At the glitzy Caf/Glo Awards on Thursday, Yaya Toure relinquished his dominance of the continent’s football as he lost the illustrious position as the African Footballer of the Year to Borussia Dortmund striker Aubameyang. Toure had won the award for four consecutive years and had been hoping to win it for a fifth straight time.
Nigeria's Victor Osimhen was among the winners on the night, as was U23 star Oghenekaro Etebo, being named the Young Player of the Year and the Most Promising Player of the Year respectively. However, Toure described missing out on a fifth consecutive African Player of the Year award as indecent, saying the decision brought shame on the continent.
He added that he felt he should have taken the accolade again after captaining Ivory Coast to the Africa Cup of Nations title at the start of 2015. This is despite the fact that Aubameyang is arguably the fastest players in the modern game, having clocked a time of 3.70 seconds over 30 meters, which is marginally faster than the time Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt recorded in the first 30 meters of his record breaking 100 metres run.
At the halfway stage of the Bundesliga season, Aubameyang was the league's top scorer with 18 goals from 17 appearances. He is currently a target for several top European clubsides, with English Premiership team Arsenal reported to be willing to break the bank to acquire his services.
However, Toure said: "I think that's what makes it the shame of Africa as to behave in this way is indecent but what can we do? Africans do not show that Africa is important to us as we give more priority to what's going on elsewhere than in our own continent, which is what is appalling.
"Yaya will look after himself and let Africa look after itself. Like I'm often said, you shouldn't worry too much about Africa because Africa will be the first to let you down."
Aubameyang, the first player Gabonese player to win the award, scored 29 Bundesliga goals in 2015 including 18 this season plus a further seven in the Europa League. However, his Gabon team were eliminated in the first round of the African Nations Cup in Equatorial Guinea.
Meanwhile, Osimhen has revealed that he has decided to pursue his professional career at Wolfsburg in Germany's Die Bundesliga in preference to Arsenal. English Premier League leaders Arsenal had been keen to sign the red hot striker but he added that the assurances Wolfsburg gave him made him opt for the club.
“I visited Wolfsburg and I think with the promises the head coach of the team made to me when I visited the arena. As long as I am enjoying myself there, I will be there for some years before I move on.”
Osimhen added that he wants to continue his education while in Europe and urged Nigerian youths to always believe in themselves in all their endeavours. He then thanked coaches Emmanuel Amunike and Samson Siasia for what they have done in his life.
Comments
Post a Comment