Arouna Koné
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| Arouna Koné | ||
 |
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Arouna Koné | |
| Date of birth | November 11, 1983 (age 23) | |
| Place of birth |  Ányama, Cote d'Ivoire |
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| Height | 182 cm / 5 ft 11.5 in | |
| Playing position | Striker or Left-winger | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club |  PSV Eindhoven |
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| Youth clubs | ||
| ? - 2002 | Rio Sport d'Ányama | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 2002 - 2003 2003 - 2005 2005 - |
 Lierse |
32 (11) 63 (28) 48 (21) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2004 - | Cote d'Ivoire |
24 (5) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Arouna Koné (born November 11, 1983, in Ányama, Côte d'Ivoire) is an Ivorian football striker who currently plays for PSV Eindhoven of the Dutch Eredivisie as well the Côte d'Ivoire national football team.
Contents |
[edit] The Early Years
Koné was born in Ányama, a suburb of the Côte d'Ivoire capital Abidjan, to a family of ten brothers and five sisters. Like many other youths, he learned soccer on the streets, having the desire to play professionally, although his father reportedly wanted him to concentrate on his schooling. Tragically, Arouna's father died when he was nine, and his mother gave her assent to his footballing aspirations, with him joining the youth ranks of local club Rio Sport d'Ányama. This is in contrast to many successful Ivorian footballers, who, including his brother Bakari, were products of the youth system at capital city club ASEC Abidjan. With Koné proving a success at Rio Sport, he stopped his schooling at the age of 16 to concentrate on his football development, and his contribution to the team helped gain promotion to the leagues top division, having been added to the first team squad at the age of 17. French club RC Lens invited him for a trial in 2002, but he experienced personal difficulties with the management, and instead transferred to Belgian club Lierse S.K. a month later, following a trial match. Arouna settled in well at Lierse, becoming good friends with team mate, and fellow Ivorian Adolphe Tohoua, who he had also come to Belgium from Rio Sport. In an impressive debut season, he scored 11 times in 32 games, and in 2003, after only one season in the Belgian league, he was snapped up by Dutch outfit Roda JC. Koné became an instant hit with his impressive goal tally for Roda, and in 2005 more impressive performances for his club earned him a £6.1m transfer to Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven where he was given the coveted Number 10 shirt. During his time at Roda it was reported that he recommended fellow Ivorian striker Sekou Cissé to join the Eredivisie side.
[edit] International career
Arouna played for the Mama Ouattara run Côte d'Ivoire youth team in the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship, sporting the Number 8 shirt, where he starred alongside Lierse team mate Tohoua and the much talked about Antonin Koutouan. The team finished the group stage in second place, ahead of Mexico and Saudi Arabia. They progressed to the knockout phase along with the Republic of Ireland, where they were beaten by the United States 2-0. Arouna scored three goals in the tournament, once in the 2-1 victory against Mexico, and twice in the 2-2 draw against the Republic of Ireland.
Arouna made his Côte d'Ivoire senior international debut in March 2004 against Tunisia, where the Elephants were 2-0 victors. He wears the Number 9 shirt for his country, playing in the 2006 African Cup of Nations tournament, scoring once, where the Elephants were runners up to hosts Egypt.
He was selected to represent his nation in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. He made appearances in all three group games for the Elephants, but did not score as the team were sent packing at the group stage. This was despite impressing with their attacking brand of football that saw them defeat Serbia and Montenegro and give both Argentina and the Netherlands a real run for their money.
Arouna was left on the bench for the first game against Argentina in Hamburg as Cote d'Ivoire adopted a more defensive approach against one of the tournament favourites. However, goals from Hernan Crespo and Javier Saviola quickly saw them playing catch up. Arouna replaced Abdul Kader Keïta on 77 minutes and five minutes later Didier Drogba fired them back into the game. Alas it was not enough as Argentina ran out 2-1 winners.
Cote d'Ivoire's second game brought a clear sense of deja vu as they again quickly found themselves two goals down, this time against The Netherlands in Stuttgart. Robin Van Persie's free-kick and Ruud van Nistelrooy's sharp finish left them reeling but a brilliant individual goal from Arouna's brother Bakari soon fired them back into it. Arouna started up front alongside Drogba and twice came close to scoring. Early on he shrugged off the challenge of Giovanni van Bronckhorst only to fire wide and in the second half he blazed over after a smart team move that he had instigated. Arouna was replaced by Kanga Akalé 17 minutes from time. Alas, his team mates couldn't find an equaliser and their World Cup dream was effectively over.
Despite the intense disappointment of being knocked out after two games Cote d'Ivoire picked themselves up for their final Group C game against Serbia and Montenegro in Munich. The Serbs were also out and so an open game was expected. Astonishingly Cote d'Ivoire quickly fell 2-0 down, poor defending allowing Nikola Žigić and Saša Ilić to score. Just before half time a blatant hand ball in the area allowed Aruna Dindane to get his side back in the game. At the start of the second half Serbia were reduced to 10 men when Albert Nađ was dismissed for two bookings. A man up, Cote d'Ivoire took the game by the scruff of the neck in the second half and further strikes from Dindane, with a header, and a late penalty from Paris Saint-Germain striker Bonaventure Kalou after another hand ball saw them to a first ever win in the World Cup finals. Arouna started again, although he wasn't at his best, playing the full 90 minutes. The dream was over but Cote d'Ivoire had announced themselves on the world stage.
[edit] A Football Family
Arouna's older brother Bakari Koné also plays for the national side as a striker and plies his trade in the French Ligue 1 with OGC Nice. The pair competed alongside one another in the World Cup, with Arouna providing the necessary run to clear space for Bakari's long range goal against the Netherlands in the 2-1 defeat on June 16th.
Another brother, Karamoko Koné, is part of the reserve team set up at Arouna's former club Roda JC.
He also sends a proportion of his wages to his mother and family in Côte d'Ivoire. Speaking of his success in football, and his support of his family he is quoted as saying: "In Africa the solidarity for your family is very large. My father died when I was nine years old. My mother and my family have spent many years with difficulty. I am glad that I am now able support them."
[edit] 2006/07 Season - Goals and Transfer Speculation
Arouna enjoyed a successful first half of the 2006/07 season, this lead to his stock in world football rising considerably.The PSV number 10 banged in 9 goals in the Eredivisie at almost a goal every other game. The Eindhoven side look well on course for another Dutch title, lying 11 points clear of second place Ajax. Koné dovetailed well with strike-partner Jefferson Farfan, the Peruvian is just edging out Arouna as PSV's top scorer at the winter break.
Koné also made his mark at the top level, scoring twice as PSV cruised through to the knockout stages of the Champions League including a vital winner in the 2-1 victory away to Galatasaray.
Arouna was also shining at international level, bagging his first international hat-trick in an African Nations Cup qualifier against Gabon in Abidjan. A game that saw the World Cup-finalists run riot in a 5-0 victory.
The progression of Arouna's game this season has seen him begin to be linked with some of Europe's top clubs for the first time. Koné had been strongly linked with a move to Manchester United in the 2007 January transfer window, these rumours were based on comments from the man himself that he one day dreamed of playing at Old Trafford.
Speculation is also mounting that Koné could be targeted by Premiership giants Arsenal. The Gunners already have Arouna's international team mates Kolo Touré and Emmanuel Eboué in their squad. However, Kone has since said that he intends to stay at PSV until summer 2008 at the earliest.
Arouna's successful 2006 finished on a appropriately high note as he was nominated as one of the Ivorian players of the year, an award eventually won by his international strike partner Didier Drogba.
It was reported in February 2007, that in the previous months transfer window, Arouna had the opportunity to join Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk for a fee of £13m. However, the Ivorian turned the move down, and was quoted as saying: "If I got to either Russia or Ukraine it will be the end of my career. I want to play in Spain or England one day." He also stated that if he moved away from PSV it would be to a bigger club.
In March 2007 it was rumoured, in the News of the World, that Arouna would be joining Premiership outfit Aston Villa for a fee of £7.7m.
Also in March, Arouna suffered a knee injury in training, which ruled him out of many crucial games for club and country. Following his absence, PSVs seemingly insurmountable lead in the Eredivisie has gradually been crumbled away. After drawing 0-0 against Excelsior, losing to arch rivals Ajax 5-1, and scraping a 1-1 draw at NAC Breda, the Eindhoven sides lead has been cut to just three points by the start of April. Koné, along with Brazilian central defender Alex, has also been ruled out of PSVs crucial Champions League Last-16 ties against English Premiership giants Liverpool. Arouna was one of a number of notable absentees through injury for Ivory Coast's African Cup of Nations qualifier against Madagascar. Fortunately, the Elephants were strong enough to survive the game without drama, coming through as 3-0 victors, with goals from Borussia Mönchengladbach defender Steve Gohouri, the Lens striker Aruna Dindane and Paris Saint-Germain frontman Amara Diané.
[edit] Life Outside Professional Football
Away from playing for PSV and the Côte d'Ivoire national team, Koné is a practising Muslim. He prays five times a day, and also wears the traditional West African Islamic dress, the Boubou, on holidays and on Fridays - the Islamic day of public worship. Koné was also reportedly setting up his own footballing academy, which was due to be completed in December 2005. It was to have the capacity to take up to 50 children when operational.
[edit] Career stats
| Season | Club | Country | Competition | Matches | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-03 | Lierse S.K. | Belgium |
Jupiler League | 32 | 11 |
| 2003-04 | Roda JC | Netherlands |
Eredivisie | 28 | 11 |
| 2004-05 | Roda JC | Netherlands |
Eredivisie | 33 | 15 |
| 2005-06 | Roda JC | Netherlands |
Eredivisie | 2 | 2 |
| 2005-06 | PSV | Netherlands |
Eredivisie | 21 | 11 |
| 2006-07 | PSV | Netherlands |
Eredivisie | 27 | 10 |
[edit] References
- Arouna Kone; the other Côte d’Ivoire predator. FIFA.com. Retrieved on February 27, 2006.
[edit] External links
- Biography on official PSV website
- Arouna Koné profile, detailed club and national team statistics, honours (palmares) and timeline
- Blonde ambition - Arouna Koné
- Koné targets move to Man Utd or AC Milan
- Interview with Arouna Koné (French)
- Arouna Koné - The story so far (video)
- Website dedicated to Arouna Koné (French)
- Arouna Kone at PSV Eindhoven photos by Tvw
- Koné snubs Shakhtar
- Koné linked with Aston Villa
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Côte d'Ivoire squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup | |
|---|---|---|
|
1 Tizié | 2 Akalé | 3 Boka | 4 K. Touré | 5 Zokora | 6 Kouassi | 7 Faé | 8 Kalou | 9 A. Koné | 10 Yapi Yapo | 11 Drogba | 12 Méïté | 13 Zoro | 14 B. Koné | 15 Dindane | 16 Gnanhouan | 17 Domoraud | 18 Keïta | 19 Y. Touré | 20 Demel | 21 Eboué | 22 Romaric | 23 Barry | Coach: Michel |
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| PSV Eindhoven - Current Squad |
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1 Gomes | 2 Kromkamp | 3 Reiziger | 4 Alex | 6 Simons | 7 Väyrynen | 8 Cocu | 9 Kluivert | 10 Koné | 11 Méndez | 13 Alcides | 14 da Costa | 15 Čulina | 16 Aissati | 17 Farfán | 18 Addo | 19 Lamey | 20 Afellay | 21 Moens | 22 Fehér | 23 Salcido | 24 Nguyen | 25 de Jong | 26 Tardelli | 28 Sun | 30 Plá | 31 Boffin | 39 Marcellis | Manager: Koeman |
