2007 African player of the year

The shortlist for the 2007 African player of the year is out, and current holder Didier Drogba is in contention again. The five players shortlisted are:

Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
Michael Essien (Chelsea and Ghana)
Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal and Togo)
Frederic Kanoute (Seville and Mali)
Mahamadou Diarra (Real Madrid and Mali)

The coaches of all 53 nations in the Confederation of African Football will vote, and the winner will be announced at a fancy dinner on Februaury 1st in Togo next year. Bizarrely, that’s in the middle of the African Cup of Nations so the players shortlisted will hope to be busy around that time (with the exception of Emmanuel Adebayor, since Togo failed to qualify.)

Drogba stands every chance of holding onto the award, looking unstoppable in a Chelsea shirt until his recent knee surgery. Last years runner up Samuel Eto’o is out of contention for the 2007 award having spent most of the season on the injury list. Kanoute is an interesting inclusion, as he’d be the first European born winner having been born in Lyon and represented French youth teams before switching to Mali, where he’s teamed up with Mahamadou Diarra, “the heart” of Real Madrid’s midfield. Not sure about Emmanuel Adebayor’s chances. He’s been good on his day for Arsenal, but hasn’t contributed much to Togo thanks to the infamous row over bonus payments that nearly ruined Togo’s World Cup. So I’ll be pulling for Michael Essien. This will be the third time in a row the Ghanaian midfielder has been shortlisted, finishing behind Eto’o and Drogba in 2005 and 2006, so it’s about time he finally got his hands on the award.