Jules Bocandé vs Pape Bouba Diop
Senegal against Senegal. The almanac states its case, the crowd votes, you decide.
Jules Bocandé
Senegal · 1985–2009 · CAM
- Almanac rating
- 85
- Rank in Senegal
- #6 of 33
- Caps
- 73 · 20 goals
- Clubs
- R.F.C. Tournai, FC Metz, OGC Nice
Senegal had lost the first leg 1-0 in Zimbabwe when Bocandé scored all three at the Stade Demba Diop on 1 September 1985 and took the country to its first Africa Cup of Nations in eighteen years. That same season he finished top scorer in France's first division with 23 goals for Metz, moved to Paris Saint-Germain, and closed a Senegal career of 20 goals in 73 caps that CAF honoured as an African football legend in 2009. Career record: 73 caps and 20 goals for Senegal; club career at R.F.C. Tournai, FC Metz, OGC Nice.
Pape Bouba Diop
Senegal · 2002–08 · CDM
- Almanac rating
- 84
- Rank in Senegal
- #9 of 33
- Caps
- 63 · 11 goals
- Clubs
- Neuchâtel Xamax FCS, Fulham, Portsmouth
Thirty minutes into the 2002 World Cup opener in Seoul, he forced the loose ball past France after Diouf's low cross, then laid his number 19 shirt by the corner flag and danced around it. Three goals made him Senegal's top scorer at a World Cup that ended in the quarter-finals, and he was an Africa Cup of Nations runner-up months earlier; he later came off the bench in Portsmouth's 2008 FA Cup final win. Career record: 63 caps and 11 goals for Senegal; club career at Neuchâtel Xamax FCS, Fulham, Portsmouth.
The verdict
The almanac puts Jules Bocandé ahead by 1 rating point, 85 against 84.
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