Arouna Koné (born 11 November 1983) is an Ivorian 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 lea ...

who played as a striker. After making a name for himself in the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

, with

Roda JC Sportvereniging Roda Juliana Combinatie Kerkrade (; ), shortly as Roda JC Kerkrade () or commonly Roda JC or simply Roda, is a Dutch professional football club based in Kerkrade, Netherlands. Roda JC Kerkrade plays in the Eerste Divisie. The c ...

and PSV, he signed with

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

in 2007, where he rarely appeared due to injury and loans. In 2012, he moved from Levante to the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

, where he represented

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

and Everton, winning one FA Cup with the former. Koné played internationally for the Ivory Coast national team from his debut in 2004 until retirement in 2013. He appeared at the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

, as well as three

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

tournaments for his country, earning a total of 39 caps and scoring 9 goals.

Club career

PSV

Koné endured a difficult start to PSV's 2007–08 season: due to a date mix-up, he returned late to pre-season training following a holiday in his country, thus missing out on valuable time to prepare for the new campaign. Added to this, the player was struck down with

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

at the end of July 2007, In August, it was announced that he had returned to training following his health scare, and was expected to be fit in time for the team's first league game against

Heracles Almelo Heracles Almelo is a Dutch professional football club based in Almelo, founded in 1903. The club has won the Dutch national title twice, in 1927 and 1941. Heracles won the Eerste Divisie title during the 2004–05 season, gaining promotion to t ...

on the 19 July; he also immediately returned to international duty.

Sevilla

On 30 August 2007, after reported interest from English

side

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

signed Koné on a five-year deal for a reported

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

12 million transfer fee. He made his

Liga Liga (Spanish and Portuguese: ''League'') or LIGA may refer to: Sports Basketball * Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain * Liga Femenina de Baloncesto, women's professional basketball league in Spain Football Latin Ame ...

debut on 16 September as a second-half substitute for

Frédéric Kanouté Frédéric Oumar Kanouté (born 2 September 1977) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker for several top-tier clubs in Europe, enjoying his greatest success with La Liga side Sevilla. Kanouté was named the 2007 African Foot ...

in a 4–1 win against

Recreativo de Huelva Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Huelva, Andalucia, Spain. Founded on 23 December 1889, they are the oldest football club in Spain, and currently play in , holding home ...

– he won a

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

in the game, but fellow striker

Aleksandr Kerzhakov Aleksandr Anatolyevich Kerzhakov ( ; born 27 November 1982) is a Russian professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. He used ...

failed to convert. Nine days later, he scored his first goal for the Spaniards, helping the team come from behind 0–2 against

Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as RCD Espanyol, is a Spanish professional sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spa ...

to tie it 2–2 in an eventual 2–3 home loss. On 2 October, he netted his first

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

goal for the club in a 4–2 group stage win against

Slavia Prague Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, ), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in t ...

after just ten minutes on the pitch. In April 2008, it was reported that Koné was to be shown the door at Sevilla in the summer of 2008 after a disappointing first season. His lack of playing time, partly due to the form of strikers

Luís Fabiano Luís Fabiano Clemente (born 8 November 1980), commonly known as Luís Fabiano, is a retired Brazilian professional footballer who played as a striker most notably for Sevilla, São Paulo, and the Brazil national team. He is a prolific goals ...

and Kanouté, and an argument on the training ground with a member of the training staff that was caught on Spanish television, made for some intense speculation about the player's future. In the run-up to the 2008–09 campaign, he suffered a serious injury while playing for the Ivory Coast against

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

on 20 August, and a subsequent scan showed he had suffered a cruciate

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

ligament injury in his left leg. He underwent surgery to repair the damage the following week, returning to training in February 2009. Koné subsequently fell out of favour at Sevilla and, after much transfer speculation, in February 2010 he joined

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

club

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years between 19 ...

on loan until the end of the season. Arouna Kone 2012

Koné only appeared once for Sevilla in

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, playing one minute against

Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...

. For the following season, he was loaned to Levante, starting often and scoring his first goal of the campaign on 18 September 2011 in a surprise 1–0 home win over

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

. Koné was rested for the final three games of the season due to a minor injury, and also because he was "scoring too many goals", as if he reached 18 he would have to return to Sevilla automatically, something he did not desire. Instead, he moved to Levante on a permanent basis, though the club were reported to be keen to sell him immediately for a profit.

Wigan Athletic

On 14 August 2012, Koné signed a three-year contract with English side

, for a reported fee of €3.5 million. Wigan beat off competition from a number of other English clubs, with the striker being persuaded to sign due to the team's passing style of play. He scored his first league goal in his second match and his first start, an 89th-minute strike against

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

for the final goal in a 0–2 away win. He netted a brace in a 4–1 defeat of

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

in the fifth round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

on 17 February 2013, and added another two in his side's next match, a 0–3 league win over

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

. Koné won the FA Cup with the ''Latics'', featuring the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 upset against

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

. Only three days later, however, Wigan were relegated from the top division following a 4–1 defeat against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

Everton

On 8 July 2013, Everton confirmed the signing of Koné on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut on 17 August, coming on as an 81st-minute substitute in a 2–2 draw against

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

. In October, he suffered a knee cartilage injury and did not play again for the rest of the season. Returning on 24 December 2014, he netted his first goal for Everton against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

in the early stages of a 3–2 defeat. On the opening day of the

2015–16 Premier League The 2015–16 Premier League (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 24th season of the Premier League, the top English professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992, and the ...

season, Koné came off the bench to assist and score to help Everton secure a 2–2 draw against

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

. His performance was rewarded with a start away to

, in a 0–3 win in which the Ivorian recorded an assist. Koné then continued his impressive start to the season, excelling in Everton's 3–1 win over Chelsea. He scored his first Everton

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in their 6–2 victory over

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

on 1 November 2015. Kone was released by Everton at the end of the 2016–17 season.

Sivasspor

Koné signed a two-year contract with Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

club

Sivasspor Sivasspor Kulübü, known as Net Global Sivasspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish sports club based in Sivas. The primary department of the club is men's football. Formed in 1967, its football department has competed in Süper Lig since t ...

on 4 July 2017. He made his first appearance for the team on 12 August against

Akhisarspor Akhisarspor Kulübü (), commonly known as Akhisarspor, is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Akhisar.

, who were defeated 1–0 in the first matchday. He scored his first goal for the team against

Yeni Malatyaspor Yeni Malatyaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club based in Malatya. The club plays in the TFF First League, which is the second tier of football in the country. History Founded in 1986 as Malatya Belediyespor. Its primary colo ...

, who they faced in the second round of the league on 19 August; a match they won 2–0. On 5 November 2017, he scored two goals against

Konyaspor Konyaspor Kulübü (, Konya Sports Club), commonly referred to as Konyaspor, is a Turkish professional football club based in Konya, one of the largest cities in central Anatolia. Due to sponsorship agreements, the club is also officially known ...

, securing a 2–1 win for his team. Koné scored 13 goals in the 2017–18 season, and scored another 11 goals in the 2018–19 season, becoming the team's top scorer.

VK Weerde

In July 2022, Koné signed a contract with Belgian ninth tier club VK Weerde. After six months with the team the veteran attacker retired from the game.

International career

Koné played for the Mama Ouattara-led Ivory Coast under-20 team in the

2003 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship was the 14th FIFA World Youth Championship. It took place in United Arab Emirates between 27 November and 19 December 2003. Brazil claimed their fourth title, becoming the first country to simultaneously ho ...

, where he starred alongside Lierse teammate Adolphe Tohoua. He scored three goals in the tournament – once against

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in a 2–1 win, and twice in the 2–2 draw against the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

– in an eventual round-of-16 exit, and the official

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

website declared him to be a "crucial pivot for the attacking thrust" of the Ivorian team, and described him as a player possessing "physical strength, aerial ability and good ball control". Koné was also picked for the squad that appeared at the

in Germany, a first-ever for the

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

n nation. He replaced

Abdul Kader Keïta Abdul Kader Keïta (born 6 August 1981) is an Ivorian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Winger, winger. He represented the Ivory Coast national football team from 2000 to 2012. Club career Keïta, ...

in the 77th minute of the first game, a 1–2 loss against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, and started in the other two – going scoreless in the process – as the national team did not make it to the knockout stages. After spending four years in the international wilderness due to injuries and loss of form, Koné was recalled to the Ivorian squad in 2012 and was named in the squad for the

2013 African Cup of Nations The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons, held from 19 January to 10 February 2013, was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized ...

due to his club form at Wigan, with boss

Roberto Martínez Roberto Martínez Montoliu (; born 13 July 1973) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who is currently the head coach of the Portugal national team. Martínez played as a defensive midfielder and began his career at Re ...

commenting on his player's international return, "Arouna had a long period when he wasn't involved with the national team, and that was hard because he loves representing his country. When he is happy, we are happy, and I am very pleased he is back in the Ivory Coast squad."

Personal life

Koné is married and has two sons and three daughters. He is a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, and his father died when he was nine years old. Koné attributes his peroxide blonde hair to former

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Renowned for his defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding forw ...

, and states that his footballing heroes were Liberian legend

George Weah George Manneh Oppong Weah (born 1 October 1966) is a Liberian politician and former professional Association football, footballer who served as the 25th president of Liberia from 2018 to 2024. Before his election for the presidency, Weah served ...

and Brazilian superstar

Ronaldo Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, also prevalent in other Romance countries. People Notable people known as Ronaldo include: Association footballe ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Ivory Coast's goal tally first.''

Honours

PSV *

: 2005–06, 2006–07 Sevilla *

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

: 2009–10 Wigan Athletic *

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Sivasspor *

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup () is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası''. Now Ziraat Bankası is ...

: 2021–22 Ivory Coast *

runner-up:

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

References

External links

Stats at Voetbal International
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kone, Arouna 1983 births Living people Footballers from Abidjan Ivorian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Belgian Pro League players Lierse S.K. players Eredivisie players Roda JC Kerkrade players PSV Eindhoven players La Liga players Sevilla FC players Levante UD footballers Bundesliga players Hannover 96 players Premier League players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Everton F.C. players Süper Lig players Sivasspor footballers Ivory Coast men's international footballers 2006 FIFA World Cup players 2006 Africa Cup of Nations players 2008 Africa Cup of Nations players 2013 Africa Cup of Nations players Ivorian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Ivory Coast men's under-20 international footballers Ivorian Muslims 21st-century Ivorian sportsmen