 17 games.
Expect the 25-year-old to be much higher up this list in one year’s time.
10. Islam Slimani
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Islam Slimani was another Algerian player who delivered on the grandest stage of them all this summer.
The striker featured in all of the Desert Foxes’ matches (starting the last three) and scored in the victory over Korea and the draw with Russia.
He was one of Vahid Halilhodzic’s outstanding performers in both those contests.
Similarly, the forward has stepped up to the plate in his first Champions League campaign with Sporting Lisbon, bagging two goals in six appearances, but he will have to settle for the Europa League in the new year.
Having only scored one goal for Algeria during Afcon qualifying, he will be looking to reassert himself in Equatorial Guinea.
9. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
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Will 2015 be the year when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang establishes himself as Africa’s leading striker?
Some might argue that he already is and already spearheads the post-Drogba and Eto’o generation.
Aubameyang would surely be higher in this list if he had managed a greater measure of consistency during his first Bundesliga campaign with Borussia Dortmund.
After a strong start to life in Germany, the goals dried up after Valentine’s Day. All of Aubameyang’s 13 goals in his first Bundesliga campaign came before February 16.
He started this season well and has been a rare ray of light in Dortmund’s dismal season so far.
There have been some outstanding displays—against Arsenal and Galatasaray in the Champions League and against Stuttgart Kickers in the German Cup for example—and Aubameyang will be missed when he heads to the Cup of Nations with Gabon in January.
8. Asamoah Gyan
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Asamoah Gyan may have taken himself out of the central narratives of the world game with a move to the United Arab Emirates in 2011, but he returned to the headlines earlier this year.
He scored twice in Brazil—against heavyweights Germany and Portugal—to become Africa’s all-time leading scorer at the World Cup.
While his performances on the pitch deserve praise, as captain, he was unable to control Ghana’s unruly squad. The Black Stars’ controversies ultimately overshadowed his achievements.
At club level, Gyan won the Best Foreign Player in Asia award, was the top scorer (with 12) in the Asian Champions League and, in total, bagged 44 goals in 40 games last term.
7. Kwadwo Asamoah
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There weren’t too many African players who played a crucial role for title-winning teams in the 2014-15 season in Europe’s major leagues.
Yaya Toure was one notable exception, with Kwadwo Asamoah another.
The Ghanaian scored two and contributed three assists last term as Juventus claimed the Serie A crown. He also demonstrated his versatility, featuring at left-back, left wing-back and in central midfield.
As reported by BBC Sport, Asamoah is injured and will be absent for the Cup of Nations. He will be missed.
6. Yacine Brahimi
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BBC readers recently voted Yacine Brahimi as the corporation's African Footballer of the Year for 2014.
The playmaker caught the eye at the World Cup, in which he delivered an outstanding performance against South Korea in a fine group-stage team performance.
At club level, he wasn’t always on song for Granada and truly decisive performances were exceptional. However, he has impressed since moving to FC Porto in the summer, flourishing on the grander stage and helping ensure the Portuguese giants advanced to the group stage and then the last 16 of the Champions League.
5. Mehdi Benatia
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Morocco defender Mehdi Benatia emerged as a world-class stopper in 2014.
He was a rock in the heart of the back line as AS Roma claimed second spot in Serie A and helped the Giallorossi maintain to the second-best defensive record in the division, conceding only 25 goals.
His consistent, composed performances attracted attention from some of Europe’s biggest sides and both Chelsea and Manchester City were interested in his acquiring services during the summer (via Rajvir Rai of the Daily Mail).
Ultimately, he moved to Bayern Munich for £20 million, and Pep Guardiola appears keen to make the North African the cornerstone of his defence.
Ignoring a reckless challenge (and subsequent red card) against Manchester City in the Champions League, it’s been a fairly blemish-free year.
4. Wilfried Bony
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After a slow start to life in the Premier League, Wilfried Bony hit an incredible vein of form in 2014.
It all began on New Year’s Day with a brace in a defeat against Manchester City. It was a sign of things to come.
This was followed up with FA Cup goals in the victories over Manchester United and Birmingham City and another in a defeat against Tottenham Hotspur.
Toward the end of the campaign, the goals kept coming. He scored five in his last four EPL matches of the season.
There were two more at the World Cup, although Bony is yet to convince as the long-term successor to Didier Drogba.
This season, Bony has also flourished—and no player scored more Premier League goals in the calendar year. As to be expected, the sharks are circling (via Colin Harvey of the Daily Star).
3. Vincent Enyeama
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Unlike some of his fairly lacklustre Nigeria colleagues, Vincent Enyeama doesn’t deserve to be absent from the continental showpiece in Equatorial Guinea in 2015.
The Super Eagles were the last team to concede a goal in Brazil, which was largely down to the man between the sticks. Not only did he organise a makeshift defence shorn of Elderson Echiejile and Godfrey Oboabona, but he made a crucial late stop against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Nigeria's second game.
Nigeria would surely have been heading home had Enyeama not been present, while his subsequent duel with Lionel Messi was a further demonstration of his class.
Against the Republic of Congo in a vital Cup of Nations qualifiers, Enyeama kept the Super Eagles alive with a series of terrific saves.
Enyeama kept 15 shutouts for Lille in 2014.
2. Gervinho
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A reunion with Rudi Garcia has transformed Gervinho’s career.
The Ivory Coast forward lost confidence and form at Arsenal, and when Arsene Wenger lost faith, the West African was shipped out to AS Roma in the summer of 2013.
During the 2013-14 season, he was explosive, as the capital club ran champions Juventus close in the race for the Serie A title.
Between the beginning of January and the end of April, the ex-LOSC Lille man scored eight goals and contributed eight assists.
Unlike some of the other players on this list, he didn’t flop at the World Cup and scored twice, including a magical effort against Colombia.
1. Yaya Toure
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Yaya Toure was recently voted as Africa’s Player of the Year for 2014 by a panel of African football writers (via Africa Football Shop).
It’s easy to understand why Toure was named as the continent’s finest by the journalists, experts and pundits.
He played an influential role as Manchester City lifted the Premier League title at the beginning of the summer and also won the Capital One Cup with the club in March.
In the second half of last season, the Ivorian scored 11 goals and contributed eight assists, playing a crucial role in victories over Crystal Palace, Cardiff City and Stoke City, among others.
He took his time to get going this season after an underwhelming World Cup, but having finally gotten over the tragedies and controversies of the summer, he has returned to devastating form.
