Moussa Saib Koné (born 12 February 1990) is an Ivorian

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 plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

FC Kyzylzhar FC Kyzylzhar () is a Kazakhstani football club, playing in the Kazakh city of Petropavl at the Karasai Stadium. They are founding members of the Kazakhstan Premier League The Kazakhstan Professional Football League (, ''Qazaqstan Premier Ligasy ...

Career

Early career

Born in

Anyama Anyama is a city in south-eastern Ivory Coast. It is a suburb of Abidjan and is one of four sub-prefectures of Ivory Coast, sub-prefectures of Abidjan Autonomous District. Anyama is also a Communes of Ivory Coast, commune. The city is located abou ...

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 ...

, Koné began to play football on his native country as a child, and impressed Italian clubs, like

Inter Inter may refer to: Association football clubs * Inter Milan, an Italian club * SC Internacional, a Brazilian club * Inter Miami CF, an American club * Inter Playa del Carmen, a Mexican club * FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club * FC Inter Turku, ...

, but signed with

Atalanta Atalanta (; ) is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology), Clymene and who is primarily known from the tales of the Caly ...

, to play in the club youth categories.

Foggia (loan)

On 28 July 2010, Koné was loaned to

Foggia Foggia (, ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere delle Puglie, Tavoliere, also know ...

for a season-long, to gain first-team experience. He made his debut for the club on 22 August, against Cavese. He made his first professional goal in the next round on 29 August, against

Lucchese Lucchese may refer to: * A.S. Lucchese Libertas 1905, a football team based in Lucca, Tuscany * Lucchese crime family, one of the "Five Families" of New York City's Mafia * Lucchese School, an art school in Tuscany, Italy that flourished in the 11 ...

. At the end of the season, Koné made 32 appearances and scored 4 goals for Foggia.

Pescara (loan)

On 19 August 2011, Koné was loaned again, this time to

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

club

Pescara Pescara (; ; ) is the capital city of the province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo Regions of Italy, region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 118,657 (January 1, 2023) residents (and approximately 350,000 including the surround ...

. He made his debut on 26 August 2011 coming off the bench to replace

Marco Verratti Marco Verratti (; born 5 November 1992) is an Italian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Qatar Stars League club Al-Arabi SC (Qatar), Al-Arabi. A technically gifted playmaker, Verratti began his ...

in the 45th minute. On 1 November, he score his first goal for Pescara, against Varese.

Varese (loan)

On 30 August 2012, Koné made his third loan spell, to

club

Varese Varese ( , ; or ; ; ; archaic ) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 was 80,559. It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or exurban part ...

, as a loan exchange for

Giuseppe De Luca Giuseppe De Luca (25 December 1876 – 26 August 1950), was an Italian baritone who achieved his greatest triumphs at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. He notably created roles in the world premieres of two operas by Giacomo Puccini: Sha ...

. He made his debut on 1 September, against Virtus Lanciano, also getting on the scoresheet.

Cesena

On 10 July 2015 Koné and Federico Varano were signed by

A.C. Cesena AC Cesena, commonly referred to as Cesena (), was an Italian football club based in Cesena, Emilia-Romagna. The club spent most of its history in professional leagues such as Serie A and Serie B, but went bankrupt and folded in 2018. Another cl ...

in definitive deals, with Luca Valzania moved to opposite direction.

International career

Koné was called up to

Ivory Coast national football team The Ivory Coast national football team ( French: ''Équipe de football de Côte d'Ivoire'', recognized as the Côte d'Ivoire by FIFA) represents Ivory Coast in men's international football. Nicknamed ''the Elephants'', the team is managed by t ...

for a friendly match against

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

on 10 August 2011 and made his ''Les Éléphants'' debut coming off the bench to replace

Yaya Touré Gnégnéri Yaya Touré (born 13 May 1983) is an Ivorian professional football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently an assistant coach for the Saudi Arabia national team. Touré aspired to be a striker during h ...

in the 46th minute. 22 minutes later, he scored his first international goal.Ivory Coast vs. Israel 4–3
/ref> Koné also played in

2011 CAF U-23 Championship The 2011 African U-23 Championship was the first edition of the football tournament for players under 23 years. It was originally scheduled to be hosted by Egypt from 26 November to 10 December 2011. However, less than two months prior to the sta ...

, starting in Ivory Coast all matches, and scoring against

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

International goals

, - , 1. , , 10 August 2011 , ,

Stade de Genève Stade de Genève (Stadium of Geneva), also called Stade de la Praille, is a stadium in Lancy, Canton of Geneva. It has a capacity of 30,084. Overview The stadium was completed in 2003 by Implenia, Zschokke Construction S.A. after nearly three y ...

, Geneva,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, , , , 3–0 , , 4–3 , , Friendly

Honours

Club

;Pescara

: 2011–12

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kone, Moussa 1990 births Living people Ivorian men's footballers Ivory Coast men's international footballers Ivorian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Kazakhstan Atalanta BC players Calcio Foggia 1920 players Delfino Pescara 1936 players SSD Varese Calcio players US Avellino 1912 players AC Cesena players Frosinone Calcio players Erzurumspor F.K. footballers FC Kyzylzhar players Serie A players Serie B players Men's association football midfielders Footballers from Abidjan 21st-century Ivorian sportsmen