Diouf vs Mane: Measuring the international heritage of Senegalese legends

When you put aside Sadio Mane gave due criticism of the appalling conditions Senegal had to endure in Saturday’s 3-1 victory over ZambiaThe fact that Liverpool’s idol surpassed El Hadji Diouf’s 21 national team goals seems to have been largely ignored.

Mane’s 22nd strike for the Teranga Lions placed him fifth in their history and is within 10 of Henri Camara’s 31 goals. Given that he is now 29 years old, the Liverpool forward needs to race against time to become his country’s top scorer, but he will definitely see this achievement.

Having said that, it is no easy task for the country’s best players to surpass the great Diouf.

Despite his antics and tendency to court controversy, the former Senegalese star was one of the best players on the African continent in his heyday, sometimes with the world at his feet. There is no doubt that he was the team’s smartest genius during the 2002 World Cup, and they reached the quarter-finals in Asia.

Promoting to the quarter-finals witnessed Cameroon’s heroic performance in the group stage 12 years ago, and their brutal knockout by Turkey in the Golden Ball is still frustrating to this day.

Diouf may not have scored in the game, but his performance on the world stage allowed him to be selected to the game’s All-Star team.

Considered to be worthy of selection, including Miroslav Klose and Ronaldo, two great World Cup forwards, and the legendary Brazilian combination of Rivaldo and Ronaldinho, the XI only emphasizes the talents of West Africa in performance. .

When you consider that Jay Jay Okocha’s genius four years ago can only give him a place on the French six-man bench, there are additional compliments for Diouf’s performance.

He is a two-time African footballer, the first Senegalese to receive the award, and the only Senegalese to receive the award in the past two decades, until Mane succeeded in 2019.

In the 2002 African Cup of Nations of the Teranga Lions, they were defeated in the final. The 40-year-old player scored extra points in a head-to-head match with the current Liverpool man.

It is true that although Diouf’s team did not achieve continental success, and the striker’s penalty error in the final against Cameroon proved costly, it did not reduce how this group became the first. Close to the Senegalese team that rules the African continent.

Of course, Mane and his teammates tied the 2002 class feat when they were defeated by Algeria in Egypt two years ago, but their performance in the 2018 World Cup was disappointing.

It is unsatisfactory that the Lions failed to emerge from the group consisting of Colombia, Japan and Poland in Russia, especially after they defeated the European team in their first group match.

Failure to maintain the advantage over Asian countries twice further exacerbated their missed opportunities-and teams across the African continent-in a country that may have seen an African country leave its mark on a seemingly secondary country in many leading countries Par

Although the current Senegalese team is obviously insufficient in reaching the expected height, this should not weaken Mane’s success and become one of the best players on the African continent.

He and Diouf have a similar career path, which allows them to play for Merseyside, but the former’s longer peak period, greater personal success at Liverpool, and excellent likability may make this The debate is in his favor.

After all, Mane has been selected to the Caf Team of the Year five times, and is ranked fourth in the 2019 Golden Globe Awards. Many observers are angry, they think his performance is enough to enter the top three.

Nevertheless, the idol’s feat in the early 2000s occurred when Senegal was basically at a disadvantage and was not expected to pull the grass at Afcon or the World Cup.

The retired star performed well in both games and was recognized as the well-deserved best player in both games.

Scoring so many goals when the sport is not particularly driven by statistics is the extra feather on Diouf’s hat and further cements the forward’s truly remarkable emotions during his prolific years.

Mane’s personal feats have surpassed the idol, he is likely to achieve greater success than the former Senegalese star. Despite this, Diouf is still one of the best players of his generation, and many people will still argue that the current Liverpool star did not occupy the same international competition as the star did in his calm days in 2002. leading position.