...Roger Milla -Africa's Best
Essien - 11th, Yeboah- 24, Razak -26, Kuffour - 28th
Abedi "Pele" Ayew has been voted the 5th best African player for the last 50 years by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Abedi, ex-National team soccer captain, polled 1,783 votes while Cameroon legend Roger Milla topped the list with 2246 votes as the best African player for the period between 1957-2007 following voting conducted on the internet recently.
The Cameroon World Cup star was chosen in a poll by followers of African football through CAF's website ahead of the confederation's fiftieth anniversary celebrations next month.
Milla, who starred at three World Cups with the Indomitable Lions (1982, 1990 and 1994), polled a total 2246 points to beat Egypt's Mahmoud El-Khatib, who recorded 2165 points.
Egypt and Ghana topped the list with five players each on the list of 30 players.
In the top 10 are Hossam Hassan (Egypt/2011 points), Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon/1840), Abedi Pele (Ghana/1783), George Weah (Liberia/1604), Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast/1467), Nwankwo Kanu (Nigeria/1209), Rabeh Madjer (Algeria/1176) and Kalusha Bwalya (Zambia/1073).
Caf is planning several events to commemorate fiftieth anniversary celebrations, including a youth tournament involving Caf's four founder members - Egypt, Ethiopia, South Africa and Sudan.
Top 20 Africans from 50 years
(Position, player, country, votes. Asterik denotes active footballer)
1. Roger Milla Cameroon 2,246
2. Mahmoud al-Khatib Egypt 2,165
3. Hossam Hassan* Egypt 2,011
4. Samuel Eto'o* Cameroon 1,840
5. Abedi Pele Ghana 1,783
6. George Weah Liberia 1,604
7. Didier Drogba* Ivory Coast 1,467
8. Nwankwo Kanu* Nigeria 1,209
9. Rabeh Madjer Algeria 1,176
10. Kalusha Bwalya Zambia 1,073
11. Michael Essien* Ghana 996
12. Austin Okocha* Nigeria 921
13. Saleh Selim Egypt 850
14. Lahcene Lalmas Algeria 791
15. Benni McCarthy* South Africa 782
16. El-Hadji Diouf* Senegal 711
17. Noureddine Naybet* Morocco 692
18. Rashidi Yekini Nigeria 649
19. Hany Ramzy Egypt 608
20. Hassan Shehata Egypt 605
[....]
24. Anthony Yeboah Ghana
26 Abdul Razak Ghana
28. Sammy Kuffour Ghana