Michael Essien: The Bison

Widely known for his tough tackling, physical presence, strength and skills on the ball, Michael Essien is one of the most famous names of African football. Born on December 3, 1982, Accra, Ghana; Essien is a professional footballer and one of the midfield powerhouses of the game. He began his footballing career at Liberty Professionals in his native Ghana and represented the nation at the FIFA Under-17 world cup in 1999 where he became prominent for his passing abilities; thus ensuring that football powerhouses such as Manchester United took notice. A deal with Manchester United in 2000 fell through due to work permit issues, thereby allowing Essien to sign for his first club in Europe, Bastia in France.

As a newcomer in the team, Essien did not command a starting place in the team until his second season at the club when he became an undisputed starter. His tenacious role in the Bastia midfield drew interest and Essien was now being courted by some of the biggest names in France including Paris Saint Germain and Olympique Lyon. Essien chose Lyon over PSG and moved to the club for over 7.8 million Euros. With the combination of some of the greatest footballers in France at the time such as Juninho, Mahamadou Diarra and Edmilson, Essien became a force to reckon with as a powerful box-to-box player and helped his new club to two French titles before earning a move to Chelsea in England.

Successful Years in England

By moving to Chelsea in the summer of 2005, Michael Essien became the most expensive African player at the time having commanded a fee close to 25 million pounds. Even though his move to Chelsea was courted with controversy, Essien's stint at his new club began on a high note due to his explosive runs from the middle and his hard tackling nature. His spell at Chelsea was obviously successful as he mixed with some other big names of African football including Didier Drogba, John Obi Mikel, Geremi Njitap, and Salomon Kalou among others. He won almost every trophy that there was to win with Chelsea while cementing his place as a fans' favourite due to his commitment to the team. Some of his highlights during his Chelsea career were his most special goal against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge, which will always remain to be special to any Chelsea fan. His other amazing goals such as the one against FC Barcelona in 2009 are among his undisputed best.

On a sad note, Essien's career has always been littered by injury problems, especially on the knee. It is these injuries that hindered many more years of success, even though he earned a loan move to European giants Real Madrid and AC Milan before switching to Panathinaikos of Greece. It was these numerous injury problems that hindered his appearances in the national team. He, however, did represent them in the FIFA world cup in 2006 and in the Africa Nations Cup in 2008, as well as in 2014 FIFA world cup, albeit missing other numerous international matches.

Known for his unkempt look, constant smile and combative style of play, Michael Essien is folklore in the annals of the greatest African footballers to have graced the European stage.