Despite their stellar performances for their club sides and respective national teams, some African football legends failed to secure victory in the AFCON throughout their careers.
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The following football legends didn’t win the AFCON:
1. Nwaknkwo Kanu
Kanu’s success in Nigerian football and around the world in clubs like Ajax, Inter Milan and Arsenal cannot be overemphasised.
However, Kanu could only hope to add the African Cup of Nations trophy to his collection after reaching the final in 2000 with Nigeria but lost via penalty shootouts to Cameroon.
2. Didier Drogba
Didier Drogba undoubtedly regarded as one of the best African strikers of all time had a splendid career in Chelsea where he won many titles but couldn’t replicate the feat with his country side Ivory Coast as he reached the finals of AFCON twice ( 2006, 2012) but lost both on penalties. It became a story of woe as Ivory Coast won the prestigious trophy a year after his retirement.
3. El – Hadji Diouf
El – Hadji Diouf was a crucial force for the Senegalese national team in the early 2000s and led them to reaching the quarterfinals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. However it wasn’t a good tale in AFCON as Diouf only reached the AFCON 2002 final and lost to Cameroon.
4. Micheal Essien
Growing to become a legend in Chelsea and winning awards with the English side, Ghanian talisman, Michael Essien would have loved to add an AFCON trophy to his remarkable career but lost to Egypt in the 2010 finals.
5. George Weah
George Weah’s achievements in football are unmatchable among African players, the biggest off is winning the greatest individual award, The Ballon d’Or.
However, he was unable to bring this prowess to his home country as he could only lead his country to two AFCON tournaments in his career and didn’t move past the group stages in both encounter.
6. Asamoah Gyan
Asamoah Gyan known for his goal scoring abilities and records in multiple World Cup competitions for Ghana was one to look out for.
However his story in AFCON took a different turn as he reached the finals twice with Ghana in 2010 and 2015 but couldn’t savour victory in both encounters.
7. Emmanuel Adebayor
Emmanuel Adebayor known for his blistering moments in the Premier League especially with Arsenal and Manchester City and his legendary move in Togo’s football.
He was the 2008 African Player of the Year, but couldn’t lead Togo to an AFCON glory. The closest he came was the quarterfinals 2013.
8. Frederick Kanoute
Frederick Kanoute is another Premier League player, who also had a great spell at Sevilla and was a key player for Mali.
With his best AFCON performance at the 2024 competition where he led his country to the semi-finals, he was awarded African footballer of the year in 2007.
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