Oshoala Dethroned as Salah Retains African Player of the Year Title

Oshoala Dethroned as Salah Retains African Player of the Year Title

Duro Ikhazuagbe

Egypt and Liverpool star, Mohamed Salah, last night won his second African Player of the Year award, beating off competition from teammate Sadio Mane of Senegal and Gabonese Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

He is the fourth African after El Hadji Diouf, Samuel Eto’o, Yaya Toure to win the award back to back.

The Egyptian was unarguably the expected winner of the 2018 African Player of the Year award due to his stunning season for both country and club.

Salah secured 13 goals in the English Premier League to help the Reds lead the log this season. The 26-year-old was named the Premier League Player of the Year and ranked high in Goal 50, FIFA Best Awards and Ballon d’Or. He was voted the BBC African Footballer of the Year for the second time last December.

Last season, he finished with 44 goals across all competitions and helped Jurgen Klopp’s men end as runners-up in the Champions League.

Salah shrugged off a shoulder injury to feature in the 2018 FIFA World Cup where he scored two goals in two games for Pharaohs.

Speaking shortly after he was presented his award, Salah said: “I have dreamt of winning this award since I was a child and now I have done so twice in a row,” Salah said.

After dominating the podium in the last three editions, Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala was beaten to the African Woman Player of the Year award by South Africa’s Chrestinah Thembi Kgatlana. The South African was voted the Most Valuable Player of the last African Woman’s Nations Cup in Ghana last month, when the Super Falcons won the title a record ninth time.

The Super Falcons were named the women’s National Team of the Year while men’s National Team of the Year surprisingly went to Mauritania.

Morocco’s national team’s coach, Herve Renard was selected as the National Team Coach of the Year. Banyana Banyana’s Desiree Ellis was the winner of the women’s version.

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