Moussa Latoundji (born 13 August 1978) is a Beninese former football player and current caretaker manager side

Benin national football team The Benin national football team (French: Équipe nationale de Football du Benin), nicknamed ''Les Guépards (The Cheetahs)'', represent Benin in men's international association football and are controlled by the Benin Football Federation. They ...

Club career

Born in

Porto-Novo Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of G ...

, Latoudji started his career in his native Benin with amateur side Dragons de l'Oueme. He earned a move to Nigerian side Julius Berger in 1997. He again impressed, and was signed by professional French team

FC Metz Football Club de Metz, commonly referred to as FC Metz or simply Metz (), is a French association football club based in Metz, Lorraine. The club was formed in 1932 and plays in Ligue 2, the second division in the French football league sys ...

, where he spent one season with the club's 'B' team, amassing 14 appearances and 7 goals. He was then signed by German side

FC Energie Cottbus FC Energie Cottbus (Lower Sorbian: ''Energija Chóśebuz'') is a German football club based in Cottbus, Brandenburg. It was founded in 1963 as SC Cottbus in what was East Germany. After the reunification of Germany, Energie played six seasons i ...

. After over 100 appearances for the club, Latoundji broke his kneecap in 2004, and never played for the club again. He returned to Benin in 2009, coming out of retirement to act as player-manager for the side where he first began his career, Dragons de l'Oueme. After six years, he left to manage Gabonese side Cercle Mbéri Sportif.

International career

Latoundji made his international debut on 17 January 1993 against

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, making him the third youngest ever international male footballer. He was part of the Beninese

2004 African Nations Cup The 2004 African Cup of Nations, known as the NOKIA African Cup of Nations, Tunisia 2004 for sponsorship reasons (also referred to as AFCON 2004 or CAN 2004) is the 24th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's footb ...

team, which finished bottom of its group in the first round of competition, thus failing to secure qualification for the quarter-finals. Latoundji achieved the distinction, however, of scoring Benin’s only goal. He did this in the ninetieth minute of his team’s final game in the competition, a 2–1 victory for

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

References

External links

* 1978 births Living people People from Porto-Novo Association football midfielders Beninese footballers Ligue 1 players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players AS Dragons FC de l'Ouémé players FC Metz players FC Energie Cottbus players Benin international footballers 2004 African Cup of Nations players Beninese expatriate footballers Beninese expatriate sportspeople in Nigeria Expatriate footballers in Nigeria Beninese expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate footballers in France Beninese expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate footballers in Germany Nigerian people of Beninese descent {{Benin-footy-bio-stub