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#2 Nwankwo Kanu (Nigeria)
He was born in 1976, Nwankwo Kanu possesses a long list of championship titles and awards to his name including an Olympic gold medal, 2 African Footballer of the Year awards, one UEFA Champions League medal, and 3 FA Cup Winners medals to mention just a few.
In the course of his 20-year career, Kanu played for numerous clubs including FC Heartland, Portsmouth FC, Arsenal FC, AFC Ajax, West Brom, and Inter. He played in 3 FIFA World Cups and 5 Africa Nations Cups. If you look at his stats, and you’ll see that he’s arguably one of the greatest African players to ever play the game.
Like many other African greats, Kanu wrote his name in the history books with his superb performances across Europe. He is one of the few Africans who has won the UEFA Champions League. He also has Premier League titles to his name and was a vital member of Arsenal's invincibles that won the Premier with an amazing unbeaten record during the 2003-2004 season.
He was a very lethal attacker and a real threat in opposition boxes. His ability to change the game at any time cannot be overlooked. Nwankwo Kanu scored an astonishing second-half hat-trick as the Gunners came from behind to inflict a memorable defeat on their arch-rivals, Chelsea in 1999. That match is regarded as one of his best in his entire career.
Off the field, Kanu has done a lot for his country. After undergoing surgery for a potentially fatal heart defect, he opened the Kanu Heart Foundation, to help young African children with heart diseases and homeless children.
The Kanu Heart Foundation has assisted more than 400 kids to receive life-saving heart surgeries. Kanu is also UNICEF's Goodwill Ambassador. Though Kanu retired from the game of soccer, he continues helping Nigeria as a philanthropist.
