From defense to midfield to attack, there were so many Africans who excelled during the just concluded La Liga campaign. Some of the best players in LaLiga history have come from Africa and, once again, many of the league’s stars of 2019/20 hailed from our dear continent.
So, while there were so many excellent performers this year led by Granada CF duo of Yan Brice Eteki and Nigeria’s Ramon Azeez, who both deserve a special mention, Pape Diop, Samuel Chukwueze, and others stood out as well.
But, here comes a look at the most impressive quintet based on this past season.
Thomas Partey (Atlético Madrid)
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Thomas Partey has become one of the first names on each of Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid team sheets. The Ghanaian midfielder took further steps forward this past campaign as he dominated in the centre of the park for the Rojiblancos. Even if he didn’t score as many goals as he has in some other seasons, his efforts in the middle propelled the capital city club to an eighth consecutive top-three finish.
100 – Thomas Partey in the first half of his 100th game for Atletico in LaLiga:
95% passing accuracy (38/40)
100% duels success (4/4)
4 recoveries
Fireproof. pic.twitter.com/nWw0OIQcWR
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) September 28, 2019
Iddrisu Baba (RCD Mallorca)
Although RCD Mallorca were ultimately relegated, the main reason they came so close to avoiding the drop is Iddrisu Baba. The central midfielder, who is from Ghana but who has come through the ranks at RCD Mallorca’s academy, played the third-most minutes of all the island team’s players this campaign and was a key cog in their system. His midfield efforts didn’t always show up on the stats sheets, but he absolutely passed the eye test and the 24-year-old looks to have a big career ahead of him.
✍️OFICIAL | IDDRISU BABA renueva con el Mallorca HASTA 2022. #LaLiga pic.twitter.com/mUukROBEMg
— El Chiringuito TV (@elchiringuitotv) July 3, 2019
Youssef En-Nesyri (CD Leganés and Sevilla FC)
Youssef En-Nesyri started the season with CD Leganés and finished it with Sevilla FC, with his performances at Lega so impressive that Sevilla’s renowned sporting director Monchi decided to pay the Moroccan’s release clause in January. The forward netted eight goals in total over the course of the LaLiga season, evenly split with four for CD Leganés and four for Sevilla FC. By finishing the campaign well, those close to his new club are expecting his first full campaign at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán to be an impactful one.
From Fès to #LaLiga history books:
Youssef En-Nesyri scored the 300th goal by a Moroccan player in LaLiga. More than any other African nations.
Becomes the fourth Moroccan to score 20+ in LaLiga, after Mohamed Mahjoub, Youssef El Arabi and Larbi Benbarek.
22 years of age! 🇲🇦 pic.twitter.com/RjorC81oRn
— Maghrib Foot (@MaghribFoot) March 1, 2020
Mohammed Salisu (Real Valladolid)
There was concern at Real Valladolid last summer when they lost Fernando Calero, one of their starting centre-backs, in the transfer market. But coach Sergio González had a plan and promoted Mohammed Salisu from the club’s academy into the first team. It was a stroke of genius as the 21-year-old Ghanaian was excellent in the Pucela babackline so much that he has been constantly linked in recent months with a transfer to some of Europe’s top clubs.
Mohammed Salisu 💪🏻🔥
The 20 year old Ghanaian centre back has all the physical tools to be a beast for Valladolid 💪🏻
He’s already impressed with his performances at the back, managing to do so without receiving a single booking yet in LaLiga 😱#LLL
🧡⚽️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/Bbh6Brdj0B
— La Liga Lowdown 🧡🇪🇸⚽️ (@LaLigaLowdown) October 9, 2019
Allan Nyom (Getafe CF)
After a very good 2018/19 campaign with CD Leganés, Allan Nyom made the switch to LaLiga Santander’s other southern Madrid side Getafe CF last summer. The Cameroon international fit in straight away in José Bordalás’ system. Versatile enough to play at right-back, on the right-wing even at left-back in the team’s 4-4-2 system, Nyom’s tricky dribbling ability and pure speed saw him cause opposition full-backs problems all season long.
https://twitter.com/getafe__arab_q8/status/1218271972913745922?s=19
Who should be on this list but missed out? Let us know in the comments section.
