Shandre Campbell will hope to become the first South African to play Uefa Champions League football in the group stage since Percy Tau five years ago having been included in the Club Brugge squad for this season’s competition.
Ironically, Tau also played for Brugge in the 2018/19 season, including against Real Madrid and Paris St Germain. He provided an assist in a 2-2 draw at the Bernabeu.
And with matches this season against Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan, Juventus and Manchester City, among others, Campbell could come up against some of the grand old names of European football.
He will be the latest in a lengthy list of South Africans to have featured in Europe’s elite club competition, spearheaded by the only winner from Mzansi, Benni McCarthy.
The Bafana Bafana striker was part of Jose Mourinho’s FC Porto side that lifted the trophy in 2003-04 and his two goals in the 2-1 round of 16 win over Manchester United remain iconic.
That match is notable as it is the only time South Africans have scored for opposing sides in a single Champions League match, with the United goal netted by McCarthy’s national teammate Quinton Fortune.
In all, McCarthy scored eight goals and got three assists in 28 Champions league matches, while Quinton Fortune featured in one game less and netted two goals.
Steven Pienaar also played in 27 games in the competition for both Ajax Amsterdam and Tottenham Hotspur, placing him high on the list of most appearances.
Lucas Radebe was club captain when Leeds United reached the semifinals of the Champions League a few years earlier in 2000-01, though he was injured by the time the knockout rounds came along and only featured in the group stages.
Thulani Serero played 11 Champions League matches, and scored a goal for Ajax in a famous 2-1 victory over Barcelona in the 2013/14 season.
Former left-back Jacob Lekgetho played 20 times for Lokomotiv Moscow in the competition and was part of a 2-0 win over Real Madrid in 2001.
Ex-midfielder Bennett Mnguni actually scored against Real Madrid when he netted for the same Moscow side in a 2-2 draw in 2002. That happened to be his Champions League debut at the Bernabeu as well!
Former Bafana goalkeeper Hans Vonk played 10 times in the competition for Ajax and Heerenveen, including against Juventus Bayern Munich and Arsenal, while the unfortunate Tsepo Masilela last all six games he played for Maccabi Haifa in the 2009-10 campaign.
Nasief Morris fared better with Greek outfit Panathinaikos in 2004-05 when he helped the side to successive draws with Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal and the following campaign a draw with Barcelona.
He played 14 games in all and even managed a goal in a 5-1 loss to Werder Bremen in what proved his last match.
Striker Dino Ndlovu played for Qarabag in the 2017-18 group stages and helped them to a 0-0 draw with Atletico Madrid, but they struggled in a pool that also included Chelsea and Roma.
Pierre Issa played in a Marseille team that beat Manchester United 1-0 in 1999, while
George Koumantarakis, Bryce Moon, MacBeth Sibaya and the late Anele Ngcongca are other South Africans who have featured in the competition.
Campbell will be far from the only African star in the Champions League pool phases this season.
There are as many as 82 contracted to various clubs in the competition, and several who may have an eye on the trophy.
Moroccan Brahim Diaz already has a winners’ medal after lifting the trophy with Real Madrid last season and he will expect to go back-to-back, such is the quality of the LaLiga side’s squad.
Another Moroccan, Achraf Hakimi won the Champions League with Real Madrid in 2017/18 but is yet to do so with Paris St Germain.
Mohamed Salah is another with one winners’ medal already at Liverpool from 2019-19, but having also lost in two more finals, it might have been much more for the Egyptian.
Arsenal will hope to make a significant run deep into the competition this year and Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey could be crucial in that regard.
The Gunners have never lifted the trophy and have one final appearance to their name, losing 2-1 to Barcelona in 2006.
Bayer Leverkusen stormed to a maiden German Bundesliga title last season under coach Xabi Alonso, who lifted the trophy with Liverpool as a player on that famous night in Istanbul in 2005.
Nigeria forward Victor Boniface will be key to their chances of going far this term having lost the Uefa Europa League final last season.
They were beaten by Atalanta, whose 3-0 win came via a hat-trick from Super Eagles winger Ademola Lookman.
Lookman will now test his skills in the Champions League having been nominated for this year’s Ballon d’Or.
Mozambique left-back Reinildo Mandava will feature for Atletico Madrid as they look for another final appearance having fallen short in each of their three visits to the decider, the last in 2016.
There are a pair of African stars at AC Milan who will have their eyes on the top prize, Algeria’s Ismael Bennacer and Nigerian forward Samuel Chukwueze.
Milan are seven-time winners, behind only Real Madrid (15), but have not been in the final since they won in 2007.
Finally, watch out for Mali international Dorgeles Nene as the young forward seeks his first Champions League goal with Red Bull Salzburg.
ALL African Players in the Uefa Champions League
- Brahim Diaz – Morocco & Real Madrid
- Achraf Hakimi – Morocco & PSG
- Mohamed Salah – Egypt & Liverpool
- Ramy Bensebaini – Algeria & Dortmund
- Serhou Guirassy – Guinea & Dortmund
- Amadou Haidara – Mali & RB Leipzig
- Edmond Tapsoba – Burkina Faso & Bayer Leverkusen
- Nathan Tella – Nigeria & Bayer Leverkusen
- Amine Adii – Morocco & Bayer Leverkusen
- Victor Boniface – Nigeria & Bayer Leverkusen
- Sadik Fofana – Togo & Bayer Leverkusen
- Ayman Aourir – Morocco & Bayer Leverkusen
- Reinildo Mandava – Mozambique & Atletico Madrid
- Odilon Kossounou – Ivory Coast & Bayer Leverkusen
- Ibrahim Sulemana – Ghana & Atalanta
- Ademola Lookman – Nigeria & Atalanta
- Issa Kabore – Burkina Faso & Benfica
- Thomas Partey – Ghana & Arsenal
- Raphael Onyedika – Nigeria & Brugge
- Bi Abdoul Kader Yameogo – Ivory Coast & Brugge
- Alaa Ghram – Tunisia & Shakhtar
- Lassina Traore – Burkina Faso & Shakhtar
- Ismael Bennacer – Algeria & AC Milan
- Samuel Chukwueze – Nigeria & AC Milan
- Ramiz Zerrouki – Algeria & Feyenoord
- Anis Hadj Moussa – Algeria & Feyenoord
- Chris-Nevin Nadje – Ivory Coast & Feyenoord
- Ibrahim Osman – Ghana & Feyenoord
- Geny Catama – Mozambique & Sporting
- Ousmane Diomande – Ivory Coast & Sporting
- Couhaib Driouech – Morocco & PSV
- Ismael Saibari – Morocco & PSV
- Samy Mmaee – Morocco & Dinamo Zagreb
- Mamady Diambou – Mali & Red Bull Salzburg
- Karim Konate – Ivory Coast & Red Bull Salzburg
- Daouda Guindo – Mali & Red Bull Salzburg
- Samson Tijani – Mali & Red Bull Salzburg
- Dorgeles Nene – Mali & Red Bull Salzburg
- Moussa Yeo – Mali & Red Bull Salzburg
- Edmund Baidoo – Ghana & Red Bull Salzburg
- Aissa Mandi – Algeria & Lille
- Nabil Bentaleb – Algeria & Lille
- Akim Zedadka – Algeria & Lille
- Ngal’ayel Mukau – DR Congo & Lille
- Mohamed Bayo – Guinea & Lille
- Guelor Kanga – Gabon & Crvena zvezda
- Cherif Ndiaye – Senegal & Crvena zvezda
- Peter Olayinka – Nigeria & Crvena zvezda
- Dalcio – Guinea-Bissau & Crvena zvezda
- Nasser Djiga – Burkina Faso & Crvena zvezda
- Felicio Milson – Angola & Crvena Zvezda
- Jaoen Hadjam – Algeria & Young Boys
- Patric Pfeiffer – Ghana & Young Boys
- Ebrima Colley – Gambia & Young Boys
- Mohamed Ali Camara – Guinea & Young Boys
- Miguel Chaiwa – Zambia & Young Boys
- Meschak Elia – DR Congo & Young Boys
- Cheikh Niasse – Senegal & Young Boys
- Facinet Conte – Guinea & Young Boys
- Silvere Ganvoula – Congo & Young Boys
- Elvis Isaac – Nigeria & Slovan Bratislava
- Zuberu Sharani – Ghana & Slovan Bratislava
- Idjessi Metsoko – Togo & Slovan Bratislava
- Eliesse Ben Seghir – Morocco & Monaco
- Ismail Jakobs – Senegal & Monaco
- Lamina Camara – Senegal & Monaco
- Wilfried Singo – Ivory Coast & Monaco
- Mohammed Salisu – Ghana & Monaco
- Krepin Diatta – Senegal & Monaco
- Victor Olatunji – Nigeria & Sparta Prague
- Oussama El Azzouzi – Morocco & Bologna
- El Bilal Toure – Mali & Stuttgart
- Silas Katompa Mvumpa – DR Congo & Stutt
- Amady Camara – Mali & Sturm Graz
- Abdoulaye Ndiaye – Senegal & Brest
- Luck Zogbe – Ivory Coast & Brest
- Abdallah Sima – Senegal & Brest
- Massadio Haidara – Mali & Brest
- Ibrahim Salah – Morocco & Brest
- Kamory Doumbia – Mali & Brest
- Mama Balde – Mali & Brest