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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)