2004 African Footballer of the Year:
Will Okocha Dethrone Eto'o?
By Wale Ajimotokan

The African Footballer of the Year is one individual diadem that has eluded Austin Jay Jay Okocha in all his playing years. Despite all the hype that trailed the award last year, the Super Eagles captain trailed Samuel Eto'o Fils of Cameroon and Didier Drogba of Ivory Coast in the vote.

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The shortlist for this year's scroll of honour will be most likely announced by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) next month or in the first week of December, thus putting soccer fans on the tenterhooks ahead of the official announcement likely to be made next year.

Those grounded in the African game and the exploit of its players in Europe can figure out the players who will make the shortlist.

While it will be out of place to pre-empt the CAF Technical and Media Committees, the two bodies that will pick the continent's top performer this year, it is clear that the contest will follow the same trend of last year when it was narrowed to a race between Okocha, Eto'o and Drogba.

The triumvirate has once again dominated African football in the period in review, posting impressive performances for clubs and countries.

Okocha is the commander of the orchestra.

The creative midfielder set the tone for what the whole year should be when he lapped up all honours in sight at the full international level except the African Cup of Nations.

The Eagles captain was named the most valuable player at Tunisia 2004.

From his offensive midfield position, he scored four goals to emerge the tournament's joint leading scorer.

He was also in the legendary Pele's list of 100 all time greatest players drawn in April in commemoration of FIFA's Centennial.

Aside from that, football fans across Africa acknowledged his talent by naming him the BBC Africans sports personality of the year 2003.

He also gave the English fans a dose of show boating with the series of outstanding displays for modest Bolton Wanderers in the Premiership and cup competition.

Bolton reached the final of the Carling Cup in April only to lose to Middlesbrough by the odd goal.

Eto'o and Drogba have, however, stepped up the pace where Okocha stopped.

Despite the outpouring of sentiments and pride in favour of Okocha by the Nigerian public, Eto'o polled the most votes to emerge the continent's best player for the year.

He won on the strength of Cameroon's impressive run at the Confederations Cup in Paris in 2003 where he scored a long ranged goal against Brazil in the opening match.

Eto'o also underlined his potential by scoring the goals that bailed out Mallorca from the throes of relegation in the 2002-2003 season.

While Eto'o and Okocha have long established a pedigree as top-flight performers for Cameroon and Nigeria, nothing virtually was known of Drogba until he caressed stardom last year.

He took European football by its jugular last year with his goals singularly accounting for Marseille's darting run to the final of the UEFA Cup where they lost to Valencia.

His aura seemed to have to infected his mates in the French League who voted him the country's player of the year.

It was indeed an honour for Drogba to have finished second after Eto'o at the African Footballer of the Year award of last year.

If all that attainments put him in the picture, he was later to cut a huge profile courtesy of his $27million summer transfer move across the English Channel.

That big hand- out paid by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovic makes him Africa's most expensive player of all time.

The Ivorien international and Eto'o have in the true sense of the analysis showed that they are forces to be reckoned with in European football by virtue of their market value.

Eto'o cost Barcelona œ24million in his move from Mallorca.

The duo have showed what they could do at the highest club level by continuing to deliver the goals.

Until a groin injury last week sent him to the surgeon's slab Drogba, has scored five goals in the Premiership in addition to the three he has in the UEFA Champions League.

Barcelona have profited immensely from the newly formed partnership of Eto'o with Sweden forward Henrik Larson.

At the last count Eto'o has hit five goals in the Liga and two in Europe to underline his proficiency.

It was therefore not a surprise that FIFA in a recent shortlist of 39 players for the 2004 World Footballer of the year included Eto'o and Drogba.

Okocha, who started the English season with aplomb scoring a brace for Bolton was expectedly not in the FIFA list.

The reason for this is largely hinged on the quality of the side he plays for, and by extension his post Tunisia 2004 performance for Nigeria.

Unlike Eto'o and Drogba who are featuring in the money spinning Champions League, Okocha is tied down to modest Bolton whose main objective is to survive the relegation test in the Premiership at the end of the season.

On a wider scope, both Drogba and Eto'o are in the full swing of the 2006 World Cup campaign with their national teams.

Eto'o has continued to inspire the sagging Indomitable Lions by posting three goals while Drogba has notched up two goals in the series to set Ivory Coast up for its first appearance at a World Cup finals.

The Eagles continue their quest for a fourth World Cup ticket on the trot without depending more on their influential midfielder.

Nigeria have prosecuted five matches with Okocha playing only in two matches.

The recent FIFA World Footballer of year shortlist which precluded Okocha is assumed, even among Nigerian watchers to have once again set Eto'o and Drogba ahead of Okocha for the CAF Award.

But in line with African tradition, the performance put up by a player vis a vis his national team at a major CAF tournament will still remain the main measuring guage.

Okocha and the Eagles were the cynosure of all eyes at the Nation Cup where their quest for glory was only good enough for a bronze medal.

Not with standing, Okocha was in full flight at the tournament. He enticed the fans with his measured passes and confidence on the ball. He also scored a sublime set piece goal when the Eagles beat Cameroon in the quarterfinals.

With his career now at the other side of the day, the African Footballer Award will be a befitting parting gift to Okocha, who in the true sense is one of the most glamorous players to come out of the players.

Last year's verdict pained him to the marrow after he was favoured by the opinion poll.

Aside from aiming for self-recognition, Okocha is inching to become the first Nigerian to win the award in the new millennium.

Since Nigerian players claimed five of seven honours in the 1990s the last four awards were given to Senegalese and Cameroonian players.