Bolton's Jay-Jay Okocha and Inter Milan's Obafemi Martins were among the five nominees announced today for the African Player of the Year award.
Won last year by Liverpool's Senegalese international El-Hadji Diouf, this year's prize seems wide open, and aside from the two Nigerians, the other three candidates cannot be discounted.
Marseille's Ivory Coast frontman Didier Drogba, Ajax's Tunisian defender Hatem Trabelsi and Real Mallorca's Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o are also in the running.