Sports news-The battle of Africa's top strikers? Bony & Gyan face off for Africa Cup of Nations
Wilfried Bony has been touted as the man in line to take over from Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o as Africa’s premier goalscorer, but Asamoah Gyan thinks he is the one who has already taken the mantle. In Sunday’s Cup of Nations final, they have the opportunity to provide a definitive answer.
Bony has just landed a dream move, a €35 million transfer to Manchester City, and with it the chance to take on some of the world’s best defenders. This month and next he will hope to be in the team when City play Barcelona over two legs in the Uefa Champions League.
He will be watched by a worldwide audience of hundreds of millions in those games, should he play. Millions more will tune in as City attempt to overtake Chelsea in the race for the Premier League title.
The biggest club games for Gyan, meanwhile, will be against Ajman and Al Jazira in the Arabian Gulf League. Gyan gave up top-flight football in Europe to maximise his earnings. He takes home about €200,000 a week, tax free, and is Africa’s highest-earning sportsman of all time.
One man who puts Bony ahead is Quinton Fortune, the former Manchester United and South Africa midfielder who now coaches at Cardiff City.
“Look where Gyan is playing,” Fortune told Goal. “You just can’t compare the Gulf League to Europe’s top leagues. There is a huge difference in standard and although he might be banging in the goals, one thing is for sure – he won’t be improving.
“If you really love the game of football you want to play for the biggest clubs in the biggest leagues, you aim to sign for Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona or, like Bony, Manchester City. At the end of his career Gyan will look back and think ‘I could have done it in Europe.’
“For me, Bony stands out as the top African striker, and that’s entirely because of his scoring record in the Premier League. There’s a reason why Manchester City were willing to pay all that money for him - he’s quality.
“He’s an absolute powerhouse, and he can hold on to the ball all day long. He has pure, natural strength, and he scores plenty of goals - including in the big games.”
Gyan, 29, scored one of the most memorable goals of this Cup of Nations, his last-minute winner against Algeria that put Ghana on the path to the knockouts. They had lost their opening game, against Senegal, and might have gone out but for Gyan’s strike.
He missed the semi-final against Equatorial Guinea, suffering the effects of a terrible foul by Naby Yattara in the quarter-final that earned the Guinea goalkeeper a red card. Gyan is confident of being fit to face Ivory Coast and tussling with Kolo Toure, the outstanding central defender of the tournament.
Gyan believes he is victimised for choosing to play in the United Arab Emirates and complained that the African player of the year awards handed out by the Confederation of African Football and the BBC were biased towards players based in Europe. “It's not the best player in Africa who wins the award," he said. "It's the player who plays in Europe. That's how I judge it.”
Bony scored two goals against Algeria’s top-quality defence, the second an excellent header from a Yaya Toure free kick, in the quarter-finals. He and Gyan could decide the destination of a trophy that has not been won by either country since 1992.
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