Greatest Africans That Never Were XI! Zidane, Evra & Balotelli.

Hello and welcome to Football Daily, where in honour of the upcoming African Cup of Nations, we're looking at 11 players with African heritage who chose to represent European countries instead. Goalkeeper, Steve Mondonda Crystal Palace's Mondonda was actually born in Kinshasa, which was once Zaire and is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. His parents moved the family to France when he was two, and the goalkeeper showed athletic promise from an early age, originally playing a career as a boxer. However, he decided against pursuing the sport after seeing what Mike Tyson did to his opponents and swapped his boxing gloves for keepers' gloves. A youth career with Le Havre led him to Marseille, where he spent nine years, winning league earn and earning a call-up to the French national team. He has since picked up 24 caps as the understudy to Hugo Leroy. Mondonda has three brothers, all of whom are professional goalkeepers, with two of them Congolese internationals. Meanwhile, Steve's decision to play for his adopted country has earned him the nickname Frenchie. Defender, Theodore Gebra Selassie The first and so far only player of African descent to appear for the Czech Republic, Gebra Selassie had a Czech mother and an Ethiopian father and was born in the European country. His sister, Anna, is also a Czech athlete, competing for the Women's International Handball team. And attacking right back with Werder Bremen, Gebra Selassie has had to endure racism from opposing fans and even his own supporters at times, with whistles and monkey noises routinely aimed at him during his days with Slobodan Liberec. However, he has won 34 caps and is a terrific example to young Czech players, especially those from immigrant families, while showing the bigots the face of the modern Czech Republic. Defender, Jerome Boateng Born to a German mother and a Ghanaian father in Berlin, Jerome Boateng chose to represent the country of his birth, whilst his older half-brother Kevin Prince turned out for the Black Stars. In 2010, it looked like the African nation had the better end of the deal. Kevin Prince received his Ghanaian passport and joined the side at the World Cup, scoring against the USA and reaching the quarter-finals. Jerome, meanwhile, struggled to make good on his potential, leaving Hamburg for Man City but departing again after just one season. But at Bayern Munich, Jerome won the league and the Champions League under Jupp Heynckx, before Pep Guardiola moulded him into arguably the world's best centre-back. He now has three more domestic titles and Germany must thank God that he didn't follow his brother to Ghana. Defender, Marcel Desailly Adenki Abe might well have become the best defender Africa has ever produced, but though he was born in Ghana's capital Accra, he moved to France at the age of four, after his mother remarried. Though he was given a new nickname which would make him world-famous, Marcel Desailly. A versatile defender of incredible power, concentration and intelligence, Desailly won the Champions League with Marseille before switching to Milan, where he won it again the following year. Nicknamed The Rock, he declared for France in 1993 and went on to play 116 times for the country, winning the World Cup in 98 and Euro 2000. Though he has always maintained that he feels completely French, Desailly has returned to Ghana since retirement, where he works as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and runs a charity taking care of orphaned children. Defender, Patrycevra The third Frenchman on our list, and not the last, Patrycevra has played for Le Bleu since 2004. He started out as the understudy to Eric Abidal, but took the left-back slot after Lilian Thuram's retirement saw the Barcelona man move to centre-half. He has won 80 caps for France, but he was actually born in Dakar, Senegal, and spent the early years of his career in Italy with Marseille and Monza. A switch to Monaco brought him to international attention, and from there Evra went to Old Trafford, joining Manchester United for £5.5m in 2006. A seven-time domestic champion with the Red Devils and Juventus, Evra has played in four Champions League finals, winning just one of them, but he's yet to experience success on the international stage, and at 35, that ---- looks to have sailed. Central Midfield, Sami Khedira Sami Khedira actually has a Tunisian father, and could have played for the North African nation despite being born in Stuttgart. As a child, Khedira practised his skills during holidays spent in Hammamet, his dad's hometown, on a dusty, overgrown pitch. Khedira's grandparents still live there, but the aggressive midfielder chose to play for Germany and earned his first call-up in 2009. In 2014 he won the World Cup and the Champions League, adding two more medals to his three Khedira has both German and Tunisian passports, but claims he never considered ditching Demandschaft, saying Manners in Tunisia are much looser than in Germany, I always notice that when I see the children there. They're raised differently and they're more cheeky, I can't really relate to their mentality. Central Midfield, Patrick Vieira Like Patrice Evra, Vieira is Senegalese by birth, but became the beating heart of the greatest French side ever, driving them on to global and European glory in 1998 and 2000. The rangy midfielder was one of the most gifted players of his generation, equally comfortable breaking up play or smashing through defences on his way to goal. Remarkably, Senegal never approached Vieira about playing for them, and France snapped up the player who had moved to the country as an 8-year-old. He went on to become the fifth most capped footballer in French history, as well as a title winner in England and Italy. Now managing Manchester City's sister club, New York City, Vieira looks set to follow up on a stellar playing career with success as a coach. Meanwhile, an academy in his name now stands in Dakar, developing the next generation of Senegalese talent. Attacking Midfield, Zinedine Zidane Born in Marseille, Zinedine Zidane was one of the city's many ethnic North Africans. His parents were immigrants from Algeria, having escaped the war there almost 20 years earlier. And Zizi was outstanding, even as a child, displaying touch and vision beyond his years, though he did once smash the lights in the family dining room with a wayward shot. Never one to shirk the big occasion, Zidane scored the winner in the 2002 Champions League final and two goals in the World Cup 98 final, in the process becoming a figurehead for the multicultural French national side. However, his new role was not always easy, as an international friendly between France and Algeria in 2001 saw Zidane receive death threats, and the game was abandoned after a pitch invasion by hooligans chanting the name of Osama Bin Laden. Zizi has since campaigned against the French nationalist movement, oh, and he's also coached Real Madrid to Champions League glory in his debut season. Left-Wing, Stéphane El-Sharawy The man with the best nickname in football, the Pharaoh, is so named because his father is Egyptian. El-Shar claims to follow Egypt's fortunes more closely than he follows club football, and since joining Roma, has acknowledged his heritage with a pyramid celebration alongside Mo Salah. El-Sharawy was initially rejected by Egypt, as the country, fresh from three consecutive African Cup of Nations wins, felt they didn't need the youngster. He started playing for Italy's youth instead, making his senior debut at 19 in 2012. Though yet to make good on his world-class potential, the Italian is still just 24, and looks to have finally settled under Spalletti at Roma. With blistering pace, a wicked right foot and a seriously eye-catching haircut, El-Shar could yet become a star. Forward, Mario Balotelli Balotelli broke into the Inter Milan first team when he was just 17, scoring a goal every three games and winning the treble under Jose Mourinho in 2010. Though born in Sicily and placed into foster care with an Italian family at three, Balotelli's birth parents were Ghanaian immigrants, and the Black Stars tried to call him up when he was 16. Mario refused, saying he would wait to obtain an Italian passport in the hope of representing the Azzurri, and he eventually got his wish, making his debut for the senior side in 2010. At Euro 2012, he became the first black player to feature for Italy at a major tournament, starring as the team reached the final. As erratic as he is talented, Balotelli is now at Nice after a few years in the wilderness, having missed out on the Euro 2016 squad, but with six goals in his first six games in France, things are once again looking super for Mario. Right wing, Eusebio Regarded by many as the greatest Portuguese player of all time, Eusebio didn't set foot in the country until he was 18. The great man was actually born in Mozambique, which was then a Portuguese colony, and almost joined Juventus at 15 after scoring 77 goals in just 42 games for his local side. Speed was Eusebio's gift, both of foot and of thought. One contemporary called him cat-like, so fast and imaginative, and he then bamboozled defenders with a drop of a shoulder, a change of pace and his anticipation. He became temporarily Portugal's most capped player and top scorer, netting 41 in 64, while he managed better than a goal a game during his club career. Having learnt the game barefoot on the streets, Eusebio went on to win 11 league titles, the European Cup and the Ballon d'Or. But more remarkable is how a young black man, from a country mistreated and overlooked by their colonists, rose above his contemporaries and became known as O-Rei, the King. So there we have it, but what do you guys at home think? Let us know in the comments below, and if you enjoyed this video why don't you click here for loads more great content, and down there to subscribe, and as always guys, we'll catch you later.