Two African legends quitting after AFCON 2015

It will be the first continental showpiece without the reigning champions able to scale through the qualification phase and will also be the first event without a single debutant country (all participating countries have played in an AFCON before) but the tournament will also be a last for two African legends that have made their […]

It will be the first continental showpiece without the reigning champions able to scale through the qualification phase and will also be the first event without a single debutant country (all participating countries have played in an AFCON before) but the tournament will also be a last for two African legends that have made their mark on global football and have donned the colours of their countries with pride for over a decade. These two highly respected servants of the game would be taking a bow from the international scene at the end of their respective country’s sojourn in Equatorial Guinea in 2015.
Seydou Keita (103 caps) – 34 year old, Keita, made his debut for Mali on 9 April 2000, in a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Libya. He represented the country in six Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. At the 2010 edition in Angola he scored twice, both goals coming in the 4–4 group stage draw against the hosts, who were leading 4-0 with 11 minutes to go; unfortunately his team however, could not make it past the group stage.
Keita also participated in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa, scoring in the 1–1 quarterfinal draw against the hosts as Mali eventually won the shootout. Previously, he helped the under-20s finish third at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship in Nigeria, scoring in the last match against Uruguay the game’s only and being named the tournament’s best player. Many expected the AS Roma player to tender his resignation after helping Mali qualify for the AFCON (with an impressive win over Africa’s number 1 team, Algeria) but Keita would like to have a last feel of the continent’s premier competition before taking his bow
Kolo Toure (109 caps) – 33 year old, Touré, has played for Ivory Coast since 2000. His debut was in April 2000 against Rwanda. He played in all five games for the Ivory Coast as they finished runners up to the hosts in the African Cup of Nations in Egypt in January 2006.
He was named in the 23-man squad taken by coach Henri Michel to the 2006 FIFA World Cup and made his first appearance in a FIFA World Cup on 11 June 2006 in the Ivory Coast’s 2–1 loss to Argentina. He has scored three goals for the Ivory Coast to date, two of them headers against Gabon and Tajikistan and one against Japan, a 20-yard shot from outside the penalty area that flew into the top corner of the net.
Touré was named in the Ivory Coast team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was the captain in the team’s first game vs. Portugal due to Didier Drogba’s injury, which kept him on the bench. The Liverpool player on Tuesday revealed this would be his last assignment for the Elephants, ending a 15 year career with the team.