Top 10 African Goal Keepers

10. Arthur Wharton( Ghana)
He was a distinguished sportsman on many levels. Not only was he a talented cricketer, he also set the first recorded world 100-yard sprinting record with a time of ten seconds, and is widely considered to be the first black professional footballer in the world. He played in Victorian era Britain for Preston North End, which, believe it or not, were then the best team in the world, known unofficially as ‘The Invincibles’.
He also played for Sheffield United, and only lost his place when the legendary William “Fatty” Foulke signed up to the club. Of upperclass Nigerian heritage, he angered his family by focusing on sports, instead of using his time in Britain to study. This, no doubt, contributed to some of the drinking problems that later ruin his promising career. He died a penniless coal miner in the Northern town of Edlington, where, until recently, he had an unmarked grave.


9. Raïs M’Bohli (Algeria)
M’Bohli was born in France to parents of Congolese and Algerian  heritage, and honed his craft at the French club with the biggest North African connection, Olympique Marseille. His rise to prominence at the world cup has been a long one, as, until recently he has flown under the radar, flirting with huge clubs like Manchester United, but never quite making the cut. He first caught the attention of England fans in Algeria’s impressive 0-0 draw during the world cup in 2010, and currently enjoys success at Bulgarian club CSKA Sofia.


8. Vincent Enyeama (Nigeria)
When Argentina played Nigeria in the group stage of the world  cup last year, one of the first things Lionel Messi did, was shake the hand of Nigeria’s goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama with a wry smile on his face. Messi remembered all too well his old nemesis from the World Cup in South Africa, where Enyeama saved shot after shot of the then world footballer of the year. Known for incredible agility and spectacular acrobatics, Enyeama was instrumental in helping his country get through this year’s tough group stage, and is making a name for himself at French club Lille as one of the best goalkeepers in the world.


7. Joseph Antoine Belle (Cameroon)
Josef Antoine Belle is from a long tradition of incredible  Cameroonian goalkeepers, and enjoyed a 20 year career that included three world cups, two African Cup of Nations titles and success at some of France’s biggest clubs, including Marseilles, Bordeaux and St Etienne. He was one of the first African keepers to play in Europe, and is known as much for his great goalkeeping as for his outspoken criticism of the African Football Federation, for which he was banned from World Cup Italia ’90. During the 80′s in France, he repeatedly had Banana’s thrown at him, and was one of the first black players to tackle racism, forcing the French FA to crack down on racist fans.


6. Bruce Grobbelaar (Zimbabwe) Bruce Grobbelaar, for the most part of his career, established himself as Zimbabwean football's greatest export. An incredibly successful 13- year spell spent with English side Liverpool yielded several major pieces of silverware, among them six league titles, three FA Cups, and an European crown. For his country, Grobbelaar racked up 32 caps in 18 years.


5.Robert Mensah (Ghana)
Mensah proved decisive in the second leg of the 1970 final of the Africa Clubs Cup (the defunct version of the Caf Champions League) which his beloved Asante Kotoko won against Zairean side TP Englebert, and, for his personal efforts, he was named runner-up in the 1971 African Footballer of the Year ratings determined by France Football magazine. That very year, Mensah suffered a violent, regrettable death that terminated prematurely one of Africa's most memorable goalkeeping careers.


4. Badou Zaki (Morocco)
Born in Sidi Kacem, Zaki represented Association Salé, Wydad Casablanca, RCD Mallorcaand Fath Union Sportduring a 17-year professional career. With the Spaniards, for which he signed in 1986 after being named by France Football as African Footballer of the Year, he won promotion to La Liga in 1989. Badou Zaki was at his best at the 1984 Summer Olympics and the 1986 World Cup. He won the African Footballer of the Year Award in 1986 and then moved to Mallorca FC. Zaki appeared for the Moroccan national teamin the 1986 FIFA World Cupand four Africa Cup of Nations. In 2006, Zaki was selected by the Confederation of African Footballas one of the best 200 African footballers of the last 50 years.

3. Essam El-Hadary(Egypt)
During the summer of 2011, Hadary received multiple offers from European clubs which made him express his wish to leave Merreikh. In August he went to try out for Hull City. El-Hadary is still keeping for the Egyptian National Team and has won many laurels including four African Cup of Nations Gold and three Best Goalkeeper Awards in the African Cup of Nations (2006, 2008, and 2010). He was in the 2009 Confederations Cup. El-Hadary represented Egypt 139 times, winning the African Cup of  Nationsfour times with his country.
In January 2013 his agent tweeted that El-Hadary had retired from international football after being benched for a run of games. He retires as the 23rd most capped international player in history and also the player with most African Cup of Nations titles. But he left his retirement and returned to play against Bosnia Herzegovinaat March 5, 2014, winning 2-0.


2. Jacques Songo’o (Cameroon)
Cameroonian legend Jacques Songo’o often lived in the shadow of  team mates Joseph Antoine Bell and Thomas Nkono on the international stage, but was instrumental in helping Spanish club Deportivo La Coruna in their surprising La Liga win in the 96/97 season, the first in the club’s history. A solid shot stopper who made few mistakes, Songo’o was the undisputed No.1 for the Spanish side for four years, and won the coveted Ricardo Zamora trophy for best goalkeeper in the Spanish league.


1. Thomas Nkono (Cameroon)
The Indomitable Lion at the top of the tree he is the reason behind the great legacy of of Cameroonian shot stoppers. Italian number 1 Gianluigi Buffon, arguably the best goalkeeper of the 21st century thus far, decided to become a goalkeeper after watching Nkono’s heroics at the Italia 90 World Cup, where Nkono, along with team mates Roger Milla and Cyrille Makanaky, was one of the tournaments best players. Nkono was an international for his country for nearly 20 years, but built up his reputation as one of the world’s premier goalkeepers with a decade at Spanish side Espanol. Despite the odd controversy over the years ( involving a  bizarre ban for using Black Magic in the African Cup of Nations) Africans are quite rightly proud of a player who helped to bring African football into world consciousness.

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