Cédric Kanté (born 6 July 1979) is a Malian 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 played as a defender. Born in France, he represented the Mali national team internationally winning 41 caps and scoring once.

Club career

Early career

Kanté progressed through the youth ranks at local club

RC Strasbourg Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace (commonly known as RC Strasbourg, Racing Straßburg, RCSA, RCS, or simply Strasbourg; Alsatian: ''Füeßbàllmànnschàft Vu Stroßburri'') is a French association football club founded in 1906, based in the c ...

before starting his professional career there. He signed his first professional contract with them in 1999, at the age of 19. He spent two seasons with them, in his first stint, making 7 appearances and picking up a

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

winners medal in 2001. He moved on to find first-team football playing for

FC Istres Football Club Istres Ouest Provence (; commonly referred to as simply Istres) is a French association football club based in Istres. The club was formed in 1920 and currently play their home matches at the Stade Parsemain in Fos-sur-Mer, a co ...

, in

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

. In one season at Istres, Kanté made 16 appearances.

ASOA Valence Association Sportive d'Origine Arménienne de Valence was a French football team playing in the city of Valence, Drôme. History The team ended in 2005 due to financial problems. Its successor is AS Valence, which plays at an amateur level. N ...

saw the talent in the 21-year-old and signed him. He spent one season there and was the focal point of the team, anchoring the center of their defense. He left the club due to its financial insecurity, having made 32 appearances.

Strasbourg and Nice

He then returned to boyhood club Strasbourg, signing a three-year deal. He quickly made it into the first team and was a main part of their progression within Ligue 2. In Kanté's three seasons for the club, he scored 3 league goals in 91 appearances. At the end of his contract, he signed with

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

side

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

. His first season at the club was disappointing, with them barely escaping relegation. However his and the club had better fortunes helping them achieve an 8th-place finish in his second season. His last season was more of the same, as he helped Nice finish respectably in 9th place during the 2008–09 campaign. After three successful seasons, Kanté left the club for

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

club

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

. In all, he made 97

appearances for the side and added 2 goals.

Panathinaikos

Kanté signed a three-year deal with Panathinaikos in June 2009. In his first season at Panathinaikos, he helped the "Prasinoi", the ''Greens'', to their first Greek Championship and

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most ...

in six years. In the

Greek Cup Final The Greek Cup Final, commonly referred to in Greece as just The Cup Final is the last match in the Greek Cup. Teams in yellow background won both Panhellenic Championship (up to 1959) or Alpha Ethniki (up to 2006) or the Super League Greece (kn ...

, Kanté played a vital role in the center of the defense for Panathinaikos as they defeated

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Howard, Former President of the Jama ...

1–0 with a goal from Argentinian winger

Sebastián Leto Sebastián Eduardo Leto (born 30 August 1986) is a former Argentine professional footballer who played as a winger or forward.He is now assistant manager at Al-Gharafa SC. Club career Lanús Born in Alejandro Korn, Leto began his career wit ...

. In his first season at Panathinaikos, Kanté appeared in 21 league games and added 2 assists to his name.

Sochaux

In July 2012, Kanté returned to France, signing a two-year contract with Ligue 1 team

FC Sochaux-Montbéliard Football Club Sochaux-Montbéliard (; commonly referred to as FCSM or simply Sochaux) is a French association football club based in the city of Montbéliard. The club was founded in 1928 and currently plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of Frenc ...

Ajaccio

After suffering relegation to Ligue 2 with Sochaux in the 2013–14 season, Kanté left the club and signed a one-year contract with another relegated side,

AC Ajaccio Athletic Club Ajaccio ( co, Athletic Club Aiacciu), commonly referred to as AC Ajaccio, ''ACA'' or simply Ajaccio, is a French association football club based in the city of Ajaccio on the island of Corsica. The club was founded in 1910 and ...

International career

Born in France, Kanté was eligible to play for the Mali national team through his ancestry. He opted to play for the country of his parents' birth and represented ''the Eagles'' 25 times as well as at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana.

Honours

Strasbourg *

: 2000–01 *

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in Football in France, French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was est ...

: 2004–05 Panathinaikos *

: 2009–10 *

: 2009–10 Mali *

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...

bronze:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kante, Cedric 1979 births Living people Footballers from Strasbourg Association football defenders French people of Malian descent Malian footballers French footballers Mali international footballers 2008 Africa Cup of Nations players 2012 Africa Cup of Nations players RC Strasbourg Alsace players FC Istres players ASOA Valence players OGC Nice players Panathinaikos F.C. players FC Sochaux-Montbéliard players AC Ajaccio players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Super League Greece players Malian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in Greece Black French sportspeople