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Frédéric Oumar Kanouté (born 2 September 1977) is a 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 striker for several top-tier clubs in Europe, enjoying his greatest success with
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...
side
Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Gua ...
. Kanouté was named the 2007
African Footballer of the Year African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...
, the first player born outside Africa to win the award. Kanouté began his career with
Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
in France before moving to
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
of the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
in 2000. After a spell at their
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
rivals
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
, Kanouté moved to Spanish club Sevilla where he won two consecutive
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
s in 2006 and 2007 in addition to various other European and domestic honours and remains the club's highest-scoring foreign player. He joined Beijing Goan in June 2012. Despite appearing 6 times for France U-21, Kanouté was a member of the Malian squad which reached the semi-finals of the 2004 African Cup of Nations and also featured in their selections for the tournament in 2006 and 2010. His international career ended in 2010 with a total of 39 caps and 23 goals.


Early life

Kanouté was born in
Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon (, literally ''Sainte-Foy near Lyon'') is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. Geography It is a suburb of the city of Lyon, located to the west of the city. It is locate ...
, Rhône.


Club career


Lyon

Kanouté's talents as a striker were first noticed by his local team, Olympique Lyonnais, and he joined them as an apprentice in 1997. He made his debut in the Intertoto Cup against Polish side
Odra Wodzisław Odra may refer to: Rivers * Odra (Poland), also known as Oder, a river in Czech Republic, Poland and Germany * Odra (Kupa), a river in Croatia * Odra (Spain), a river in Spain Populated places * Odra, Silesian Voivodeship, a village in south ...
.


West Ham United

In 2000, Kanouté was signed by English Premier League side
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
on an initial loan basis. He formed a solid partnership with
Paolo Di Canio Paolo Di Canio (born 9 July 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer and manager. During his playing career he made over 500 league appearances and scored over one hundred goals as a forward. He primarily played as a deep-lying forward ...
and after some promising appearances in the Premier League, Hammers manager Harry Redknapp made his move permanent. Kanouté had varying success at the
Boleyn Ground The Boleyn Ground, often referred to as Upton Park, was a football stadium located in Upton Park, east London. It was the home of West Ham United from 1904 to 2016, and was briefly used by Charlton Athletic in the early 1990s during their years ...
, often praised for his ability, but also criticised for his laid back attitude. West Ham were relegated at the end of the 2002-03 season.


Tottenham Hotspur

Kanouté was bought by
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
for a fee of £3.5 million on 5 August 2003. He scored on his debut on 23 August, the winner in a 2-1 home league victory over
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
, nine minutes after coming on for Bobby Zamora. His first season was interrupted by a call-up for the 2004 African Cup of Nations for
Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
. Tottenham tried to stop him going by asking
FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
whether Kanouté was eligible to play for Mali after representing France at Under-20 level. Kanouté was unable to cement himself as a regular at White Hart Lane, as Robbie Keane and
Jermain Defoe Jermain Colin Defoe (born 7 October 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He also played for the England national team. Defoe began his career with Charlton Athletic, joining their youth team aged 14, be ...
were preferred. He became a less prolific goalscorer and instead was involved in attacks by setting up various goals with runs at the defence and creating space for other attacking players.


Sevilla

Kanouté was sold to
Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Gua ...
on 17 August 2005 for €6.5 million. He was a second-half substitute for the club in the 2006 UEFA Cup Final against
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...
and scored in the 89th minute as Sevilla won 4–0. In the 2006-07 UEFA Cup, Kanouté's first games for Sevilla against Tottenham Hotspur led to him scoring a penalty at the
Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium The Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium ( es, Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán; ) is a football stadium in Seville, Spain. It is the home stadium of Sevilla Fútbol Club, and is named after the club's former president, Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán (1 ...
in a game marred by crowd trouble, and a goal at
White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...
, leaving the final aggregate score 4–3 to Sevilla. Sevilla's title challenge that year ultimately unravelled and
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
took the title, with Kanouté's side in third. After that, he was a consistent member of the team, helping Sevilla qualify for a
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
position in 2008 and a Champions League direct qualification in 2009. On the first day of the 2009–10 season, Kanouté received two
yellow cards Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative conce ...
for fouls against
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
and was sent off in first half stoppage time. On 22 October 2011, during the 2011–12 season, Kanouté received two yellow cards against
FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...
for kicking the ball off the penalty spot, when
Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...
was due to take it. The second yellow was for an altercation between Kanouté and
Cesc Fàbregas Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas Soler (; ; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Italian Serie B club Como. Fàbregas came through ''La Masia'', Barcelona's youth academy, leaving at 16 when ...
. Kanouté's farewell season in Spain was plagued with injuries as he participated in 26 matches, scoring four goals and assisting two others – he left at the end of his contract in the summer of 2012. Kanoute became an iconic figure at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, netting 136 goals in 290 matches as helped the club to win two UEFA Cups, one UEFA Super Cup, two Copa del Rey trophies and one Spanish Supercup.


Beijing Guoan

On 29 June 2012, Kanouté signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with
Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional association ...
side
Beijing Guoan Beijing Guoan Football Club () is a professional football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in the Chaoyang District in Beijing and their ho ...
. On 18 July 2012, he scored his first two goals in his team's 6–0 victory against
Qingdao Jonoon Qingdao Hainiu Football Club (, known as Hai-niu or literally Sea Bull) is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the China League Two division under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is b ...
in the
Chinese FA Cup The Chinese FA Cup (, abbreviated as CFA Cup) is the national knockout cup competition in China organized by the Chinese Football Association. Its current holders are Shandong Taishan, having beaten Shanghai Port in 2021 for a record seventh tit ...
. In May 2013, Kanouté scored a brace in a Super League fixture against
Tianjin Teda Tianjin Jinmen Tiger Football Club is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Tianjin, and their home stadium is t ...
.


International career

While playing for
Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
, Kanouté joined the French under-21 team. After turning 21 in 1998, Kanouté was not called up for the French national squad in 2000, 2002, or 2004. In 2004,
FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
changed its rules to allow a footballer to play for the national team of the country in which his mother or father was born. Although eligible for either, Kanouté elected to play for
Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
rather than for France. Kanouté was joint top goal scorer for Mali at the 2004 African Cup of Nations. Kanouté scored four goals in four matches helping Mali to the semi-finals, where they lost to
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
. In October 2007, Kanouté, along with Mali international teammate Mamady Sidibé, were attacked by irate Togolese fans after they knocked
Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...
out of the African Cup of Nations qualifier. Frederic Kanoute announced his retirement from international football following Mali's elimination from the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.


Style of play

In 2001, Kanouté was described by ''
The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'' in 2001 as "highly skilful, quick-footed, quick-witted and with an eye for the spectacular." Upon signing for Sevilla in 2005, the club's sporting director,
Monchi Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo (born 20 September 1968), commonly known as Monchi, is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper, currently director of football of Sevilla FC. Playing career Born in San Fernando, Cádiz, Andalusia, Mo ...
, described Kanouté with the following words: "He's tall, good in the air, skilful and strong and can play up front or just behind the lead striker." Throughout his career he was also known for his eye for goal. In 2020, Chris Howie of
beIN Sports beIN Sports ( ) is a global network of sports channels owned and operated by the Qatari media group beIN. It has played a major role in the increased commercialization of Qatari sports. Its chairman is Nasser Al-Khelaifi, and its CEO is Yousef O ...
described Kanouté as a "tall, languid, graceful ..striker," also labelling him a "late bloomer."


Personal life

He has been practicing
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
since he was around the age of 22. He refused to wear a Sevilla shirt bearing the name of club sponsor
888.com 888 Holdings PLC, () known commonly as 888, is a public company which owns several popular gambling brands and websites, including 888sport, 888casino and 888poker. 888 is based in Gibraltar. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a con ...
, due to the fact the website is used for gambling, which is against the principles of Islam; this meant that the club had to give him a brand-free jersey every match. The company, however, agreed to excuse him from their publicity campaigns in return for Kanouté wearing the sponsored kit, which was part of the players' contractual duties. In 2007, Kanouté paid more than US$700,000 out of his pocket to buy a mosque in Seville. The contract on the premises had expired and the mosque was due to be sold. The Islamic community of Spain confirmed it had requested Kanouté's aid after the mosque was put up for sale. Kanouté helped raise over $1m in a crowdfunding campaign to build the mosque. Kanouté insists his faith has never presented itself as a problem in his relationship with the coaching staff, teammates or fans. He has stated that "Islam has helped me to be this way, so this is normal. It's a path you take to keep you calm, to help you think about the place you live in, to love your neighbour. It's strange when I hear about all these problems of terrorism because it's the opposite of what I understood for Islam." He observes fasting during the Islamic month of Ramadan. He has stated that "I can keep fasting in Ramadan even when I am playing...it is sometimes harder to keep the fast because here in the south of Spain it is very hot, but I can do it, thank God." After scoring a goal in a January 2009 Copa Del Rey match against
Deportivo La Coruña ''Deportivo'' (Spanish, 'sporting') may refer to: * Deportivo de La Coruña, commonly known as simply Deportivo, a Spanish football club * Déportivo, a French rock band * Deportivo (Mexicable) Mexicable is a aerial lift line in Ecatepec de Mo ...
, Kanouté lifted his jersey and displayed a black shirt underneath emblazoned with the word " Palestine". The action was interpreted by
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
sources as a protest against the
Israeli Army The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branc ...
operation in the
Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...
ongoing at that time. Kanouté was cautioned with a yellow card for displaying a political message, and subsequently fined around $4,000 by the league.


The Kanouté Foundation

Kanouté has also showed interest in a variety of humanitarian causes. In 2006, he launched an appeal to establish a "Children's Village" in Mali. This is now the well established Sakina Children's Village. Kanouté talks about his Foundation and the Village in the book, ''How to do good: Essays in Building a Better World'', published in December 2016. He also took part in a speaker tour inspired by the book in 2017, speaking in Oslo, Stockholm, Paris and London alongside other humanitarians and philanthropists.


Career statistics


Club


International

:''Scores and results list Mali's goal tally first.''


Honours

Lyon * UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1997 Sevilla *
Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...
: 2006–07, 2009–10 *
Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España or the ''Spanish Super Cup'' is a super cup tournament in Spanish football. Founded in 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2019–20 by four teams: the winners and runners-up of ...
: 2007 *
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
: 2005–06, 2006–07 *
UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...
:
2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
Individual * African Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2004 *
African Footballer of the Year African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...
: 2007Furious Drogba Slams CAF Over Kanoute Award And Pulls Out
/ref> * ESM Team of the Season: 2006–07


See also

*


References


External links

* * *
Portrait of Frédéric Oumar Kanouté: Not Your Average Footballer
Qantara.de, 20 May 2009 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kanoute, Frederic 1977 births Living people Malian Muslims People from Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon French Muslims French people of Malian descent Malian people of French descent Converts to Islam Malian footballers French footballers Association football forwards Ligue 1 players Olympique Lyonnais players Premier League players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players La Liga players Sevilla FC players UEFA Cup winning players Chinese Super League players Beijing Guoan F.C. players African Footballer of the Year winners France under-21 international footballers Mali international footballers 2004 African Cup of Nations players 2008 Africa Cup of Nations players 2010 Africa Cup of Nations players French expatriate footballers Malian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in China Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Spain French expatriate sportspeople in China French expatriate sportspeople in England French expatriate sportspeople in Spain Malian expatriate sportspeople in China Malian expatriate sportspeople in England Malian expatriate sportspeople in Spain French humanitarians French philanthropists Sportspeople from Lyon Metropolis Footballers from Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes