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Check Out Africa’s Top Defenders Who Never Won Afcon

Here is a list of the continent’s top players who have never won Africa’s grandest prize, the AFCON Cup.

Taribo West

One of Nigeria’s greatest defenders, Auxerre excelled with Auxerre in France, and also represented both Milan giants—AC and Inter.

Despite amassing 42 caps for the Super Eagles, and featuring in two World Cups, he never got his hands on Africa’s biggest prize.

The defender was an Olympic gold medallist in 1996, but the closest he ever came to the Afcon was a runners-up medal in 2000.

Is he the greatest African defender never to win the Nations Cup? Here are five other stoppers who may deserve this somewhat dubious accolade.

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    • Sammy Kuffour

    Kuffour was brought to Europe by Torino aged just 13 after playing junior football in his native Ghana.

    Arguably the greatest African defender of all-time, he won the 2001 BBC African Footballer of the Year award and spent 12 successful years with Bayern Munich, where he won six league titles and four German Cups.

    He’s perhaps best remembered for breaking down in tears following Manchester United’s two late goals to seal a 2-1 win over Bayern in the 1999 Uefa Champions League final.

    He featured in the 2006 World Cup for the Black Stars.

    • Medhi Benatia

    Few African centre-backs of this generation have thrived at three of Europe’s biggest clubs, yet Benatia excelled at AS Roma, Bayern Munich and Juventus.

    He won five league titles in a five-year period across Germany and Italy, and was also named in the Caf Team of the Year on four occasions.

    However, despite only just entering his 30s, he opted to quit European football for Al-Duhail in 2019, and hasn’t represented the Morocco national team since.

  • MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP/Getty Images

    • Nourredine Naybet

    One of the classiest defenders ever to emerge from Africa, Naybet was once wanted at Manchester United by Sir Alex Ferguson, and wouldn’t have looked out of place in that star-studded side.

    He won La Liga with Deportivo La Coruna in 2000, and featured for Morocco in two World Cups, but never clinched the African crown.

    The centre-back was eliminated in the First Round of the African Legends Cup of Nations.

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    • Madjid Bougherra

    Algeria stalwart Bougherra represented Algeria 70 times, and was also influential as the Fennecs reached the World Cup in both 2010 and 2014.

    Inspiring those around him with gritty performances from the back, the centre-back represented Rangers for three years—winning a trio of Scottish titles—but was never able to win the Nations Cup.

    The closest he came was the semi-final in 2010.

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    • Ibrahim Hassan

    The twin brother of Egypt great Hossam Hassan, Ibrahim was also a legend in his own right and won over 100 caps for the Pharaohs.

    He represented the North Africans at the 1990 World Cup, but was mighty unfortunate in that he missed out on the 1998 Nations Cup, despite enjoying a 14-year international career.

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