Frédéric Kanouté

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Frédéric Kanouté
Frederic Kanoute 2008.jpg
Personal information
Full name Frédéric Oumar Kanouté
Date of birth (1977-09-02) 2 September 1977 (age 35)
Place of birth Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon, France
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Beijing Guoan
Number 11
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1997–2000 Lyon 58 (9)
2000–2003 West Ham United 84 (29)
2003–2005 Tottenham Hotspur 60 (14)
2005–2012 Sevilla 209 (88)
2012– Beijing Guoan 10 (1)
National team
1998–2001 France U-21 16 (11)
2004–2010 Mali 39 (23)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 5 November 2012.
† Appearances (Goals).

Frédéric Oumar Kanouté (born 2 September 1977) is a French-born Malian footballer who currently plays for Chinese Super League side Beijing Guoan. Kanouté was named the 2007 African Footballer of the Year, the first player born outside Africa to win the award.

Kanouté began his career with Lyon in France before moving to West Ham of the Premier League in 2000. After a spell at their London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, Kanouté moved to Spanish club Sevilla where he won two consecutive UEFA Cups in 2006 and 2007 in addition to various other European and domestic honours and remains the club's highest-scoring foreign player. He joined Beijing Goan on 29 June 2012.[1]

Despite appearing 16 times for France U-21, Kanouté was a member of the Malian squad which reached the semi-finals of the 2004 African Cup of Nations and also featured in their selections for the tournament in 2006 and 2010. His international career ended in 2010 with a total of 39 caps and 23 goals.

Contents

Club career [edit]

Lyon [edit]

Born in Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon, Rhône, to a French mother and a Malian father, Kanouté's talents as a striker were first noticed by his local team, Olympique Lyonnais, and he joined them as an apprentice in 1997. He made his debut in the Intertoto Cup against Polish side Odra Wodzisław.

West Ham United [edit]

In 2000, Kanouté was signed by English Premier League side West Ham United on an initial loan basis. He formed a solid partnership with Paolo Di Canio and after some promising appearances in the Premier League, Hammers manager Harry Redknapp made his move permanent. Kanouté had varying success at The Boleyn Ground, often praised for his ability, but also criticised for his laid back attitude. West Ham were relegated at the end of the season.

Tottenham Hotspur [edit]

Kanouté was bought by Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of £3.5m at the end of the 2002–03 season. Despite some performances at Tottenham which clearly displayed his talents, (For example his stunning goal against Everton and his debut strike for the North London club) Kanoute was unable to cement himself as a regular goal scorer at White Hart Lane. Kanoute regularly was unable to outshine Robbie Keane or Jermaine Defoe as much as he was expected to and, unlike his days at West Ham, he became a less prolific goalscorer and instead was involved in attacks by setting up various goals with runs at the defence and creating space for other attacking players. When he joined Seville after three seasons at Tottenham Hotspur, he had reverted to his goalscoring attributes rather than attempting to emulate his playmaking talents which he developed at Spurs.

Sevilla [edit]

Kanouté playing for Sevilla

Kanouté was sold to Sevilla on 17 August 2005 for €6.5 million.[2] He was a second half substitute for the club in the 2006 UEFA Cup Final against Middlesbrough and scored in the 89th minute. Sevilla won 4–0.

Kanouté's first games for Sevilla against Tottenham Hotspur led to his scoring a penalty at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán in a game marred by crowd trouble, and a goal at White Hart Lane, leaving the final aggregate score 4–3 to Sevilla.

Sevilla's title challenge that year ultimately unravelled and Real Madrid took the title, with Kanouté's side in third.[3] Since then, Kanouté has been a consistent—if not explosive—member of the club, helping Sevilla qualify for a UEFA Cup position in 2008 and a Champions League direct qualification in 2009.

On the first day of the 2009–10 campaign, Kanouté got two yellow cards for fouls against Valencia and was sent off in first half stoppage time.

On 22 October 2011, during the 2011–12 campaign, Kanoute received two yellow cards against FC Barcelona for kicking the ball off the penalty spot, when Lionel Messi was due to take it. The second yellow was for an altercation between Kanoute and Cesc Fàbregas.[4] Kanoute's farewell season in Spain was plagued with injuries as he participated in 26 matches, scoring a mere 4 goals and assisting 2 others – he left at the end of his contract in the summer of 2012.

Beijing Guoan [edit]

On 29 June 2012, Kanouté signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with Chinese Super League side Beijing Guoan.[5][6] On 18 July, He scored his first 2 goals in his team's 6–0 victory against Qingdao Jonoon in the 2012 Chinese FA Cup.

International career [edit]

While playing for Lyon, Kanouté joined the French under-21 team.[7] After turning 21 in 1998, Kanouté was not called up for the French national squad in 2000, 2002, or 2004. In 2004, FIFA changed its rules to allow a footballer to play for the national team of the country in which his mother or father was born. Although eligible for either, Kanouté elected to play for Mali rather than for France. Kanouté was joint top goal scorer for Mali at the 2004 African Cup of Nations. Kanouté scored four goals in four matches helping Mali to the semi-finals, where they lost to Morocco.

In October 2007, Kanouté, along with Mali international teammate Mamady Sidibe, were attacked by irate Togolese fans after they knocked Togo out of the African Cup of Nations qualifier.[8] Frederic Kanoute announced his retirement from international football following Mali's elimination from the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.[9]

Personal life [edit]

Kanouté and his wife live in Seville, Spain with their three children.

Kanouté has been practicing Islam since he was around the age of 22. He refused to wear a Sevilla shirt bearing the name of club sponsor 888.com, due to the fact the website is used for gambling, which is against the principles of Islam; this meant that the club had to give him a brand-free jersey every match. The company, however, agreed to excuse him from their publicity campaigns in return for Kanouté wearing the sponsored kit, which was part of the players' contractual duties. In 2007, Kanouté paid more than US$700,000 out of his pocket to buy a mosque in Seville. The contract on the premises had expired and the mosque was due to be sold. The Islamic community of Spain confirmed it had requested Kanouté's aid after the mosque was put up for sale.[10]

Kanouté is a practising Muslim. He insists his faith has never presented itself as a problem in his relationship with the coaching staff, team-mates or fans. He has stated that “Islam has helped me to be this way, so this is normal. It's a path you take to keep you calm, to help you think about the place you live in, to love your neighbour. It's strange when I hear about all these problems of terrorism because it's the opposite of what I understood for Islam.”[11]

He observes fasting during the Islamic month of Ramadan. He has stated that “I can keep fasting in Ramadan even when I am playing...it is sometimes harder to keep the fast because here in the south of Spain it is very hot, but I can do it, thank God.”[12]

After scoring a goal in a 7 January 2009 Copa Del Rey match against Deportivo La Coruña, Kanouté lifted his jersey and displayed a black shirt underneath emblazoned with the word "Palestine". The action was interpreted by BBC sources[13] as a protest against the Israeli army operation in the Gaza Strip ongoing at that time. Kanouté was cautioned with a yellow card for displaying a political message, and subsequently fined around $4,000 by the league.[13]

Kanouté has also showed interest in a variety of humanitarian causes. In 2006, he launched an appeal to establish a "Children's Village" in Mali.[14]

Club career statistics [edit]

Statistics accurate as of match played 21 November 2012

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
France League Coupe de France Coupe de la Ligue Europe Total
1997–98 Lyon Ligue 1 18 6 1 0 0 0 11 2 30 8
1998–99 9 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 11 3
1999–00 13 1 0 0 2 0 2 0 17 1
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
1999–2000 West Ham United Premier League 8 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 2
2000–01 32 11 4 3 3 0 0 0 39 14
2001–02 27 11 1 1 0 0 0 0 28 12
2002–03 17 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 5
2003–04 Tottenham Hotspur 27 7 1 3 3 2 0 0 31 12
2004–05 32 7 5 0 4 2 0 0 41 9
2005–06 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Spain League Copa del Rey Supercopa de España Europe Total
2005–06 Sevilla La Liga 32 6 2 2 - 12 7 46 15
2006–07 32 21 5 4 - 11 5 48 30
2007–08 30 15 2 4 1 3 10 6 42 28
2008–09 34 19 6 2 - 2 2 42 23
2009–10 27 12 4 1 - 7 2 38 15
2010–11 28 12 6 3 1 2 7 6 41 23
2011–12 26 4 0 0 - 0 0 26 4
China PR League FA Cup CSL Cup Asia Total
2012 Beijing Guoan Chinese Super League 10 1 2 2 - 0 0 12 3
Total France 40 9 1 0 2 0 15 3 58 12
England 144 43 11 7 10 4 0 0 165 54
Spain 209 89 25 16 2 5 49 28 285 138
China PR 10 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 12 3
Career total 403 142 39 25 14 9 64 31 520 207

Honours [edit]

Sevilla
Personal

References [edit]

  1. ^ Kanoute named Africa's best
  2. ^ "Sevilla beckons for striker Kanouté". UEFA.com. 17 August 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-27. 
  3. ^ "Sevilla win [[UEFA Cup]] on Penalties". BBC. 16 May 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-17.  Wikilink embedded in URL title (help)
  4. ^ http://www.caughtoffside.com/2011/10/23/frederic-kanoute-claims-barcelona-star-cesc-fabregas-called-him-a-terrorist-video/
  5. ^ "Kanoute leaves Sevilla for Beijing Guoan". Goal.com. 30 June 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-02. 
  6. ^ "北京国安足球俱乐部与卡努特正式签约 (Beijing Guoan Football Club and Kanoute formally signed)" (in Chinese). Tagesspiegel. 26 June 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2012. 
  7. ^ Rob Hughes (14 January 2004). "The call of Africa causes loud debate". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 9 May 2006. Retrieved 2006-07-23. 
  8. ^ "Caf to discuss Togo attacks" BBC Sport retrieved on 15 October 2007
  9. ^ "Kanoute retires after Mali exit"
  10. ^ "Devout worshipper". BBC. 12 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-12. 
  11. ^ Din, Tusdiq (23 August 2011). "Fasting and football. How do top-flight Muslims cope?". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 December 2012. 
  12. ^ Din, Tusdiq (24 August 2009). "Exclusive: I Can Keep Fasting In Ramadan Even When I Am Playing – Fredi Kanoute". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 January 2013. 
  13. ^ a b "Kanoute faces T-shirt fine". BBC. 8 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-08. 
  14. ^ Frederic Oumar KANOUTE // Official Website

External links [edit]
Beijing Guoan F.C. – current squad
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