African scorers in Turkey: Mbaye Diagne draws level with Coulibaly in 2nd place
African scorers in Turkey: Mbaye Diagne draws level with Coulibaly in 2nd place. Both players have 71 goals in the Super Lig.
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When he hangs up his boots and retires, Mbaye Diagne will not be remembered only as a controversial player. A footballer capable of clashing with his team-mates and his coach over a penalty. The striker is also writing, week after week, his legend as a prolific goalscorer in the Turkish league. He is sure to leave his mark there. Already the top scorer of the 2018-2019 season with 30 goals, the 2009 African runner-up never loses his scoring instinct whenever he steps onto Turkish pitches.
This weekend, against Galatasaray, his former team, he found the net. Fatih Karagümrük held the league leaders to a 3-3 draw. For Mbaye Diagne, it was his 18th goal in the Super Lig this season, and his 8th in the last 8 matches. Above all, it was his 71st goal in 105 Turkish top-flight league matches. That draws him level with Mali's Fernand Coulibaly in the ranking of the league's best African scorers. The former Eagle, now aged 52, played in Turkey between 95 and 2002. However, he did not have the same incredible ratio as Mbaye Diagne. It took him 179 matches to reach 71 goals.
Mbaye Diagne will, however, need to keep banging in the goals if he wants to become the greatest African scorer in Super Lig history. The ranking is currently led by Andre Kona, a former Congolese international. In Turkey from 1996 to 2003, he managed to score 100 goals in 265 matches.
Top 5 African scorers in Turkey
Andre Kona (DR Congo): 100 goals; 265 matches
Mbaye Diagne (Senegal): 71 goals; 105 matches
Fernand Coulibaly (Mali): 71 goals; 179 matches
Souleymane Youla (Guinea): 65 goals; 183 matches
Moussa Sow (Senegal): 67 goals; 142 matches