Bouna Coundoul (born March 4, 1982) is a Senegalese former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who currently coaches
New Amsterdam FC in the
National Independent Soccer Association
The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States. The league is in the third tier of American soccer and began play in 2019. NISA initially used a fall-to-spring season format with a ...
. Coundoul played as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
. Between 2007 and 2016 he represented the
Senegal national team.
Youth and college
Born in
Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...
, Senegal, Coundoul moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
with his family as a child. He was a standout goalkeeper at Martin Luther King Jr. High School in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, where he received the All-New York City Goalkeeper of the Year award. Coundoul attended and played for the
University at Albany, SUNY
The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is one ...
.
Club career
Colorado Rapids
In 2005, Coundoul signed with
Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...
, and made his MLS debut on May 13, 2006 as a substitute for injured starter
Joe Cannon in the 10th minute. He then earned his first professional start and shutout the next game, in a 1–0 victory over
Los Angeles Galaxy
LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pla ...
on May 20.
In the first game of the 2007 MLS season, at which he arrived wearing traditional Senegalese garb, he contributed to the 2–1 victory over
D.C. United
D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...
with a diving stop in the last minute. In an interview that year, he created his trademark phrase, "Bouna Time!" which grew and spread as a chant in the supporters' sections as well as being promoted by the team.
In January 2009, Coundoul failed to agree terms on a new contract with the Rapids and was released. Coundoul appeared in 52 league matches during his career with Colorado, posting 16 shutouts and a 1.16 goals against average.
New York Red Bulls
On June 29, 2009,
New York Red Bulls
The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...
of
Major League Soccer signed Coundoul after acquiring his rights from Colorado in exchange for allocation money. He made his debut for the Red Bulls on July 25, in an away match against his former club Colorado. By the end of the season, Coundoul established himself as New York's first choice keeper and ended the 2009 campaign appearing in 9 league matches posting 2 shutouts and a 1.25 goals against average.
On March 20, 2010, Coundoul started for Red Bulls in a 3–1 victory against
Santos FC
Santos Futebol Clube (), commonly known simply as Santos or Santos FC and nicknamed the ''Peixe'' (; "fish"), is a Brazilian sports club based in Vila Belmiro, a '' bairro'' in the city of Santos. It is also the team with the most goals i ...
, which was the first match played at the new
Red Bull Arena. On October 2, 2010 Coundoul made a career-high 12 saves in the Red Bulls’ 1–0 victory over the
Kansas City Wizards, which clinched a playoff berth for New York and propelled it to first place in the Eastern Conference. The shutout was Coundoul’s 10th of the season, setting a new franchise season record and resulted in Coundoul being named MLS Player of the Week for Week 27. On October 21, 2010 Coundoul recorded his 11th clean sheet of the season in helping Red Bull to a 2–0 victory over
New England Revolution
The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compe ...
which helped the club clinch the regular season
Eastern Conference title. Coundoul ended the 2010 campaign appearing in 27 matches, and registering a career-best 1.04 goals against average. He became second choice following the arrival of
Frank Rost.
On November 30, 2011, the Red Bulls declined the 2012 option on Coundoul's contract, making him eligible for the
2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft. Coundoul was not selected in the draft and became a free agent.
Europe
Coundoul joined
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
club
Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...
on a trial in February 2012, but did not sign a contract there.
After a one-week trial with
Vaasan Palloseura
Vaasan Palloseura (or VPS) is a Finnish football club, based in Vaasa. It currently plays in the first tier of Finnish football (''Veikkausliiga''). The club's current manager is Jussi Nuorela. The club plays its home matches at Hietalahti. ...
in the Finnish
Veikkausliiga
Veikkausliiga (; sv, Tipsligan) is the premier division of Finnish football, the highest tier of the Finnish football league structure, comprising the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikka ...
, on March 16, 2012 he signed a short-term deal until July 2012.
Coundoul signed for
Enosis Neon Paralimni
Enosis Neon Paralimni Football Club ( el, Ένωση Νέων Παραλιμνίου, ''Enosi Neon Paralimniou'', "Youth Union of Paralimni"), commonly referred to as ENP, is a Cypriot football team from Paralimni. Currently playing in the fi ...
of Cyprus on August 18, 2012, and July 2013, he signed a two-year contract with
Ethnikos Achna of Cyprus.
South Africa
In February 2015 Coundoul signed with South African side
Platinum Stars F.C.
Platinum Stars was a South African football club based in Phokeng near Rustenburg, North West Province that played in the Premier Soccer League. The club was nicknamed ''Dikwena'', the Tswana name for ''Crocodiles''.
The team's best finish in ...
He signed a three-year extension with the club in June 2015 but retired in summer 2016.
International career
For his performances during the
2007 MLS season
The 2007 Major League Soccer season was the 12th season in the history of Major League Soccer. The season began on April 7 and concluded with MLS Cup 2007 on November 18, 2007 at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C.
For th ...
, Coundoul was awarded a call-up to the
Senegal national football team. On November 23, 2007, he was named to the Senegalese roster for the
African Cup of Nations. He was capped in their final game against South Africa after regular goalkeeper
Tony Sylva broke curfew and was suspended from the team. The game ended in a 1–1 draw, with Coundoul making several strong saves.
[http://nationscup.mtnfootball.com/live/click.php?Dest_URL=content.php&cookie=k&Item_ID=15721&Src=http%3A%2F%2Fde.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FBouna_Coundoul] After years of being a fringe player for the national team, Coundoul was named to Senegal's squad for the
2012 African Cup of Nations. Coundoul was first-choice goalkeeper for the first two matches of the group stage against
Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...
and
Equatorial Guinea which both ended in upset defeats for Senegal. For the third and final match of the group stage,
Amara Traoré
Amara Traoré (born 25 September 1965) is a Senegalese former professional footballer who is the head coach of Horoya AC in the Guinée Championnat National.
He managed the Senegal national team and ASC Linguère in Senegal.
Playing career
...
chose
Khadim N'Diaye to start in goal over Condoul. With that defeat, Senegal was knocked out of the tournament.
Career statistics
References
External links
*
stats.cbc.ca*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coundoul, Bouna
1982 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Dakar
Association football goalkeepers
Senegalese footballers
Senegal international footballers
2008 Africa Cup of Nations players
University at Albany, SUNY alumni
Albany Great Danes men's soccer players
Colorado Rapids players
New York Red Bulls players
Vaasan Palloseura players
Enosis Neon Paralimni FC players
Ethnikos Achna FC players
Major League Soccer players
Veikkausliiga players
Cypriot First Division players
Senegalese expatriate footballers
Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Expatriate soccer players in the United States
Expatriate footballers in Finland
Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in Finland
Expatriate footballers in Cyprus
Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus
Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in South Africa
Expatriate soccer players in South Africa
2012 Africa Cup of Nations players
2015 Africa Cup of Nations players