Didier Ya Konan (born 22 May 1984) is an Ivorian former
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
forward for the
Ivory Coast national team.
Club career
Born in
Angouakro, Ya Konan started his professional career with
ASEC Mimosas in 2003, a club that is known for producing players, such as
Kolo Touré
Kolo Abib Touré (born 19 March 1981) is an Ivorian professional football coach and former player who is the manager of Championship side Wigan Athletic. He played as a defender for Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Celtic and the Ivory Co ...
and
Didier Zokora
Déguy Alain Didier Zokora (born 14 December 1980) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He represented the Ivory Coast national team for 14 years, beginning in 2000, and is currently the nation's mos ...
. He was the top scorer in the
African Champions League
The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club competition organized by the Confederation of African Football and co ...
competition that season, with ASEC eventually failing in the semi finals, to Egyptian club
Al Ahly
AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media
* Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera
* Al (''Fullmetal ...
.
In December 2006, he signed for
Rosenborg, for a three-year contract in the
Norwegian Premier League
Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...
.
In January 2007, Ya Konan was nominated for the Ivorian Footballer of the Year award for 2006, which was eventually won by
Chelsea's striker
Didier Drogba. He was one of two homeland-based players at the time to be nominated, the other being former ASEC teammate
Bakary Soro.
On 11 August 2009, Ya Konan moved to
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
side
Hannover 96, initially signing a three-year contract.
Following the
2013–14 season, he left Germany and completed a move to
Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad (Arabic: الاتحاد "The Union"), sometimes transliterated as Al-Etihad or Al-Ettihad may refer to:
Sports Football Libya
*Al-Ittihad Club (Tripoli), a football club based in Bab Ben Gashier
* Al Ittihad Gheryan, a football club bas ...
of the
Saudi Professional League
The Saudi Pro League (SPL for short) ( ar, دوري المحترفين السعودي, link=no, ''Dawriyy al-Muḥtarifayni as-Suʿūdī''), known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL for short) for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of associat ...
.
On 27 January 2015, he returned to Hannover 96, where he signed a one-year contract.
On 25 June 2015, Ya Konan signed a two-year deal with
Fortuna Düsseldorf
Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a German football club in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, which competes in the 2. Bundesliga.
Founded in 1895, Fortuna entered the league ...
.
International career
Ya Konan was called up to the
Ivory Coast national football team
The Ivory Coast national football team (French: ''Équipe de football de Côte d'Ivoire'', recognized as the Côte d'Ivoire by FIFA) represents Ivory Coast in men's international football. Nicknamed ''the Elephants'', the team is managed by th ...
for the
2008 African Cup of Nations
The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the MTN Africa Cup of Nations due to the competition's sponsorship by MTN, was the 26th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football tournament for nations affiliated to the Confederat ...
qualifier against Gabon on 5 October 2006. In March 2007, he was one of four players to receive a late call-up for the Ivorian's
African Cup of Nations qualifier against
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
in
Antananarivo
Antananarivo (French language, French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra ("An ...
, due to injuries to other members of the squad.
Career statistics
* All European competition includes: Champions League, Champions League qualifying, Europa League and Europe League qualifying
International goals
Honours
Club
ASEC Mimosas
*
Côte d'Ivoire Premier Division: 2004, 2005, 2006
*
Côte d'Ivoire Cup: 2005
*
Coupe Houphouët-Boigny: 2004, 2006
Rosenborg
*
Norwegian Premier League
Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...
Championship:
2009
Ivory Coast
*
Africa Cup of Nations runner-up:
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 gat ...
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ya Konan, Didier
Living people
1984 births
Sportspeople from Abidjan
Association football forwards
Ivorian footballers
Ivory Coast international footballers
Ittihad FC players
Hannover 96 players
Rosenborg BK players
ASEC Mimosas players
Ivorian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Norway
Expatriate footballers in Germany
Expatriate footballers in Saudi Arabia
Eliteserien players
Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Bundesliga players
Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in Norway
2012 Africa Cup of Nations players
2013 Africa Cup of Nations players
2014 FIFA World Cup players
Saudi Professional League players
Ligue 1 (Ivory Coast) players