African Cup of Nations 2010: Goalwatch – Top Scorers & Leagues

As the African Cup of Nations 2010 reaches the semi finals stage I thought we might revive an interesting feature that we ran for the 2008 tournament in Ghana on Just Football, namely Goalwatch. Its an oldie but a goodie, in which we tracked every goalscorer as well as the domestic league they play in, in order to bring you a list of the leagues that contribute most to African Cup of Nations success.

Not only is it a useful resource to keep up-to-date with the tournament’s top scorers but it also helps demonstrate the truly global event the African Cup of Nations has become. 63 goals have been scored so far in Angola spanning across 23 different leagues around the world. An incredible indicator of the game’s global reach as well as the diaspora of African talent.

In our 2008 edition of Goalwatch, France’s Ligue 1 emerged narrowly ahead of the English Premier League to win the as yet unnamed crown (I made an attempt to name it, but it was rubbish). Any suggestions other than the Just Football Cup of Nations League Contribution Crown are highly welcome. Meanwhile Samuel Eto’o won the Golden Boot at Ghana 2008 with 5 goals.

So which players are banging in the goals in Angola, and which domestic leagues have contributed most to the entertainment? Here is the complete table up to and including the quarter finals:

Goalscorers:

3
Flavio (Al-Shabab)
Ahmed Hassan (Al-Ahly)
Mohamed Gedo (Al-Ittihad)
Seydou Keita (FC Barcelona)

2
Manucho (Real Valladolid)
Samuel Eto’o (Inter Milan)
Emad Moteab (Al-Ahly)
Asamoah Gyan (Rennes)
Fredi Kanoute (Sevilla)
Russel Mwafulirwa (IFK Norrköping)
Peter Odemwingie (Lokomotiv Moscow)
Jacob Mulenga (FC Utrecht)

1
Gilberto (Al-Ahly)
Hameur Bouazza (Blackpool FC)
Madjid Bougherra (Glasgow Rangers)
Rafik Halliche (Nacional)
Karim Matmour (Borussia Moenchengladbach)
Razak Omotoyossi (FC Metz)
Achille Emana (Real Betis)
Geremi (Ankaragucu)
Landry N’Guemo (Glasgow Celtic)
Mohammadou Idrissou (Freiburg)
Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Salomon Kalou (Chelsea)
Gervinho (Lille)
Siaka Tiene (Valenciennes)
Kader Keita (Galatasaray)
Ahmed Al-Muhammadi (ENPPI Club)
Daniel Cousin (Hull City)
Fabrice Do Marcolino (Stade Laval)
Andre Ayew (Arles-Avignon)
Davi Banda (Red Lions)
Elvis Kafoteka (Super ESCOM)
Fumo (Olympiakos Nicosia)
Miro (Platinum Stars)
Mamadou Bagayoko (Nice)
Mustapha Yatabare (Clermont Foot)
Yakubu (Everton)
Obafemi Martins (Vfl Wolfsburg)
Chinedu Obasi (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim)
Armine Chermiti (Ittihad Jeddah)
Zouheir Dhaouadi (Club Africain)
James Chamanga (Dalian Shide)
Rainford Kalaba (União de Leiria)
Christopher Katongo (Arminia Bielefeld)
Aurelien Chedjou (Lille) (OG)
Dario Khan (Al-Kharitiyath) (OG)

League Contributions

10 goals – Egyptian Premier League

7 goals - Spanish Primera Liga

6 goals – French Ligue 1

4 goals – Saudi Professional League
4 goals – German Bundesliga
4 goals – French Ligue 2 (Division 2)
4 goals – English Premier League

2 goals - Italian Serie A
2 goals – Swedish Superettan (Division 2)
2 goals – Russian Premier League
2 goals – Dutch Eredivisie
2 goals – Scottish Premier League
2 goals – Portuguese Liga Sagres
2 goals – Turkish Super Lig
2 goals – Malawi Premier Division

1 goal – English Championship (Division 2)
1 goal – Spanish Segunda Liga (Division 2)
1 goal – Cypriot Second Division (Division 2)
1 goal – South Africa Premier Soccer League
1 goal – Tunisian CLP-1 (Championnat de la Ligue 1)
1 goal – Chinese Super League
1 goal – German Bundesliga 2. (Division 2)
1 goal - Qatari Stars League

As you can see, at the moment – in a throwback to the near extinct days when players stuck to the league of their origin – the Egyptian Premier League is running away with the crown, closely followed by Spain’s Primera Liga and current holders France’s League 1. This is in no small part thanks to Egyptian Premier League stars Mohamed Geddo and Ahmed Hassan, who have contributed 6 goals between them.

Elsewhere, the English Premier League is lagging somewhat this year with only 4 goals contributed, while the all-time top goalscorer in African Cup of Nations history Samuel Eto’o’s relatively futile efforts in Angola are reflected by his tally of just 2 goals.

Any other interesting trends in there? It says a lot about the far-reaching appeal of African players that even the Chinese Super League has some presence at the Cup of Nations. If you interpret any trends between this year’s Goalwatch and that of 2008 let us know. We’ll be back to update the charts after the semis and final.

African Cup of Nations 2010, Goalwatch