African Player Of The Year: Sallah, Mane Or Mahrez?

By Ekene Dike

Super Salah, Powerful Mane or Skillful Mahrez who is going to be crowned as the field marshal, the emperor, the commander, the field marshal of the whole of the African continent. The anticipation for the CAF awards is at its peak at the moment.

By Tuesday night the winner of the most prestigious award in African football will be announced. The three African Superstars were outstanding this year for both club and country throughout the year 2019. It is no surprise that they have been selected as the best candidates to win the coveted African player of the year award. There is an uncertainty which exists as to who will scoop the award.

However, Senegal’s Sadio Mane has been rated ahead of the pack by many soccer pundits around the world as the best African performer in 2019. He spearheaded the Teranga Lions to the African Cup of Nations Final which they lost to Riyad Mahrez’s Algeria.

The Uefa Champions League, Uefa Super Cup and Fifa Club World Cup also added to his rich cabinet of trophies. He has also been a vital performer for Liverpool as they remain unbeaten so far in the English Premier League.

His partnership with Roberto Firmino and Mohammed Salah has been fantastic. He has contributed more than the duo in the past season and has also won the golden boot alongside Salah in the English Premier League.

Unsurprisingly, he emerged fourth in the 2019 Ballon d’or awards and even caught the attention of Lionel Messi who voted for him as the best player in the world. His indomitable spirit and agility is one of a kind. The wonder goal against Bayern Munchen in the round of 16 of the Champions League in 2019 is an epitome of his great ability.

He has scored 34 goals in and has provided twelve assists in 61 appearances  ahead of Mohammed Salah’s twenty six goals and ten assists in 55 appearances.

METEORIC RISE TO TOP FORM : The 27 year old has improved tremendously over the past four seasons. In the 2018/2019 season, he scored 22 goals in 36 appearances which was better than his 10 goals in 29 appearances in the 2017/2018 season. Jurgen Klopp’s faith in him has increased his morale and efficacy rate. His determination enabled him to share the golden boot in the 2018/2019 season with Mohammed Salah and Arsenal’s Pierre Emerick Aubameyang.

On the other hand, his Egyptian counterpart and the Pharoah of Egypt was unable to lead his country to the Afcon glory on home soil. They disappointingly crashed out of the competition in the round of 16. He has, however, also won all the trophies which Mane has won. But individually, his performances have declined. The defenders have been more comfortable with dealing with Salah than Mane.

In the 2017/2018 season he scored 11 goals in 15 games in the Champions League and couldn’t make his impact in the final after he was forced to leave the pitch prematurely due to the broken arm he sustained after the duel with Sergio Ramos.

Sadio Mane took the responsibility of scoring the only goal of the game in Salah’s absence as Liverpool lost the game 3-1. His goalscoring figures reduced in the 2018/2019 season as he scored five goals in twelve games. In the Premier League he scored 32 goals and made eight assists in his debut season for the Reds and scored ten goals less in the 2018/2019 season. Salah has been a good player but hasn’t been able to outshine Mane.

Manchester City and Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez feat of winning the African Cup of Nations, Fa Cup, Carabao Cup and English Premier League in 2019 is commendable. The Algerian talisman was on target against Nigeria in the Semifinals of the African Cup of Nations.

His sensational free kick in the closing moments of the game which sent Nigeria out of the title race is one of the best highlights in the competition’s history.

He scored three goals in the tournament and was one of the key players that enabled Algeria’s success. Pep Guardiola’s star studded Manchester City team has been able to accommodate Riyad Mahrez in the starting line up this season. He has scored five goals and assisted six times in seventeen appearances this season.

Last season he scored seven goals and provided four assists in twenty-seven appearances. His statistics and performances aren’t even up to that of Sadio Mane and Mohammed Salah.

Given the statistics churned out by the three stakeholders, however, say that it will be an injustice if Sadio Mane fails to win the award.

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