Kenneth John Monkou (born 29 November 1964) is a Dutch 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 le ...

and pundit. As a player, he was as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

who notably played in 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 ...

for both

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

and

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, where he played just under 300 league appearances for both. He had previously played in the

Eredivise The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

for

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...

and wound up his career in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

with

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. The ...

. Monkou is an ambassador for the

Professional Footballers' Association The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) is the trade union for professional association footballers in England and Wales. Founded in 1907, it is the world's oldest professional sport trade union, and has over 5,000 members. The aims of ...

and

Show Racism the Red Card Show Racism the Red Card (SRTRC) is an anti-racism education charity, established in England in January 1996 to harness the high-profile nature of footballers as anti-racist role models to educate against racism throughout society in the United K ...

. He has also appeared as a pundit for Chelsea TV.

Early life

Monkou was born in Nickerie in

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

and was raised in the Netherlands. He became passionate about football as a child in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

, where he played at RK-VVP.

Football career

Monkou's first major side was

Feyenoord Rotterdam Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after it ...

. He played in a reserve match against a side featuring

manager Bobby Campbell's son and moved to England in May 1989 to play for newly promoted Chelsea for £100,000. He was their first player from outside the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

since

Petar Borota Petar Borota ( sr-Cyrl, Петар Борота, ; 5 March 1952 – 12 February 2010) was a Serbian footballer who played as a goalkeeper, most notably for Serbian clubs OFK Beograd and Partizan and English club Chelsea. In addition to great go ...

in 1982. He was voted club player of the year in his first season – the first black player to do so for Chelsea – as the team finished fifth in the First Division and won the

Full Members Cup The Full Members' Cup was an association football cup competition held in English football from 1985 to 1992. It was also known under its sponsored names of the Simod Cup from 1987 to 1989 and the Zenith Data Systems Cup from 1989 to 1992. The ...

. He remained with Chelsea until 1992, when he was transferred to

for £750,000 three months after signing a new five-year contract with Chelsea. Southampton faced regular battles for

survival, though the club was never

relegated In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

during Monkou's time there. In the 1993–94 season he scored a last minute winner in a 5–4 defeat of

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

from a

Matt Le Tissier Matthew Paul Le Tissier (; born 14 October 1968) is a former professional footballer. Born in Guernsey, he won eight caps for the England national team. Le Tissier spent his entire professional club career with Southampton before turning to non ...

corner that helped the club stay in the

. He stayed on the South Coast until 1999, when he joined

on a free transfer, scoring once against Yorkshire rivals Barnsley. However, disagreements with Huddersfield manager

Steve Bruce Stephen Roger Bruce (born 31 December 1960) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre-back. He most recently managed West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Br ...

ensured his time with the club was short-lived. Monkou made a return to Chelsea during the 2002–03 season, before finally retiring from the game.

Personal life

Monkou's cousin

Arsenio Halfhuid Arsenio Amerencio Halfhuid (born 9 November 1991) is a Dutch former professional footballer of Surinamese descent who most recently played for ''SV DSO'' in the lower leagues of the Dutch football pyramid and is now a coach. He previously playe ...

is also a footballer. He ran a

Dutch pancake A pannenkoek (; plural ''pannenkoeken'' ) or Dutch pancake is a style of pancake with origins in the Netherlands. Pannenkoeken are usually larger (up to a foot in diameter) and much thinner than their American or Scotch pancake counterparts, ...

house in the Dutch city of

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

and is actively involved in Dutch media and on Chelsea TV. Monkou has also worked as a corporate hospitality host at

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...

, and is an ambassador for the

and

References

External links

*
Photo of Ken Monkou in action for Southampton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monkou, Ken 1964 births Living people People from Nickerie District Association football central defenders Dutch footballers Surinamese emigrants to the Netherlands Feyenoord players Chelsea F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Eredivisie players Premier League players English Football League players Dutch expatriate footballers Dutch expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England