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Five African players who played for Bayern Munich; before Sadio Mane

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The next football season will see Senegal international captain, Sadio Mane, filing out for perennial German Bundesliga champions, Bayern Munich, after completing a £35 million move from Liverpool.

Mane signed a three-year deal with Bayern that will see him remain at the Bundesliga champions until 2025, after six successful years at Liverpool which he joined from Southampton.

According to world football transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano, the deal will see Bayern pay €32m (£34m) guaranteed fee for Sadio Mané with the contract already signed and valid until June 2025.”

“Liverpool will also receive add-ons, for a maximum of potential €40m total fee package,” Romano wrote on Twitter on Friday.

Mane’s move to Bayern may be the biggest transfer involving an African player in this transfer market but he is certainly not the first ‘authentic’ African star to play for the Munich giants as there have been Africans who wore the Bayern shirt in the past and won trophies for the Bavarians who are unarguably the biggest and most successful club in Germany.

The Bavarians have been a dominant force in the German football landscape, winning leagues and cups consistently over the years and intermittently, and there have been some talented African players who contributed in some ways to the success of the team.

Africa News Watch takes a look at five African footballers who have played and won titles for Bayern Munich.

1. Samuel Kuffour

Former Ghanaian international defender, Samuel Ossei Kuffour stands out as the most successful African star to have played for the Munich giants.

In his time with the Bavarians, Kuffour was a very accomplished defender and played for over 11 years between 1994-2005, featuring 277 times with 10 goals to his name across all competitions.

Fondly called Sammy by fans, the Ghanaian export will never be forgotten for his tears and display of disappointment and agony when Munich famously lost the 1999 UEFA Champions League final in the dying minutes against Manchester United.

His sorrow, however, would turn to joy a couple of years later when he led the Bayern defense to win the 2001 UEFA Champions League trophy and ended his illustrious career with six Bundesliga titles and four DFB-Pokal trophies to his name.

2. Pablo Thiam

Many football fans did not know that Pablo Thiam, a mercurial defensive midfielder who played for two seasons between 2001 and 2003, was actually an African who played for Guinea.

Though Thiam did not have a really spectacular time at Munich inky managing 16 league appearances, he was part of the victorious Bayern squad that won the 2001 UEFA Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup.

3. Mehdi Benatia

Mehdi Benetia was a highly gifted Moroccan centre-back who was a stalwart in the Bayern defense during his time at the club from 2014 to 2016.

Benatia was a key player during his time at the club and made a total of 46 appearances, scoring three goals from his defensive position during his two-year spell with Munich, winning two Bundesliga titles and a DFB-Pokal cup.

4. Eric-Maxim Choupo Moting

Eric-Maxim Choupo Moting, is a Cameroonian international striker currently on the books of the Bundesliga defending champions.

Eric joined the Bavarians in the summer of 2020 and has so far featured 45 times across all competitions, scoring 17 goals in this period.

He has so far won a Bundesliga title (2020-21) and FIFA Club World Cup trophy (2020) and the 2022 Bundesliga title.

5. Bouna Sarr

Another African player who has played for the Alianz Arena outfit is Senegalese international, Bouna Sarr, who joined Bayern Munich in 2020 on a four-deal from French side, Olympique Marseille.

However, the 30-year-old Sarr has had to play a bit-part role with the Bavarian side.

The right-back has so far made 25 total appearances across the two seasons he has spent at the club with a goal to his name and was part of the squad that won the 2020-21 Bundesliga title and 2020 FIFA Club World Cup.

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Controversy as US-based former Kenyan football star Joseph Asuza commits suicide

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A US-based former Kenyan football star, Joseph Asuza, has reportedly committed suicide in what has been described as tragic circumstances,
sparking controversy.

Asuza, a former FKF Premier League star who played for Red Berets before transitioning to a different career path in the United States where he worked as a security officer with the United Nations, reportedly took his own life by jumping out of a moving vehicle on Sunday afternoon before being crushed to death by another vehicle as he struggled to come to terms with his mother’s recent death.

According to former Harambee Stars striker and Asuza’s close friend, Boniface Ambani, the former star player fondly called “Asuu”, jumped out of a moving cab on Thika Road before an oncoming vehicle crushed him to death.

Ambani said Asuza’s untimely demise comes at a time of profound grief as he was making arrangements for his mother’s burial who had passed away just a week prior due to cardiac arrest.

“Despite being miles away from his homeland, Asuza remained deeply connected to his roots, as evidenced by his swift return upon hearing of his mother’s passing,” Ambani said.

“Asuza was in deep distress as he came to terms with his mothers’ death.

“On Friday evening I paid a courtesy call on his family at Lusui, Chanda Village. He looked so distressed and so disturbed.

“The mum’s death really hit him hard. I gave him company till midnight and we planned to meet the next day, but he told me he is traveling to Nairobi early morning of Saturday to go make arrangements on how the mum’s body would be ferried back home for burial this coming Saturday.

“I told him it’s okay, but asked his young bro to make sure he (Asuu) doesn’t drive. I talked to him in length.

“Asuza and his brother arrived safely on Saturday, but he lost his life the next day

“Asuza accompanied by his younger brother, embarked on the journey to Nairobi early Saturday morning to oversee the arrangements for his mother’s final rites.

“However, the journey ended in an unimaginable tragedy as Asuza’s life was abruptly cut short in a fatal road accident along Thika Road.

“It has taken me a lot of courage since yesterday, to pen this down. Why Asuu? Why? Mum and son gone,” Ambani added, before sending condolences to the family.

“God give this family strength to overcome this…. How do I start tying Rest well bro? How? How? Asuu, Asuu,” he lamented.

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Kenyan world champion Zablon Ekwam cries out over alleged neglect from govt

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Kenyan World Indoors Championships record holder, Zablon Ekwam, has expressed frustration over alleged neglect of athletes by the government even after performing so well and bringing honour to the country.

Ekwam who recently shattered the African record at the World Indoor Championships held in the UK, expressed his frustration about receiving no recognition from the government even when his performance had put the country on the world map.

Ekwam who spoke to sports journalists on Friday, lamented that they (athletes)
had to put in all the work to bring honour to the country, yet the government has continuously failed to recognise them.

Ekwam said he was particularly frustrated that as he had never been to an indoor championship and breaking an African record is a feat that should be recognised.

At the tournament, the quartet of Ekwam, Wiseman Were, Boniface Mweresa, and Kelvin Tauta shattered an existing African record by clocking an impressive 3:06.71 to finish fourth in the tight race that was won by Team Great Britain with the USA and the Netherlands taking the second and third spots.

Ekwam feels that the hard work the quartet should have been recognised and they should also receive a token of appreciation for the effort.

“Breaking the African record has motivated me; however, the government has not done anything and we have not received any appreciation but we are content with what we did and we ask God to give us more courage,” Ekwam lamented.

“If we are given another chance to run anywhere, we shall continue breaking records because in other countries, when someone breaks a record it’s a big thing.

“Here, people have taken it very lightly and no one is even talking about it but it is okay and we shall continue working hard,” Ekwam said.

He added that as they prepare for the Africa Senior Athletics Championships and the continental tour in South Africa, they hope to continue breaking more records.

He added that if for anything, the fact that the African record had been in place for more than five years and the quartet put in all their effort and shattered it twice in one day was something that the government should have recognized and appreciated.

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