Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho poured encomiums on African soccer players describing them as unbelievable and good team players whose talents spur up the psychology of others.

Didier Drogba	Samuel Eto'o	Michael Essien

Chelsea, who beat Arsenal in the Carling Cup final, are second behind Manchester United in the Premiership and face quarter-final games in both the Champions League and FA Cup.

"The African players have a special character," said Mourinho.

"They are a strong personality group in the team. They like to win, they like to work, and they are team players. And they give a big contribution, not just in football terms but also in psychological terms.

"They are people who are difficult to break, people who want to give everything - not selfish or thinking about themselves but about the team. We are very lucky with that group of boys."

Ivory Coast striker Salomon Kalou, yet to win a regular start, kept Chelsea in the FA Cup by scoring a late equalizer for a 3-3 draw on Sunday with Tottenham Hotspur.

Ghana 's Michael Essien was also impressive, playing in three different positions despite carrying a painful injury. He was unlucky to score an own goal that gave Spurs a 2-1 lead in the first half.

Mourinho paid tribute to an African contingent at Stamford Bridge which also includes Ivorian striker Didier Drogba and Nigeria midfielder John Obi Mikel.

 

Salomon Kalou	John Obi Mikel

"John Obi and Salomon are also great talents - I keep saying this," Mourinho explained.

"Salomon is adapting and improving and for John Obi it was a big, big, big shame that he had this four-match ban after the Carling Cup final.

"The way he played against Porto home and away and against Arsenal, these were three big matches and he was exactly in the point to make the jump."

Mourinho was proud to see Drogba named African Player of the Year, but believed the 29-goal striker should have won by a bigger margin from Barcelona's Cameroon forward Samuel Eto'o, the winner from 2003-05.

"I'm surprised a player with the fabulous season he's having won the trophy by only five points." I couldn't believe that.

"Of course, Samuel is an unbelievable player and I think he deserved to win the trophies the seasons before because he was amazing."

"But in a season where Cameroon doesn't play the World Cup and Samuel is injured for four months but in which Didier goes to the World Cup and to the African Nations Cup final and is playing better than ever, I think he was very unlucky to win the trophy by only five points."

"But I think you can see with Drogba, Eto'o, Essien and the others not in the awards, the top quality of African players and African football at the moment."

However, Mourinho knows that boasting a crop of African players presents its own problems every two years.

"I know what Chelsea has to face next season. I know the African Nations Cup will take players for a couple of months."

"Two are midfield players and two are strikers. So we will lose Drogba, Kalou, Essien and Mikel."

"It is a big problem in relation to next season."