Didier Otokoré (born 26 March 1969) is an Ivorian retired

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 mostly as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. Best known for his spell with

AJ Auxerre Association de la Jeunesse Auxerroise (), commonly known as AJ Auxerre or by the abbreviation AJA, is a French professional association football, football club based in the Communes of France, commune of Auxerre in Burgundy. The club plays in L ...

, he spent most of his career in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Club career

Otokoré was signed at just 16 by

, going on to finish his football grooming in the club's youth system, under first-team coach

Guy Roux Guy Marcel Roux (; born 18 October 1938) is a French former football player and manager known for being in charge of Auxerre for more than 40 years and for leading the team to national and worldwide prominence. Managerial career A native of Colm ...

. Never an undisputed starter during his six years in the main squad (tops 23

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

matches in 1989–90, mostly as a substitute), he did manage to be relatively used. Also, during that season, but in the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

, he arguably had his most memorable performance for the club, scoring twice in a 3–1 win at

NK Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb (), commonly referred to as simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Cr ...

, after a 0–1 home loss. Otokoré then split 1993–94 with

FC Sochaux-Montbéliard Football Club Sochaux-Montbéliard (; commonly referred to as FCSM or simply Sochaux) is a Football in France, French association football club based in the city of Montbéliard. The club was founded in 1928 and currently plays in Championnat N ...

and

AS Cannes Association Sportive de Cannes Football (; commonly referred to as AS Cannes or simply Cannes) is a French association football club based in Cannes. The club was formed in 1902 as a sports club and currently plays in the Championnat National 2 ...

, returning two years later to Auxerre, without any impact. After a couple of seasons in the second level with CS Louhans-Cuiseaux, he took his game to the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

, then returned in 2000 to

, with amateurs FC Bourg-Peronnas, retiring in 2001.

International career

After he had already lived for the requested years in France, Otokoré was eligible to represent

internationally, being summoned for its '' Espoirs'' in February 1988; however, a judicial battle between both Football Federations ensued, and the player ended up playing for the

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

; in his first match, at the

1988 African Cup of Nations The 1988 African Cup of Nations was the 16th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa (Confederation of African Football, CAF). It was hosted by Morocco, who replaced original host Zambia. Just like in ...

, on 16 March, against

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

, he played 60 minutes, being immediately sent home afterwards. Otokoré also represented his nation at the 1992 edition.

Personal life

Otokoré holds Ivorian and French nationalities. He is married to

Safia Otokoré Safia Otokoré (born Safia Ibrahim; October 17, 1969, in the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas, in present-day Djibouti) is a French politician and member of the Socialist Party. Biography She was born to parents who were refugees fr ...

, a French politician.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Otokore, Didier 1969 births Living people Ivorian men's footballers French men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Stade d'Abidjan players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players AJ Auxerre players FC Sochaux-Montbéliard players AS Cannes players En Avant Guingamp players Louhans-Cuiseaux FC players Al Wasl F.C. players Fujairah FC players Ivory Coast men's international footballers 1988 African Cup of Nations players 1992 African Cup of Nations players Ivorian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in France Football Bourg-en-Bresse Péronnas 01 players UAE Pro League players Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates Africa Cup of Nations–winning players People from Gagnoa Footballers from Gôh-Djiboua District UAE First Division League players 20th-century French sportsmen