The group phase of the UEFA Champions League 2012-2013 kicked off on Tuesday, with 32 teams in the race to succeed Chelsea onto the winners� list of the continent�s most prestigious competition.
MTNFootball presents the list of 57 African players currently excelling in Europe who have made selection for the competition, and who hope to follow in the footsteps of Ivoirians Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou and Nigerian John Obi Mikel, winners of the previous edition in the Blues� jersey.
Nigeria boasts the most representatives with eleven players, followed by Cameroon (eight) and Ghana (six).
As for the participating clubs, Ligue 1 outfits Lille and Montpellier have called up the most African players (five), while Dinamo Zagreb, Z�nith Saint-Petersbourg, Borussia Dortmund, Shakhtar Donetsk, Bate Borisov, Bayern Munich, Benfica and Manchester United do not have a single player amongst their ranks.
Take a look:
GROUP A
Dynamo Kiev
Taye Taiwo (Nigeria, defender), Lukman Haruna (Nigeria, midfielder), Ayila Yussuf (Nigeria, midfielder), Ideye Brown (Nigeria, striker)
Porto
Kadu (Angola, goalkeeper), Abdoulaye Ba (Senegal, defender), Christian Atsu (Ghana, striker)
Paris Saint-Germain
Mohamed Sissoko (Mali, midfielder)
GROUP B
Schalke 04
Jo�l Matip (Cameroon, defender), Chinedu Obasi (Nigeria, striker)
Montpellier
Henri Bedimo (Cameroon, defender), Youn�s Belhanda (Morocco, midfielder), Jamel Saihi (Tunisia, midfielder), John Utaka (Nigeria, striker), Souleymane Camara (Senegal, striker)
Arsenal
Gervinho (C�te d�Ivoire, striker), Marouane Chamakh (Morocco, striker)
Olympiacos
Drissa Diakit� (Mali, midfielder), Djamel Abdoun (Algeria, midfielder), Rafik Djebbour (Algeria, striker)
GROUP C
Anderlecht
Cheikhou Kouyat� (Senegal, defender), Bedi Mbenza (DR Congo, midfielder), Dieudonn� Mbokani (DR Congo, striker)
Malaga
Carlos Kameni (Cameroon, goalkeeper), Fabrice (Cameroon, striker)
AC Milan
Djamel Mesbah (Algeria, defender), Kevin-Prince Boateng (Ghana, midfielder), K�vin Constant (Guinea-Bissau, midfielder)
GROUP D
Manchester City
Yaya Tour� (C�te d�Ivoire, midfielder)
Ajax Amsterdam
Eyong Enoh (Cameroon, midfielder), Thulani Serero (South Africa, midfielder)
Real Madrid
Michael Essien (Ghana, midfielder)
GROUP E
Juventus
Kwadwo Asamoah (Ghana, midfielder)
FC Nordsjaelland
Kamal Issah (Ghana, midfielder)
Chelsea
Aziz Deen-Conteh (Sierra Leone, defender), Daniel Pappoe (Ghana, defender), John Obi Mikel (Nigeria, midfielder), Victor Moses (Nigeria, striker)
GROUP F
Valencia
Sofiane Feghouli (Algeria, midfielder)
Lille
Barel Mouko (DR Congo, goalkeeper), Aur�lien Chedjou (Cameroon, defender), Idrissa Gueye (Senegal, midfielder), Salomon Kalou (C�te d�Ivoire, striker), Ryan Mendes (Cape Verde, striker)
GROUP G
FC Barcelona
Alexandre Song (Cameroon, midfielder)
Spartak Moscow
Emmanuel Emenike (Nigeria, striker)
Celtic FC
Efe Ambrose (Nigeria, defender), Victor Wanyama (Kenya, midfielder), Lassad Nouioui (Tunisia, striker)
GROUP H
CFR Cluj
Modou Sougou (Senegal, striker)
Galatasaray
Dany Nounkeu (Cameroon, defender), Emmanuel Ebou� (C�te d�Ivoire, defender), Nordin Amrabat (Morocco, midfielder)
Braga
Elderson (Nigeria, defender), Djamal (Libya, midfielder), Eder (Guinea, striker), Z� Luis (Cape Verde, striker)
Source: MTNFootball
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