WHO WEARS THE AFRICAN CROWN COME DEC. 20TH?

Familiar names such as Didider Drogba and fellow country man Yaya Toure has lead the nominees for this year's African Footballer Of the Year award.
The Confederation of African Football has announced its list of ten nominees for the African Player of the Year award ahead of awarding the title on the 20th of December in Ghana.
It will interest you to know that since the inception of this award, no African player who plays in the Continent has ever won the award.
And this year is no exception with all the 10 nominees currently playing in Europe or somewhere outside the African Continent.

The list is made up of the following players;
 - Alexander Song, Barcelona (Cameroon)
- Andre Ayew, Marseille (Ghana)
- Christopher Katongo, Henan Construction (Zambia)
- Demba Ba, Newcastle United (Senegal)
- Didier Drogba, Shanghai Shenhua (Cote d’Ivoire)
- Gervinho, Arsenal (Cote d’Ivoire)
- John Obi Mikel, Chelsea (Nigeria)
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Saint Etienne (Gabon)
- Yaya Toure, Manchester City (Cote d’Ivoire)
- Younes Belhanda, Montpellier (Morocco)

soccer4life reviews the performance of some of the players so far this year excluding the present 2012/2013 season.
Alexander Song
Song's game play is characterised by his tireless runs in midfield and good reading of oppositions' attacks. He plays a key role in breaking up opponents' attacks, shielding the ball when in possession, and then setting up counterattacks for his teammates.

 Playing in a withdrawn role of a three-men midfield, Song allows his other teammates in midfield to provide support to the attack with more freedom. His passing range has also improved in recent seasons and he has been able to contribute with a number of assists for the team. A chipped through ball, most commonly to former Arsenal teammate Robin van Persie, became a trademark of Song's in the 2011–2012 season. He has recently played as more of a play-making central midfielder as opposed to a more defensive role. He has been described by former Cameroon coach Javier Clemente as "much better player in attack than he is defensively"

Alex Song no doubt played an important role for Arsenal last season and helped reduce the burden left by the departure of Cesc Fabregas.

Andre Ayew

The Ghanaian born midfielder who also has a french citizenship had a fantastic season with Marseille despite spending the previous season out on loan, He was a regular starter in Deschamps' team not even the presence of Remy could stop the young Ghanaian from making the team.

He has also been able to replicate such wonderful performance for the Black Stars a team which his father Abedle Pele represented so well in his Hay days.

In France, Ghanaian Andre Ayew found the back of the net on 16 separate occasions for Marseille, turning provider on four others. Ayew finished third in the 2011 edition of the awards and could catch EPL pundits by surprise. Not to be outdone though, Moroccan Younes Belhanda boasts and equally impressive record, and although he finished three goals behind Ayew in the race for the French Golden Boot he outclassed him in the assists department.

Christopher Katongo

     Born in Mufulira, Katongo played with Butondo West Tigers and Kalulushi Modern Stars before moving to Green Buffaloes in 2001. In 2004, Katongo moved to South African side Jomo Cosmos, before moving to Danish side Brøndby in January 2007. In August 2008, Katongo moved again, this time to German club Arminia Bielefeld. In July 2010, he moved to Greece to play for Skoda Xanthi.In July 2011, Katongo signed a two-and-half-year contract with Chinese Super League side Henan Construction. He made his Super League debut on 10 July in a 0–0 home draw against Changchun Yatai. His first goal for Henan came, in a 2–1 away defeat, against Dalian Shide on 10 September 2011. Katongo scored two goals in 16 appearances in the 2011 league season.

Katongo made his international debut in 2003, and after scoring a hat-trick against South Africa in September 2007, Katongo was promoted in the Zambian Army from corporal to sergeant.

Katongo has appeared in FIFA World Cup qualifying matches.Katongo won the Player of the Tournament during the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, in which he was the captain for the winning side, having beaten Côte d'Ivoire 8–7 on penalties after a goalless match, scoring the first of the penalties himself.

Demba Ba

On 17 June 2011, Ba signed for Newcastle United on a three-year deal, making his club debut on 13 August 2011 in 0–0 draw against Arsenal. His first goals for the club came on 24 September 2011 with a hat-trick against Blackburn Rovers in a 3–1 home win. A second hat-trick came in a 3–1 away win at Stoke City, taking his league total to 8 and maintaining the club's 11 game unbeaten league start, taking them to 3rd in the league. Ba's goalscoring form continued despite Newcastle entering a downward spell, and saw him picked in ESPN.com's Premier League Best XI for the first half of the season, and named Premier League Player of the Month for December 2011. By the time Ba left to play in the January international tournament the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations his league tally had reached 15, making him second top scorer in the league behind Arsenal's Robin van Persie. He left for the tournament on a high note, scoring the first in a 3–0 home win over Manchester United on 4 January 2012, the team's first victory against the league champions in over a decade. Such was their form, Ba and club mate Cheick Tioté's departure for the African Cup of Nations was said to be a big miss for Newcastle going into the second half of the season. While at the tournament, Ba's Senagal team-mate Papiss Cissé also signed for Newcastle. Ba and Cissé returned earlier than expected after Senegal finished bottom of their group, with Ba having missed three Premier League games and two FA Cup games, the second of which saw Newcastle knocked out of the cup. He returned to action against Aston Villa on their visit to St James' Park on 5 February 2012, his return proved to be a goal scoring one as he netted the opener in the game which Newcastle won 2–1. This would prove to be Ba's last goal of the season, as he moved to the left of a three pronged attack with Papiss Cisse leading the line, and grabbing 12 goals in the second half of the season. Despite this late season slump, Ba was voted as the best signing of the 2011–12 season by Premier League managers in March 2012. and finished the season as Newcastle's leading goal scorer, with 16 goals.

Didier Drogba

The story of Didier Drogba need not to be told again, because even a child of a year old knows who Drogba is. A hero at Marseille before moving to Chelsea in 2004 the muscular Ivorian is noted for his goals and frequent struggles to remain upright. Drogba is regarded so highly in his homeland he successfully called a ceasefire during civil war and has had a local beer named after him .

Drogba played a vital role in handing Chelsea owner Roman Abramovic the Uefa champions League trophy last season, and he ended his Chelsea career in style by scoring the last penalty in the Final against Bayer Munchien.

Drogba has become an ever present in the African footballer of the year award since 2004. and has won the award on two occassion.

Drogba who now plays in China with Shanghai Shenhua continues to be one of Africans best players in recent times. He is also the captain and the all time scorer of the Ivory Coast national team with 58 goals in 89 Apperances.

 

A Côte d'Ivoire international since 2002, Drogba has captained the national team since 2006. He led the Côte d'Ivoire to the 2006 World Cup, their first appearance in the tournament, and also scored their first goal. He was named African Footballer of the Year for 2006. Drogba was a part of the Côte d'Ivoire sides which reached the final of the Africa Cup of Nations in 2006 and 2012, but were beaten on penalties on both occasions. As of 2012, he is the Côte d'Ivoire's all-time top scorer.

Drogba is credited with playing a vital role in bringing peace to his country. After Côte d'Ivoire qualified for the 2006 World Cup, Drogba made a desperate plea to the combatants, asking them to lay down their arms, a plea which was answered with a cease fire after five years of civil war. Drogba later helped move an African Cup of Nations qualifier to the rebel stronghold of Bouake; a move that helped confirm the peace process. In September 2011, Drogba joined the Truth, Reconciliation and Dialogue Commission as a representative to help return peace to his home nation. His involvement in the peace process led to Drogba being named as one of the world's 100 most influential people by Time magazine for 2010.

Gervinho

On 12 July 2011 Gervinho completed a transfer from Lille to Arsenal for a fee believed to be around £10.8 million. Gervinho was given the number 27 shirt, which was last worn by Côte d'Ivoire teammate Emmanuel Eboué who was already on the verge of leaving the club. He made his debut in a pre-season friendly match against 1. FC Köln, in which he scored a brace within the first 15 minutes. He was sent off on his Premier League debut against Newcastle United for slapping Joey Barton. The game finished 0–0. This resulted in a standard three-match ban for violent conduct. Alan Pardew (manager of Newcastle United) accused Gervinho of diving when Cheick Tioté challenged him inside the box. He scored his first league goal in a 4–3 loss to Blackburn Rovers. On 23 October 2011 Gervinho followed this up by contributing to all three goals in Arsenal's 3–1 win over Stoke City, scoring the first and assisting both of Robin van Persie's goals.He then scored his third goal for Arsenal on 3 December 2011, in a 4–0 win at Wigan Athletic, scoring the third goal of the match in a comfortable victory. He scored his fourth goal of his time at Arsenal on 27 December 2011 in the 1–1 draw against Wolves. Gervinho then departed for the Africa Cup of Nations after a 2–1 defeat to Fulham. Gervinho made his return on 18 February 2012 in the FA Cup match against Sunderland which ended in a 2–0 defeat that knocked Arsenal out of the 2011–12 FA Cup.

Gervinho will be remembered largely for his missed penalty kick at the 2012 African cup of Nations in their game against Zambia, which allowed Zambia win the Afcon trophy.

John Obi Mikel

John Mikel Obi is the only Nigerian on this List, and He is currently one of the most successful Nigerian Football. He played any integral part in Chelsea's resurrection last season under the guardiance of Di Matteo, with the departure of AVB, Mikel became a star figure at Chelsea and started almost all the important games Chelsea played till the very last day of the season. Mikel played the role of a deep lying play maker and a ball winner for Chelsea. His role against Barcelona during the champions League semi final will forever be remembered.

Mikel a player who has always been tipped for greatness since his emergence on the world stage in 2005, is now a step closer to winning his first African Footballer of the year award to add to his already FA Cup, Champion's League and FA premier league medals.

Yaya Toure

Yaya Touré plays primarily as a box-to-box midfielder, often switching from offensive and defensive stances as the match progresses. His key strengths are his passing and shooting ability. He is known for immense physical presence which is often combined with lungbursting runs from midfield, and has consequently been referred to as a "human train" and a "colossus" by various pundits. Touré is frequently pushed forward during the latter part of matches, most notably in the penultimate match of the 2011-12 season against Newcastle United where Touré scored two late goals to win the match.

The current African footballer of the year, has no doubt proven to the world that he is worth every penny Manchester city are paying him, because he has always been ready to deliver for His team whenever they find themselves in need of a saviour and that has no doubt made him a strong contender for this Year's African footballer of the year Award.

CAF’s Technical, Football and Media committees have decided on the current shortlists which will now be passed to head coaches and technical directors from CAF member associations whose votes will decide the eventual winners.
The top three nominees are to be announced in the last week of November,  The GLO-CAF Awards Gala 2012 will be held in Accra, Ghana at the Banquet Hall, State House on December 20th.