The many African stars in football are now a staple in most leagues and this year is seeing a particularly good year with Nwankwo Kanu leading his club Portsmouth and the English League with 7 goals, and Frederic Kanoute for Sevilla, leads La Liga with 7 goals, Didier Drogba with 10 goals overall for present Premiership champions Chelsea.
In the increasingly crowded galaxy of African stars that include Jay Jay Okocha, Samuel Eto’o, Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Emmanuel Adebayor, Stephen Appiah, El Hadji Diouf, Momo Sissoko, Mido Hossam, Ayegbeni Yakubu, Kolo Toure, Didier Zokora and Benni McCarthy: Aruna Dindane is not a name that comes to mind immediately.
Dindane was part of the Cote D’Ivoirian team that impressed many in the group of death in this World Cup when playing Netherlands, Argentina, and Serbia and Montenegro. Ivory Coast won against Serbia and Montenegro, 3-2 in a come from behind victory and lost 1-2 to both Netherlands and Argentina in some of the more entertaining games in group play.
Aruna Dindane now leads the French league and his club Lens with 7 goals. He is a short but powerfully built striker, technically gifted, with good dribbling skills, a substitute to Bakari Kone, who usually pairs up in front with Drogba as the primary striker duo. Dindane’s 7 goals have pushed Lens to the 5th position in the Ligue 1 standings. More importantly, he has made a strong claim to start with Drogba up front for the Ivoirians.
Dindane was also instrumental in Lens winning start to their UEFA Cup campaign beating Osasuna, 3-1. He scored a goal and was responsible for a penalty against Osasuna.