Arouna Koné facts for kids
Koné with Ivory Coast in 2012
|
|||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Arouna Koné | ||
| Date of birth | 11 November 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | Anyama, Ivory Coast | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Rio Sport | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2001–2002 | Rio Sport | 30 | (17) |
| 2002–2003 | Lierse | 32 | (11) |
| 2003–2005 | Roda JC | 63 | (27) |
| 2005–2007 | PSV | 53 | (21) |
| 2007–2012 | Sevilla | 40 | (1) |
| 2010 | → Hannover 96 (loan) | 8 | (2) |
| 2011–2012 | → Levante (loan) | 34 | (15) |
| 2012 | Levante | 0 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | Wigan Athletic | 34 | (11) |
| 2013–2017 | Everton | 47 | (6) |
| 2017–2022 | Sivasspor | 109 | (32) |
| 2022–2023 | VK Weerde | ||
| International career‡ | |||
| 2004–2013 | Ivory Coast | 39 | (9) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 28 January, 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 28 January, 2024 |
|||
Arouna Koné, born on November 11, 1983, is a former professional football player from Ivory Coast. He was a striker, which means he played at the front of the team to score goals.
Koné became well-known for playing in the Eredivisie league in the Netherlands. He played for teams like Roda JC and PSV. In 2007, he joined Sevilla in Spain. He did not play much there because of injuries and being loaned to other teams.
In 2012, Koné moved to the Premier League in England. He played for Wigan Athletic and Everton. He even won the FA Cup with Wigan in 2013.
Koné also played for his country, the Ivory Coast national team. He played from 2004 until he retired from international games in 2013. He played in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. He played 39 games for his country and scored 9 goals.
Contents
Playing for Clubs
Time at PSV
Arouna Koné had a tough start to the 2007–08 season with PSV. He returned late from a holiday, which meant he missed important training. Then, in July 2007, he got sick with malaria.
By August, he was back in training after getting better. He was ready for the team's first league game against Heracles Almelo. He also started playing for his country again right away.
Moving to Sevilla
On August 30, 2007, Koné signed a five-year deal with Sevilla in Spain. The transfer fee was reported to be €12 million. He played his first game in the Spanish league on September 16. He came on as a substitute in a 4–1 win.
Nine days later, he scored his first goal for Sevilla. He helped his team come back from being 0–2 down to tie the game 2–2. On October 2, he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal. This was in a 4–2 win against Slavia Prague. He scored just ten minutes after coming onto the field.
In April 2008, there were talks that Koné might leave Sevilla. He did not play much in his first season. This was partly because other strikers, Luís Fabiano and Frédéric Kanouté, were playing very well. He also had an argument with a coach during training.
Before the 2008–09 season, Koné got a serious injury. He hurt his knee while playing for Ivory Coast in August. He had surgery to fix it and returned to training in February 2009.
After this, Koné did not play much for Sevilla. In February 2010, he joined Bundesliga club Hannover 96 on loan. He stayed there until the end of the season.
Koné only played one minute for Sevilla in the 2010–11 season. For the next season, he was loaned to Levante. He played often and scored his first goal for them on September 18, 2011. This was in a surprising 1–0 win against Real Madrid.
Koné did not play the last three games of the season because of a small injury. Also, he was scoring many goals. If he reached 18 goals, he would have to go back to Sevilla. He did not want this to happen. So, he moved to Levante permanently.
Playing for Wigan Athletic
On August 14, 2012, Koné signed a three-year contract with Wigan Athletic in England. The fee was about €3.5 million. Many other English clubs wanted him. But Koné chose Wigan because he liked their passing style of play.
He scored his first league goal in his second game. This was his first start for the team. He scored in the 89th minute against Southampton. This made the score 2–0 away from home. He scored two goals in a 4–1 win against Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup on February 17, 2013. He scored two more goals in the next game, a 3–0 league win against Reading.
Koné and the Latics (Wigan's nickname) won the FA Cup in 2013. He played the whole game in a 1–0 upset win against Manchester City. However, just three days later, Wigan was moved down from the top league. This happened after a 4–1 loss to Arsenal.
Time at Everton
On July 8, 2013, Everton signed Koné on a three-year deal. He played his first game on August 17. He came on as a substitute in a 2–2 draw against Norwich City. In October, he hurt his knee and did not play for the rest of that season.
He returned on December 24, 2014. He scored his first goal for Everton against Newcastle United. This was in a 3–2 loss. On the first day of the 2015–16 season, Koné came off the bench. He helped Everton get a 2–2 draw against Watford by assisting a goal and scoring one himself.
Because of his good performance, he started the next game against Southampton. Everton won 3–0, and Koné made another assist. He continued his strong start to the season. He played very well in Everton's 3–1 win over Chelsea. He scored his first hat-trick (three goals in one game) for Everton. This was in their 6–2 win over Sunderland on November 1, 2015. Koné left Everton at the end of the 2016–17 season.
Playing for Sivasspor
Koné signed a two-year contract with Turkish club Sivasspor on July 4, 2017. He played his first game for the team on August 12. They won 1–0 against Akhisarspor. He scored his first goal for the team on August 19 against Yeni Malatyaspor. They won that game 2–0.
On November 5, 2017, he scored two goals against Konyaspor. This helped his team win 2–1. Koné scored 13 goals in the 2017–18 season. He scored another 11 goals in the 2018–19 season. This made him the team's top scorer.
Final Club: VK Weerde
In July 2022, Koné signed with VK Weerde, a club in the ninth tier of Belgian football. After six months with the team, the experienced attacker retired from playing football.
International Career
Koné played for the Ivory Coast under-20 team in the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship. He was a key player in that tournament. He scored three goals: one against Mexico in a 2–1 win, and two goals in a 2–2 draw against the Republic of Ireland. His team reached the round of 16. FIFA's website said he was a "crucial pivot for the attacking thrust" of the team. They described him as a player with "physical strength, aerial ability and good ball control."
Koné was also chosen for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. This was the first time Ivory Coast had ever played in a World Cup. He came on as a substitute in the first game, a 1–2 loss against Argentina. He started in the other two games but did not score. His team did not make it past the group stage.
After four years away from the national team due to injuries and not playing well, Koné was called back to the Ivory Coast squad in 2012. He was chosen for the 2013 African Cup of Nations because he was playing well for Wigan. His coach, Roberto Martínez, said that Koné loved playing for his country and was happy to be back.
About Arouna Koné
Koné is married and has two sons and three daughters. He is a Muslim. His father passed away when Koné was nine years old.
Koné said that his blonde hair was inspired by former basketball player Dennis Rodman. He also said that his football heroes were Liberian legend George Weah and Brazilian superstar Ronaldo.
Career Statistics
Club Appearances and Goals
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rio Sport | 2001 | Ivorian Ligue 2 | 12 | 6 | — | — | — | — | 12 | 6 | ||||
| 2002 | Ivorian Ligue 1 | 18 | 11 | — | — | — | — | 18 | 11 | |||||
| Total | 30 | 17 | — | — | — | — | 30 | 17 | ||||||
| Lierse | 2002–03 | Belgian First Division | 32 | 11 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 34 | 11 | |||
| Roda JC | 2003–04 | Eredivisie | 28 | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 28 | 11 | |||
| 2004–05 | 33 | 14 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 33 | 14 | |||||
| 2005–06 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 2 | |||||
| Total | 63 | 27 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 63 | 27 | |||||
| PSV | 2005–06 | Eredivisie | 21 | 11 | 3 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 11 | |
| 2006–07 | 31 | 10 | 4 | 3 | — | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 15 | |||
| 2007–08 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 53 | 21 | 7 | 3 | — | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 72 | 26 | |||
| Sevilla | 2007–08 | La Liga | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 1 | — | 25 | 2 | ||
| 2008–09 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||||
| 2009–10 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | ||||
| 2010–11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 40 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 2 | |||
| Hannover 96 (loan) | 2009–10 | Bundesliga | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 2 | |||
| Levante (loan) | 2011–12 | La Liga | 34 | 15 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | 39 | 17 | |||
| Wigan Athletic | 2012–13 | Premier League | 35 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 13 | ||
| Everton | 2013–14 | Premier League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 16 | 1 | |||
| 2015–16 | 25 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 7 | ||||
| 2016–17 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | — | — | 8 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 47 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | 61 | 10 | |||
| Sivasspor | 2017–18 | Süper Lig | 33 | 13 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 33 | 13 | |||
| 2018–19 | 26 | 10 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 27 | 11 | |||||
| 2019–20 | 29 | 7 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 33 | 7 | |||||
| 2020–21 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 5 | 2 | — | 29 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 109 | 32 | 8 | 1 | — | 5 | 2 | — | 122 | 35 | ||||
| Career total | 450 | 143 | 34 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 26 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 513 | 162 | ||
International Goals
- Scores and results list Ivory Coast's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 12 November 2005 | Stade Léon-Bollée, Le Mans, France |  Romania |
1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 2. | 28 January 2006 | Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt |  Egypt |
1–1 | 1–3 | 2006 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 3. | 8 October 2006 | Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Ivory Coast |  Gabon |
2–0 | 5–0 | 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 4. | 4–0 | |||||
| 5. | 5–0 | |||||
| 6. | 3 June 2007 | Stade Bouaké, Bouaké, Ivory Coast |  Madagascar |
2–0 | 3–0 | 2006 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 7. | 3–0 | |||||
| 8. | 21 November 2007 | Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar |  Qatar |
2–1 | 6–1 | Friendly |
| 9. | 6–1 |
Awards and Trophies
PSV
- Eredivisie: 2005–06, 2006–07 (Dutch League Champion)
Sevilla
- Copa del Rey: 2009–10 (Spanish Cup Winner)
Wigan Athletic
- FA Cup: 2012–13 (English FA Cup Winner)
Sivasspor
- Turkish Cup: 2021–22 (Turkish Cup Winner)
Ivory Coast
- Africa Cup of Nations runner-up: 2006 (Second Place in African Cup)
See also
In Spanish: Arouna Koné para niños
