Mane, Salah add to Africa’s FA Cup landmarks

Liverpool's African stars wrote another chapter in the continent's long history of FA Cup final landmarks

Sadio Mane

Liverpool's five African stars clinched the FA Cup final on Saturday as they defeated Chelsea on penalties, with Mason Mount missing the decisive spotkick for the Blues.

It was a tricky afternoon for Liverpool's quintet, with Mohamed Salah departing the field injured early on and Sadio Mane missing his penalty in the shootout.

Nonetheless, that pair plus Ibrahima Konate, Joel Matip and Naby Keita add to their trophy haul with the Merseysiders, with Mane becoming only the third player after Riyad Mahrez and Lauren to win the Africa Cup of Nations and the FA Cup final in the same year.

It's the latest African landmark in a long list of standout achievements by the continent's stars in the FA Cup final.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Arsenal striker Aubameyang wrote another chapter of African FA Cup final history in 2020 as the Gunners defeated Chelsea in the final of the world’s oldest club competition.

As well as scoring twice against the Blues, Auba became the first African player to captain a team in the FA Cup final when he guided the North Londoners to a 2-1 victory.

The Gabon striker, who departed for Barcelona earlier this year, was also named Man of the Match for his two-goals display.

Bill Perry

Way back in 1953, Perry became the first player born in Africa to get his hands on the cup.

He played in the famous ‘Matthews final’—the showpiece dominated by the performance of England great Sir Stanley Matthews—as Blackpool defeated Bolton Wanderers 4-3.

Even though the match carries Matthews’ name, it was the only final where a hat-trick was scored in the biggest showpiece of the year—by Stanley Mortensen, while Perry also netted the 92nd-minute winner for the Tangerines.

Perry, who was born in South Africa, would go on to win three England caps.

Albert Johanneson

Johanneson was a pioneer for African football in England, and became the first person of black African origin to play in the final when he took to the field for Leeds United in 1965.

He played against Liverpool despite picking up an injury against Birmingham City earlier in the week, and was criticised for his performance as the Reds picked up a 2-1 victory against Don Revie’s historic side.

South African Johanneson had departed Elland Road by the time they did finally get their hands on the cup seven years later.

Bruce Grobbelaar

The first African international player to win the cup was Grobbelaar in 1986, when he won the first of three FA Cup successes with Liverpool.

The Zimbabwe keeper, famed for his heroics as the Reds won the European Cup in 1984, was present for victories over Everton (1986 and 1989) and Sunderland (1992).

No African goalkeeper in history has achieved as much at club level—at such a high level—as Grobbelaar.

Daniel Amokachi

It would be 30 years after Johanneson became the first black African to play in the final that a black African player would get their hands on the title.

In 1995, Amokachi was part of the Everton side that defeated Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-final—the Nigerian netted twice—before seeing off Manchester United at Wembley.

In the intervening years, however, Chris Hughton (a Republic of Ireland international of Ghanaian origin) had also won the big one, while John Fashanu (an England international with a Nigerian father) also clinched the crown in ’88.

Didier Drogba

No African player has ever dominated the FA Cup final like Drogba.

No African has won more than his four titles, and his record of having scored in four separate finals is unparalleled in the history of the world’s oldest club competition.

In 2007, he became the first African player to score a goal in the final when he made his first decisive intervention, netting a 116th-minute extra-time winner against Manchester United to ensure Chelsea got their hands on the historic cup.