Samuel Eto'o named African Footballer of the Year!!!!!!

Samuel Eto’o, the face of soccer in Africa, was named the continent’s player of the year Monday, the fourth time the Cameroon forward has won the award.

Eto’o beat out Didier Drogba of the Ivory Coast and Asamoah Gyan of Ghana for the award voted on by the coaches and captains of all 53 African national teams.

This year was the biggest in African soccer history, and it began with Eto’o and Drogba competing to be the face of the game on the continent. Both strikers led their teams in the African Cup of Nations in Angola in January. Eto’o set an African Cup scoring record and Drogba’s panache garnered much of the attention, but neither Cameroon, eliminated by Nigeria, nor Ivory Coast, knocked out by Algeria, made it past the quarterfinal. Gyan, the third finalist for the 2010 award, led Ghana to the final, where the Black Stars finished second to Egypt.

Eto’o was the model for the 2010 World Cup poster, which was based on the player’s distinct profile. He has won the European Champions League with Barcelona and Inter Milan, and just the other day hoisted the Club World Cup trophy after a goal and an assist in the final in Abu Dhabi.

-NY Times