Kanga_Akalé
Kanga Akalé
Ivorian footballer
Kanga Gauthier Akalé (born 7 March 1981) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
|
Akalé with Lens in October 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kanga Gauthier Akalé[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1981-03-07) 7 March 1981 (age 43) | ||
| Place of birth | Abidjan, Ivory Coast | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Central midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1997–1998 | Stella Club | 17 | (6) |
| 1998–1999 | Sion | 25 | (6) |
| 1999–2003 | FC Zürich | 68 | (8) |
| 2003–2007 | Auxerre | 126 | (20) |
| 2007–2011 | Lens | 67 | (5) |
| 2007–2008 | → Marseille (loan) | 19 | (1) |
| 2008–2009 | → Recreativo Huelva (loan) | 26 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | Lekhwiya | 2 | (0) |
| 2012 | Panetolikos | 9 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | Arles-Avignon | 4 | (0) |
| Total | 363 | (46) | |
| International career | |||
| 2003–2010 | Ivory Coast | 35 | (3) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Whilst at Auxerre he helped them win the Coupe de France in both 2003 and 2005, playing in both finals.[2][3] In June 2007, Akalé signed a four-year contract with RC Lens for an undisclosed transfer fee, and he was loaned to Marseille in January 2008, then Recreativo de Huelva. Originally a striker, he started playing as a central midfielder or left winger. He is described as a pacey player with top technical abilities.
In 2011, Akalé joined Qatari club Lekhwiya SC to cover for injured striker, and countryman Bakari Koné. He made his debut in the 2011 Qatari Stars Cup on 11 November, and scored a hat-trick against Al Rayyan in a 3–1 win.[4]
On 31 January 2012, Akalé signed a six-month contract with Greek club Panetolikos F.C.[5] About three months after becoming a free agent, on 24 October 2012, Akalé joined French Ligue 2 side Arles-Avignon on a two-year contract.[6]
He has 35 caps for the national team, and was called up to the 2006 World Cup.
Akalé holds both Ivorian and French nationalities.[7] His son Aaron is a youth international for France.[8][9]
Club
| Club | Season | League | League Cup | Cup | Continental | Total | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Stella Club | 1998 | Ligue 1 (Ivory Coast) | 17 | 6 | 17 | 6 | [10] | ||||||
| Sion | 1998–99 | Nationalliga A | 25 | 6 | – | 25 | 6 | [10] | |||||
| FC Zürich | 1999–2000 | Nationalliga A | 6 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | [11] | |||
| 2000–01 | 16 | 2 | – | 1 | 0 | 17 | 2 | [11] | |||||
| 2001–02 | 28 | 1 | – | 0 | 0 | 28 | 1 | [11] | |||||
| 2002–03 | 18 | 5 | – | 7 | 4 | 25 | 9 | [11] | |||||
| Total | 68 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 78 | 12 | – | ||
| Auxerre | 2002–03 | Ligue 1 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | [11] |
| 2003–04 | 23 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 31 | 4 | [11] | ||
| 2004–05 | 31 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 51 | 5 | [11] | ||
| 2005–06 | 31 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 4 | [11] | ||
| 2006–07 | 35 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 44 | 10 | [11] | ||
| Total | 126 | 20 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 24 | 2 | 171 | 23 | – | ||
| Lens | 2007–08 | Ligue 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 15 | 3 | [11] |
| 2009–10 | 28 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 2 | [11] | ||
| 2010–11 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 3 | [11] | ||
| Total | 67 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 81 | 8 | – | ||
| Marseille (loan) | 2007–08 | Ligue 1 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 1 | [11] |
| Recreativo de Huelva (loan) | 2008–09 | La Liga | 26 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | 0 | 0 | 28 | 1 | [11] | |
| Lekhwiya | 2011–12 | Qatar Stars League | 2 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | [10] | |||||
| Panetolikos | 2011–12 | Super League Greece | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | [11] | ||||||
| Arles-Avignon | 2012–13 | Ligue 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | [11][12] | |
| Career total | 363 | 46 | 22 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 40 | 9 | 439 | 57 | – | ||
International
- Source:[10]
| Ivory Coast | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 12 | 2 | |
| 2007 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 35 | 3 |
International goals
- Source:[10]
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 June 2006 | Bondoufle, France |  Slovenia | 3–0 | Won | Friendly | |
| 14 June 2008 | Gaborone, Botswana |  Botswana | 1–1 | Draw | 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification |
Ivory Coast
- Africa Cup of Nations runner-up:2006[13]
- "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
- "PSG-Auxerre, c'était déjà il y a 12 ans". europe1.fr. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
- "Auxerre pakt Franse beker". voetbalkrant.com. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
- بدلا من بكارى: لخويا يضم العاجى كانجا أكالى (in Arabic)
- "Υπέγραψε ο Ακαλέ". Archived from the original on 2 February 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
- Kanga Akalé pour 2 ans! AC Arles-Avignon official homepage. 24 October 2012. (in French)
- "Kanga Akalé". Ligue1 (in French). Retrieved 21 December 2023.
- ami-sportif.com (30 January 2023). "Football : Aaron Akalé, fils d'Akalé Kanga, signe ses débuts en pro – ami-sportif.com" (in French). Retrieved 21 December 2023.
- "Aaron Akalé". www.fff.fr. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
- Kanga Akalé at National-Football-Teams.com
- "Kanga Akalé » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
- Kanga Akalé at Soccerway
- Kanga Akalé – French league stats at LFP – also available in French (archived)