African Footballers Who Quit Their National Teams

One of the major highlights in international football is a player temporarily retiring from their national teams.

While some are able to clearly stick to their structured plans of retiring from national duty, others stage returns, much to the delight of their fans.

We look at five African players who quit their national teams at a point.

 

Emmanuel Adebayor – Togo

Togo's inspirational player, Adebayor has on more than one occasion quit the national team.

But on all those occasions, he staged comebacks. In 2010, he laid down his boots, three months after gunmen in Cabinda, Angola, attacked their national team bus.

It was during the African Cup of Nations.

He however returned in November 2011, helping his team to qualify for the 2013 Cup of Nations.

Prior to the Nations Cup, he threatened to quit if bonuses owed the team were not settled.

He is Togo's highest goal scorer of all time.

 

Kevin Prince Boateng – Ghana

A top-ten African Footballer of the Year nominee in 2010 and 2011, Boateng made his major international debut with the national team at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

It was a month after he had finally received clearance from FIFA, after defecting from Germany.

In November 2011, he asked to be excused from national duties, suggesting the "physical demands of playing for both club and country at high levels are taking a toll on his health."

He however wrote to the Ghana Football Association in August 2013, to inform them of his availability.

"I write to inform the Ghana Football Association that after a few consultations, I have decided to change my decision and confirm my availability to play for the Black Stars whenever I am needed."

 

Didier Drogba – Ivory Coast

One of the greatest footballers ever to come out of Africa, the Ivorian forward remains a key part of the continent's number one national team.

In 2010, he told the then Elephants coach Francois Zahoui that he wanted to stay away from the team, and that he was "physically tired".

"I truly met Drogba in London. He told me he was so tired that he wanted to withdraw from the national team," Zahoui said at the time.

He was left out of mainstream action after his side's failure to win the 2013 Nations Cup in South Africa.

His inability to make the team's list for March and June World Cup qualifiers heightened public suspicion he was on his way out.

He returned to the team in August, and was part of the side that lost 1 - 4 to Mexico, in a friendly in New York, U.S.A.

 

Michael Essien – Ghana

Fondly called the Bison, Michael Essien's commitment to the Black Stars has never been in doubt.

But his temporary exit from the team in 2010 was received with mixed reactions.

While some thought he genuinely needed a break, as he sought to explain, others strongly held he was being 'un-Ghanaian'.

The Ghana Football Association announced his return to the team in August, calling him up for Ghana's World Cup Qualifier against Zambia on September 6.

 

Victor Anichebe – Nigeria

The West Bromwich Albion player earlier this year announced his decision to stay off national team duties, insisting he needed time to focus on club life.

"Without club football, there is no international football and everyone at Everton was with me every step of the way during my injuries and rehabilitation and so I owe it to the club to manage myself correctly," the former Everton man said.

Anichebe has however indicated he might return to the Super Eagles set up, soon.

 

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