Essien, Kuffour join Drogba and Yaya Toure in Africa’s best ever XI

Samuel Osei Kuffour with Michael Essien

When they stormed to the Premier League title last season, the Liverpool pair were integral members of the free-scoring Jurgen Klopp system.

The Liverpool pair follow the likes of Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure in becoming African players who lifted the Premier League trophy.

Here are the other players who made it into Africa’s best-ever XI

• GK – VINCENT ENYEAMA

Arguably the best African goalkeeper of the past decade, Enyeama is Nigeria’s joint-highest appearance maker with 101 caps to his name.

He acted as the Super Eagles’ vice-captain for their 2013 Africa Cup of Nations triumph and featured in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups – notably putting in a sensational performance against Argentina and Lionel Messi in the former tournament.

• CB – RIGOBERT SONG

An icon of Cameroonian football, Song is the most capped played of his country and he pulled on the national team jersey 137 times over 17 years.

Most-famously played for Liverpool and West Ham during his playing days.

• CB – SAMMY KUFFOUR

A stalwart of the Bayern Munich defence between 1993 and 2005 where he won 14 honours, Kuffour served Ghana with distinction too.

He wasn’t the tallest of defenders but he made up for it with his exceptional positional awareness and he was voted African Player of the Year in 2001.

• CB – LUCAS RADEBE

Fondly remembered for his time at Leeds where he spent nine years, Radebe was one of the most versatile footballers of his generation.

Starting out as a midfielder, he transitioned into a centre back and he steered South Africa to Afcon success in 1996.

• CM – YAYA TOURE

A four-time winner of African Footballer of the Year, Toure was a marauding footballer who was also a free-kick specialist.

The Ivorian excelled at club level and at Manchester City, became only the second midfielder to score 20 goals in a single Premier League season in 2014.

Toure won three Premier League titles at City, as well as two LaLiga crowns and the Champions League at Barcelona.

• CM – MICHAEL ESSIEN

Disciplined and possessing an excellent reading of the game, Essien won everything at club level and he also earned 58 caps for Ghana.

He was physically strong and he retired last summer. Although he was unable to inspire Ghana to success, he more than left his mark on the game.

Essien won two PL titles and four FA Cups while in West London.

• RW – MOHAMED SALAH

Now a Champions League AND Premier League winner, Salah’s career was close to fizzling out after he was shown the door by Chelsea.

But at Liverpool, he reinvented himself and won two consecutive Premier League Golden Boots and a PFA Player of the Year award, and the rest, as they say, is history.

• LW – SADIO MANE

Another key component of the fearsome Liverpool trio, Mane was the pick of the bunch last season in the Premier League.

Inspiring the Reds to a sixth European Cup in 2018-19, he has become one of the most complete forwards in the game.