- Tweeter
republish
Sadio Mané was elected Best African player of the year 2019 this Tuesday January 7 in Hurghada in Egypt. The Teranga Lion was facing his Egyptian teammate Mohamed Salah and the Algerian Riyad Mahrez. Mané was the only one of the three to never have received this distinction.
From our special envoy to Hurghada,
" I am proud of my little brother and my compatriot ", tells RFI El-Hadji Diouf about the triumph of Sadio Mané. " He is an ambassador, he enters the big league and Senegal can be proud of him ," added the former Liverpool player. It is a monument of African football, which has worked a lot and which deserves this title. I hope there will be others. Who knows, maybe one day it will be the second Ballon d'Or from the African continent ! Sadio Mané is in any case the first Senegalese player to lift this trophy since El-Hadji Diouf in 2002.
Discreet but efficient player
For a moment, Sadio Mané therefore left the greyness of Europe to come and receive the trophy for Best African player of the year 2019 in Hurgadha, awarded by the hands of Samuel Eto'o. “ It was a beautiful evening of African football. I am very happy with this distinction and it is a great pride. This season there were some very big players in the running. Riyad Mahrez won the CAN and I also hope one day to have the continental title, "said Sadio Mané after the ceremony. " Sadio Mané largely deserved his trophy, even if Mahrez had a great season, " commented Algerian coach Djamel Belmadi.
In 2019, Bambali's child went on to perform. At 24, the name of this discreet player is recognized in European football at the time of his victory with Liverpool in the Champions League against Tottenham (2-0). He also lived the joy of winning the Club World Cup in December in Qatar against Flamengo by delivering the only decisive pass of the match to his Brazilian teammate Roberto Firmino.
An extraordinary year 2019
After having had an extraordinary year in 2019, the Senegalese international even started 2020 with a record in the Premier League. With his accomplishment against Sheffiled United on match day 20, Mané has scored the most goals at home (25) in the league since the start of last season. In the top five European leagues, the only two players with more goals at home are Lionel Messi (29 at Camp Nou) and Kylian Mbappé (27 at Parc des Princes).
Besides Liverpool, the striker also shone with the selection of Senegal. At the African Cup of Nations in Egypt, he reached the final against Algeria. The one who finished the 2018-2019 season as co-top scorer in the Premier League with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and his teammate Mohamed Salah (22 goals each), also won the European Super Cup.
The revelation at Red Bull Salzburg
Sadio Mané is one of those people who go after their dream. As a teenager, he left his native village without saying anything to go and try the adventure in Dakar. Football is considered a waste of time by his family. A little later, after convincing those around him, he arrived at Génération Foot, an academy founded by Mady Touré and linked to FC Metz in France. At 18, he discovered professionalism in eastern France alongside his compatriot Kalidou Koulibaly, not without difficulty, with a succession of injuries.
It was in Austria, at Red Bull Salzburg, that he continued his career in 2012. There, he then took on all of his dimensions before going off to England. First in Southampton, then in Liverpool. In 2018, Sadio Mané became the first Senegalese player to take part in a Champions League final against Real Madrid. A few weeks later, he played his first World Cup in Russia. After being on the podium three times, Sadio Mané finally reached consecration on his own continent.
African Player of the Year
Sadio Mané (Senegal - Liverpool)
African Player of the Year
Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria - FC Barcelona)
Inter-club player of the year
Youcef Belaïli (Algeria - Al Ahly Jeddah)
Best African Hope of the Year
Achraf Hakimi (Morocco - Dortmund)
Male Coach of the Year
Djamel Belmadi (Algeria)
Female Coach of the Year
Desiree Ellis (South Africa)
National Men's Team of the Year
Algeria
National Women's Team of the Year
Cameroon
Best goal of the year
Riyad Mahrez (Algeria)