– Nwankwo Kanu had a remarkable career with several top European football clubs
– The Nigerian made 81 appearances in UEFA club competitions during his active days
– He is named alongside other African greats who had most appearances in UEFA competitions
PAY ATTENTION: Join Bioreports Telegram channel! Never miss important updates!
Former Nigerian international Kanu Nwankwo has been named in the top 10 African footballers with the most appearances in UEFA club competitions.
The former Arsenal man who also played for other top European clubs including Inter Milan and Ajax Amsterdam featured in a total of 81 matches in European club competitions.
During his spell at Ajax, Kanu won the prestigious UEFA Champions League in the 1994-1995 season as well as the Super Cup.
He won the UEFA Cup in the 1997-1998 season with Italian giants Inter Milan and also became a UEFA Cup runner-up in 1999–2000 with Premier League club Arsenal.
His countryman Austin Jay Jay Okocha who played at French club PSG won the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2001, but missed out of top 10 Africans with most appearances in UEFA competitions.
In the top 10, Cameroonian legend Samuel Eto’o who had spells with Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Inter Milan and a host of other clubs is number one with 113 appearances.
Mali’s Seydou Keita is second with 111, while Ivorian legend Didier Drogba is third with 102.
See top 10 below according to UEFA:
1. Samuel Eto’o (CMR – Real Madrid, Mallorca, Barcelona, Internazionale, Anji, Chelsea, Everton) – 113
2. Seydou Keita (MLI – Marseille, Lens, Sevilla, Barcelona, Valencia, Roma) – 111
3. Didier Drogba (CIV – Marseille, Chelsea, Galatasaray) – 102
4. Mohamed Salah (EGY – Basel, Chelsea, Fiorentina, Roma, Liverpool) – 94
5. Yaya Touré (CIV – Metalurh Donetsk, Olympiacos, Barcelona, Manchester City) – 91
6. Samuel Kuffour (GHA – Bayern, Roma, Livorno) – 90
7. Kolo Touré (CIV – Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Celtic)- 90
8. Emmanuel Adebayor (TGO – Monaco, Arsenal, Man. City, Real Madrid, Tottenham, Başakşehir) – 82
9. Nwankwo Kanu (NIG – Ajax, Internazionale, Arsenal, Portsmouth) – 81
Nwankwo Kanu and team-mates celebrate their Champions League title in 1995.
Photo: Alain Gadoffre
Source: Getty Images
10. Emmanuel Eboué (CIV – Beveren, Arsenal, Galatasaray) – 79
Meanwhile, Bioreports earlier reported that Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has heaped praises on Nigerian international Wilfred Ndidi saying what the midfielder gives the Foxes is quite unique.
According to Rodgers, Ndidi is one of the best players in the world in terms of ball recoveries, which was also evident during their games against Tottenham and Liverpool.
On December 20 when they took on Spurs, Ndidi recorded a high ball recovery rate with 18 and then bettered his own record with 19 ball recoveries when they defeated Liverpool last weekend.
Babajide is a digital publishing expert, an avid sports content thinker, researcher and writer. He is a graduate of Guidance and Counselling, having bagged his B.SC (ED) from the Ekiti State University. He can be reached on Twitter @JideOrevba
