The pod reviews the best and worst of African performers in Europe’s premier club competition
The 2019-20 Champions League finally came to a conclusion on Sunday with a 1-0 final victory for Bayern Munich over Paris Saint-Germain.
The result meant a heartbreaking end to the campaign for PSG’s African duo Idrissa Gueye and Eric-Maxim Choupo Moting, who will remember the last fortnight for very different reasons.
Gana picked up an injury after the dramatic quarter-final victory over Atalanta, and while injury denied him a starting spot in the semi-final, Thomas Tuchel opted against using him in the final.
Choupo Moting, the hero against Atalanta, was used against Bayern, although he struggled to make the most of his late cameo, fluffing his lines with one decent opportunity to play Julian Draxler in and keep the tie alive.
In the podcast this week, Ed Dove and Malek Shafei look back over the Champions League in its entirety, picking out our African highlights, and lamenting a few of the continent’s stars who didn’t perform to their typical standards during the campaign.
Of course Liverpool’s showing was a major disappointment, particularly considering the continental experience of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, but how much can the Reds be criticised considering their domestic exploits and finally getting over the line in the Premier League?
More positively, the likes of Houssem Aouar, Hakim Ziyech, Thomas Partey and Riyad Mahrez are the names considered for the African Player of the Competition tag, while we also consider breakout stars, underrated stars and those players who have impressed despite playing for some of the tournament’s lesser lights.
Maxwel Cornet and Geoffrey Kondogbia are the names considered for the African Goal of the Tournament award, while we also look ahead—in-depth—to the 2020-21 Champions League.
There’s set to be extensive African interest in Europe’s premier club competition next year.
Beyond the usual suspects, Sevilla will be taking part after their Europa League success, meaning Morocco duo Yassine Bounou and Youssef En-Nesyri can test themselves against the continent’s finest.
Elsewhere, Achraf Hakimi—impressive with Borussia Dortmund—will return with UEL finalists Internazionale, and the likes of Edouardo Camavinga (Stade Rennais), Boubacar Kamara (Olympique de Marseille) and Adel Taarabt (Benfica) will also be among the glittering talents to keep tabs on.
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