Rapids African XI

A week from today, on the 9th, the African Cup of Nations starts.  This is Africa's equivalent to the Gold Cup or Euros.  It will be shown in the U.S. on beIn Sports which, sadly, I don't get.  Inspired by a tweet by the Nottingham Forest supporters account I decided to create a Best XI of players who played for Colorado and were eligible to play for an African nation to celebrate the tournament.

I found 32 players who have been signed by the Rapids and who appear to have eligibility for an African nation.  I'm sure I missed a couple though, but I think I got the big names.  I'm basing this "best XI" largely on how they played in Colorado, not their overall careers.  I may also cheat a bit on positioning, especially central vs. outside players.  Due to the players available a 3-4-3 formation makes the most sense:

GK: Bouna Coundoul (Senegal) - An easy choice because he's the only African keeper to have played for the Rapids.  But certainly not an undeserved choice as he was the clear number 1 for a time here in Colorado.  Bouna played in multiple Cup of Nations tournaments for Senegal.

D: Ugo Ihemelu (Nigeria) - Ugo was a solid defender for the Rapids from 2007-2009 before being traded for Drew Moor.  Ihemelu played for the U.S. but was born in Nigeria and would presumably have been eligible to play for the Super Eagles.

D: Lalas Abubakar (Ghana) - Currently locking down the back line in Commerce City, Lalas has been called up to represent Ghana at the U-20 level before starting his MLS career.

D; Abdul Rwatubyaye (Rwanda) - Abdul never got an appearance in a Rapids uniform, but did play regularly on loan to the Springs over two seasons, which is the best career for any other defender who was eligible for an African nation.  Rwatubyaye has 25 caps for Rwanda

M: Sanna Nyassi (Gambia) - Nyassi was only in Colorado for 1 season, but made 26 appearances and scored 5 goals, including a hat-trick against RBNY.  Nyassi has been capped 14 times for Gambia.

M: Alain N'Kong (Cameroon) - A personal favorite of mine, N'Kong was only here for a season+ but showed his skill and flair in that time.  33 appearance in 2005 and 2006, with 5 goals.  He scored the winning goal in the 2008 African Cup of Nations semifinal with a assist from the great Samuel Eto'o, defeating Ghana 1-0.  On the field for Ghana in that game was another player on this Bext XI, Junior Agogo.  N'Kong started the final which Cameroon lost to Egypt by the same scoreline.

M: Micheal Azira (Uganda) - Azira was a fan favorite during his time in Colorado, the team he's appeared most for so far in his long career.  Over 2.5 seasons he played in 66 matches before being traded ton Montreal.  Michael just recently retired from his international play with Uganda.  He was on their roster for the 2017 African Cup of Nations while playing with Colorado, starting their first match and appearing in their 3rd (I believe he may be the only active Rapid to have played in a Cup of Nations as Coundoul was only the backup keeper in 2008).

M: Mehdi Ballouchy (Morocco) - A possible surprise listing as he was never a fan favorite and quite often frustrated us with his play, but its hard to deny he was an integral part of the team for a couple of years.  Mehdi made 77 appearances for Colorado before being traded for another person on this team, Macoumba Kandi, in 2010.  Ballouchy represented Morocco at the U17 and U20 levels.

F: Junior Agogo (Ghana) - Our first repeat country on the list, with both Abubakar and Agogo.  The late Junior Agogo was an early star for the Rapids, appearing 32 times and scoring 11 goals over the 2000 and 2001 seasons.  Agogo was capped 27 times for Ghana, scoring 12 times, and appearing in the aforementioned 2008 African Cup of Nations where he scored the winning goal in their group stage game against Namibia, and the wining goal in the quarter-final against Nigeria.  After being beaten by N'Kong's goal in the semi-final, Junior scored in the 3rd place game en route to a 4-2 win.

F: Kei Kamara (Sierra Leone) - Everyone reading this is probably familiar with Kamara's work in Colorado in 2019 and 2020.  Our best scorer in almost a decade, putting up 11 goals in 2019.  Kei has had a very on-again/off-again relationship with the Sierra Leone national team, appearing 34 times.  Most recently he scored the winning goal for the Leone Stars against Benin, which qualified them for this month's Cup of Nations, their first since 1996.  He's on their roster for the tournament.

F: Dominique Badji (Senegal) - Our other duplicate nation as Badji joins Coundoul in being able to represent Senegal.  Badji has appeared 103 times for the Rapids so far, with 29 goals to show for it.  Despite being always a bit of a second choice by the fans he's quickly climbing up the all-time record lists for the team.  He has never represented Senegal in national team play.

That's the XI but I wanted to add one honorable mention:

F: Macoumba Kandji (Senegal)  - Everyone knows why Kandji is a Rapids legend, sacrificing his ACL to score the winning goal in MLS Cup 2010.  Mac has never been called up for the Senegalese national team.

I was also going to do a Best XI with eleven different nations represented, but the best XI already has nine.  So it only requires two changes.

Remove Agogo and replace him with:

F; Yannick Boli (Cote d'Ivoire) - Yes, one of the least liked international signings in recent years.  His `7 appearances and 2 goals is still the best Rapids record of players who are eligible for an African nation not already used in the other 10 spots.  Boli has never represented Cote d'Ivoire at any level.

Remove Badji and replace him with:

F: Shawn Bartlett (South Africa) - Bartlett was an inaugural member of the Rapids, making 36 appearances in the first 1.5 seasons in his first career experience outside South Africa.  He would go on to become a regular for Charlton Athletic in the EPL in the early 2000's.  South Africa hosted the '96 Cup of Nations and Bartlett was on the roster, but hand not yet joined the newly forming Rapids.  Overall Shawn finished his international career as the second-highest all-time scorer for South Africa behind Blackburn Rovers great Benni McCarthy.