Soccer players from the continent are kicking it up a notch as they become instrumental in their European teams contesting championships.



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A number of African footballers have excelled at their
European clubs in the 2018/19 season, growing their reputations and showcasing
the skill, artistry and power of players from the continent. 



But there have also been some new names to savor, players who
have stepped out of the shadows to boost their reputation and suggest they can
become not just stars in their own countries, but also on the global stage. 



Belgian coach Tom Saintfiet, who led Gambia in the recent
Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, has worked extensively in Africa and Europe,
and is highly-regarded for his tactical acumen and views on the game.



He keeps a keen eye on African players in Europe every week
and says there has been much to admire this season.



“You have to start at Liverpool with Mo Salah and Sadio
Mané,” Saintfiet tells FORBES AFRICA. 



“The impact that their goals have had for the club has been
immense and if they win the English (Premier) League, for the first time in 29
years, this season, then you can truly say this would be a triumph made in
Africa.”



Egyptian forward Salah and Senegalese striker Mane are
arguably the two outstanding talents from the continent in Europe, at present,
but Saintfiet reveals there is much more to admire.



“Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alex Iwobi at Arsenal have
had excellent seasons too, even if their team has struggled, a bit, at times.
But you cannot ignore the contribution they have made.



“But one player that has really stood out for me, who is
maybe a surprise, is Adam Ounas from Napoli. For me, he is the future. He is
only 22 years old, but he is already a fantastic player.”



The winger has had a growing influence at Napoli this season
as they emerged as the only real challengers to Juventus for the Serie A title,
even if they were some way off the pace in the end.



“He can score goals and provide assistance, and at his age,
his potential is simply huge,” Saintfiet says. 



“He played against my Gambian side for Algeria and I saw
that day a player who can become a star of the game. His opportunities with the
national team have been a little limited because of the quality of the
competition he faces, but I think in the next few years, he will emerge as a
top player from the continent.”



Another who was relatively unknown before the start of the
season was Togolese defender Djené Dakonam Ortega, who has been inspirational
for surprise-package Getafe CF in the Spanish LaLiga. Ortega has been virtually
ever-present for the side in what many consider the best league in the world,
and has played a large role in making Getafe challengers for the UEFA Champions
League.



“He can play as a left-back or a right-back, and sometimes
in the centre too, and he has been very consistent this season. He is a very
hard-working footballer who has obvious natural ability,” Saintfiet says.



“I don’t think anybody expected Getafe to have the kind of
season they are having, they have been exceptional. I doubt many people had
heard of Djené before the start of the season either, but they will know him
now.”



Saintfiet is also full of praise for Tanzanian striker
Mbwana Samatta, who has been banging in the goals for Genk in Belgium and
turned them into surprise championship challengers.



“He is scoring a lot of goals, the best season of his
career. I don’t think anybody in Belgium expected Genk to be challenging for
the league, but Samatta’s goals have given them the chance to do that.



“He has made a big contribution to the team and, in my
opinion, he is ready for a higher level [league].”



Saintfiet also pointed out the quality of Ivory Coast
striker Nicolas Pépé at French Ligue 1 side Lille, Burkina Faso forward
Bertrand Traoré at Lyon and Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli.



He has also been impressed by the Champions League exploits
of Cameroon goalkeeper André Onana, who plays for Ajax Amsterdam.



“He is a very good goalkeeper, but you know in the Dutch
league, he plays for a team [Ajax] that is very dominant and so it is hard to
judge his ability. Ajax do not allow their opponents to create many chances, so
Onana is, maybe, not tested as much as many other keepers.



“But having watched him closely in the Champions League, it
is a different story. There he has been able to show what he can do and for a
young goalkeeper, he has acquitted himself very well.



“He will get even better, but he has good physical attributes and comes from a country [Cameroon] that is renowned for producing very good goalkeepers.”



&#8211;Nick Said

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Africa’s Stars In Europe

I remember the first thing I bought when I received my first professional pay check in Belgium: it was a shiny black Golf GTI—a big deal in those days! In those times, I spent every cent I earned, every month. The last of my worries was tomorrow. In fact, during the three and a half years I spent in Belgium, I did not save a cent and I did not study anything. I thought the school of life and football was enough.
As players we are used to instant results. We play a game: we win, draw or lose. The results are there for all to see after the game. Salaries are high, we live for the moment, the future is for, well, tomorrow, or even next week. The problem is that football careers do not last long. Our window of earning opportunity is short.
I knew that after my career as a footballer, I still wanted to be involved in the game. I made sure I took coaching to the highest possible level by achieving a UEFA ‘A’ license to enable me to understand the technical side of football. Because of my qualifications I went home, to Zambia, to be technical director of the Chipolopolo in September 2003, then won elections, as vice president, in March 2004. I then became president of the Football Association of Zambia; a FIFA coaching instructor; a member of FIFA committees and FIFA task teams and grew to understand the administration side of football.
My climb to football administration was gradual. But all the while, my business ventures continued. If you want to go far in football administration, you best have other business interests, since administration is not a money-making profession. One does this for the love of the game.
Very few players continue to make a living from football after the final whistle has blown, unless they become a highly successful professional coach. But even coaching requires study and qualification. A former player does not automatically make a good coach. Those days are gone. With today’s game, you need to be qualified to understand the technical elements of the game.
It becomes important to think about one’s future on your first day of professional football. In Belgium, retirement annuities are compulsory, the club paid the full amount as part of my salary. In the Dutch Eredivisie, retirement funds, which are tax deductible, are compulsory and as such after 20 years, I am still enjoying regular payments from my playing days in Holland.
We can only hope that the clubs in Africa can follow the European model. There should be mandatory pension schemes for footballers in Africa. Clubs should seriously look into this for both the well-being of their players as well as their own good reputation.
Today, players have football agents who should be guiding them better.
So many former players are faced with difficult times, you read and hear about them all the time. It makes me very sad and it is a question of lack of knowledge, which, as we all know, is power. Maybe it is also upbringing, education and the lack of thinking about the future.
When I was growing up, you thought that you would play forever, the limitations were non-existent. Retirement is not even in your mind. You live a day at a time and you want to have the best gadgets, the best car, the best clothes—and those become your key priorities.
You have too much time on your hands, you’re too young and you’re earning way too much money. Temptations are all around you and you become greedy for the now and it is difficult to see an end in sight. The last thing on your mind is that one day your career will end.
Medical insurance should be on the top of the list—it’s not easy to determine when you are going to stop playing because you can sustain a career-ending injury and without medical insurance your earning days are over.
On our continent for example, in early 1980s, it was common to see a very good talent sustain a small injury like a meniscus problem, a ligament injury or an ankle injury and end their career after a year. Instead of getting the appropriate medical attention, which was hard to come by, you would find that their career would be short lived because the problem would persist for longer than it should have and they ended up not being the player that they should’ve been.
In my school team in the 1970s,when I was just trying to break in, the important players would not come to class during the day, but attend school in the afternoon just so they could play the match. Unfortunately, today’s society tends to encourage the talent you have on the field rather than couple it with academic skills and qualifications. If you look at the American model with scholarships for top athletes, this is hugely successful. Education is encouraged and, even in Zambia, you hear most of the professional parents discourage their kids from too much sport, saying that they want them to concentrate more on education.
This can be a double-edged sword, as this often deprives a talented player of much needed practice time. The key is a balance of the two. It is imperative for young players to ensure they attain their education goals whilst living their sporting dreams.
My advice to current professional players is two-fold; career planning and studying in your spare time.
In Belgium, I spent three-and-a-half- years not knowing Flemish, and not doing anything about it, because I could get by as everyone tried to speak to me in English, so I just got by. Yet the first day I arrived in PSV Einhoven in Holland, they assigned a teacher to me, so I could study Dutch twice a week. Within six months I was fluent. The day I arrived in Mexico as a player for one of the biggest team in Mexico, Club America, I made it a priority to find a tutor to teach me Spanish. By the end of the first year I was fluent in Spanish. These talents are of immense value to me today. Besides my mother tongue, Bemba, I also studied French at high school for four years and can converse in the language comfortably. I used to be the official translator when the team travelled to West Africa during my national team playing days. My Italian improves every day thanks to my wife and mother-in-law, so all in all I can say I am a polyglot—a talent, which comes in very handy in the international football environment.
I did a technical directorship badge in Mexico from 1996 to 1998, which effectively made me a qualified technical director. By the time I ended my professional career, I walked away from football with two professional qualifications and four extra languages.
My advice to young career footballers is to be wise and not to get caught up in self-importance of the now, but rather to picture yourself where you want to be in the future. Don’t just train your body, train the brain at the same time. Unfortunately, you cannot be a player forever and when the final whistle blows you better have a new game plan.

Tag: UEFA

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Africa’s Stars In Europe

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