The LaLiga all star African dream team

Over the years Africa has produced a variety of football stars who went on to make several club appearances in Spain’s LaLiga as well as for their countries of birth.

From towering goalkeepers and strong defenders to dynamic midfielders and blazing attackers, in this article we look at 18 LaLiga players – past and present – who make LaLiga’s all star African dream team.

The legendary goalkeepers

Carlos Kameni

Born in Cameroon’s capital city, Douala, Carlos Kameni plied his trade as a goalkeeper having spent much of his career in Spain, mainly with Espanyol where he made over 200 appearances over eight LaLiga seasons. He went on to play in France and Turkey.

Kameni also had an illustrious career for his national team, making his debut for the Indomitable Lions at the age of 17. He also represented his country in two World Cups and six Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.

The strong defenders

Allan Nyom

Born in France, Nyom has been a Cameroonian international since 2011. Currently playing for Getafe, he has spent most of his career with Granada, appearing in 220 league games during six seasons at the club. During his time at Getafe Nyom was a key cog in helping them get promoted from the third tier to LaLiga Santander in just two seasons.

After a few seasons in England, with Watford and West Bromwich Albion, Nyom went for a loan stint at Leganés before joining Getafe on a two-year contract.

Djené Dakonam

Simply known as Djené, Djené Dakonam is a Togolese professional footballer who plays for Spanish club Getafe CF, whom he captains, and the Togo national team. While still at Coton Sport in Cameroonian Elite On, Djené went on a trial at LaLiga SmartBank side AD Alcorcón, joining the club permanently later that year.

The centre-back went on to be transferred to Sint-Truidense, spending a year in Belgium’s First Division A thereafter making a return to Spain in 2017, after agreeing to a four-year deal with LaLiga Santander side Getafe CF.

Joseph Aidoo

24-year-old Joseph Aidoo burst onto the scene in his home country with Inter Allies, when he was in the running for the Ghanaian Premier League’s Defender of the Year award in 2014, then later made his name in Europe first with Swedish side Hammarby and then for Genk in Belgium.

Since joining RC Celta in 2019, he has become a key member of the team’s defence, making over 50 appearance since his debut for the club. In the same year he joined Celta, Aidoo also made his debut for the Ghana national football team on 26 March 2019.

The dynamic midfielders

Samuel Chukwueze

The 21-year-old has impressed for Villarreal CF – the club he first joined in 2017 as an 18-year-old – last season and has proved his significance for the side over the past seasons.

The left-footed Nigerian attacker has 12 career goals to his name and is a regular for the club, notching up 90 league appearances. This year he became the youngest player to ever make 100 appearances in all competitions for the club. And if that wasn’t enough, comparisons are often made between his playing style and that of Dutch legend Arjen Robben.

Yaya Touré

Hailing from Ivory Coast, Yaya Touré is one of the greatest African players of all time.

The midfielder enjoyed a highly successful career in Spain where he played for LaLiga team FC Barcelona from his debut year 2007 until 2010 with his 74 appearances yielding four goals. He followed his time at FC Barcelona up with several winning seasons in the Premier League.

As a member of the Ivory Coast national team, the talented Touré appeared in the 2006, 2010 and 2014 Fifa World Cups. He scored a total of 19 goals for his home country from 101 appearances in an 11-year streak from 2004 to 2015 and represented them in six Afcons, even captaining their victory in 2015.

Mouhamadou Diarra

The Malian started his professional career at Greek club OFI at the age of 17, being signed after the recommendation from his elder brother Harouna who had joined the club a year earlier. He went on to play for clubs like Vitesse in Belgium as well as Lyon where he won two Ligue 1 titles in his two seasons there.

He signed for Real Madrid for a fee of €26 million and was assigned the number 6 shirt. During the 2006–07 season, Diarra was a key cog in Fabio Capello's two defensive midfielder system. He appeared in 33 of Madrid's 38 matches, scoring three times. He won two LaLiga titles with Real Madrid (2007, 2008) and captained his national side. He’d go on to play for Monaco and Fulham in the latter stages of his career.

Geoffrey Kondogbia

Born in France, Kondogbia started his career at Lens then signed with Sevilla at the age of 19. After a few years between France and Italy he returned to Spain joining Valencia firstly on loan, a move that turned permanent in 2018.

Later in 2020, Kondogbia joined Atleti on a four-year contract after the club was granted an exception to sign him outside of the transfer window. The defensive midfielder has also turned out for both France and the Central African Republic national teams. Having made some 20 appearances Kondogbia has quickly become a key player in Atleti’s title charge this season.

The blistering attackers

Samuel Eto’o

The legendary retired striker has been one of the biggest names in African football over the past few decades.

Samuel Eto’o made his LaLiga Santander debut with Real Madrid at just 16 years old, and the eyes of football fans have been on him ever since. In 1999 he joined RCD Mallorca after loan spells at RCD Espanyol and CD Leganes and racked up 54 goals from 133 appearances over the next five seasons.

The talented striker played for FC Barcelona from 2004 to 2009, scoring a further 108 goals from 144 appearances. Eto’o also enjoyed a successful career as an international footballer, earning 118 caps and scoring 56 goals. Hands down, one of the greatest African players of all time.

Youssef En-Nesyri

A native of Fes, Morocco, Youssef En-Nesyri has made quite the name for himself in the last five years. En-Nesyri has spent his entire professional footballing career in Spain, representing Málaga, Leganés and Sevilla.

Only 23 years of age, he’s already represented his country 37 times and scored 11 goals. The Moroccan is currently on fire for Sevilla, having scored an impressive 17 goals in 33 appearances this season.

Fredi Kanouté

Kanouté may have been born in Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon in eastern France, but his Malian roots earned the LaLiga legend the title of African Footballer of the Year in 2007, making him the first non-African-born player to scoop the coveted award.

With numerous trophies under his belt, including two Uefa Cups, two Copa del Reys, one Uefa Super Cup and one Spanish Super Cup, Kanouté had a great run in Europe and went down in history as one of Sevilla’s most iconic players. He turned out 209 times, scoring 89 goals for the side.

He also made Africa proud, representing Mali in three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. He proved instrumental in leading Les Aigles to the semifinals in 2004 and finally retired from international football in 2010 with an impressive total of 23 goals in 39 appearances.

The substitutes

Wilfred Agbonavbare (Goalkeeper, Rayo Vallecano); Thomas N’Kono (Goalkeeper, RCD Espanyol); Samuel Umtiti (Defender, FC Barcelona); André-Frank Zambo Anguissa (Defensive midfielder, Villarreal CF); Pape Kouli Diop (Defensive midfielder, SD Eibar); Paul Akouokou (Central Midfield, Real Betis) and Ansu Fati (Attacker, FC Barcelona).