Kanga Akalé

Kanga Akalé
Akalé with Lens in 2009
Personal information
Full name Kanga Gauthier Akalé[1]
Date of birth (1981-03-07) 7 March 1981 (age 43)
Place of birth Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Central midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–1998 Stella Club 17 (6)
1998–1999 Sion 25 (6)
1999–2003 FC Zürich 68 (8)
2003–2007 Auxerre 126 (20)
2007–2011 Lens 67 (5)
2007–2008 → Marseille (loan) 19 (1)
2008–2009 → Recreativo Huelva (loan) 26 (0)
2011–2012 Lekhwiya 2 (0)
2012 Panetolikos 9 (0)
2012–2013 Arles-Avignon 4 (0)
Total 363 (46)
International career
2003–2010 Ivory Coast 35 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Kanga Gauthier Akalé (born 7 March 1981) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Club career

Whilst at Auxerre he helped them win the Coupe de France in both 2003 and 2005, playing in both finals.[2][3] In June 2007, Akalé signed a four-year contract with RC Lens for an undisclosed transfer fee, and he was loaned to Marseille in January 2008, then Recreativo de Huelva. Originally a striker, he started playing as a central midfielder or left winger. He is described as a pacey player with top technical abilities.

In 2011, Akalé joined Qatari club Lekhwiya SC to cover for injured striker, and countryman Bakari Koné. He made his debut in the 2011 Qatari Stars Cup on 11 November, and scored a hat-trick against Al Rayyan in a 3–1 win.[4]

On 31 January 2012, Akalé signed a six-month contract with Greek club Panetolikos F.C.[5] About three months after becoming a free agent, on 24 October 2012, Akalé joined French Ligue 2 side Arles-Avignon on a two-year contract.[6]

International career

He has 35 caps for the national team, and was called up to the 2006 World Cup.

Personal life

Akalé holds both Ivorian and French nationalities.[7] His son Aaron is a youth international for France.[8][9]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Total Ref.
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Stella Club 1998 Ligue 1 (Ivory Coast) 17 6 17 6 [10]
Sion 1998–99 Nationalliga A 25 6 – 25 6 [10]
FC Zürich 1999–2000 Nationalliga A 6 0 – 2 0 8 0 [11]
2000–01 16 2 – 1 0 17 2 [11]
2001–02 28 1 – 0 0 28 1 [11]
2002–03 18 5 – 7 4 25 9 [11]
Total 68 8 0 0 0 0 10 4 78 12 –
Auxerre 2002–03 Ligue 1 6 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 10 0 [11]
2003–04 23 4 1 0 3 0 4 0 31 4 [11]
2004–05 31 3 6 1 3 0 11 1 51 5 [11]
2005–06 31 4 0 0 2 0 2 0 35 4 [11]
2006–07 35 9 1 0 2 0 6 1 44 10 [11]
Total 126 20 11 1 10 0 24 2 171 23 –
Lens 2007–08 Ligue 1 9 0 0 0 0 0 6 3 15 3 [11]
2009–10 28 2 5 0 2 0 0 0 35 2 [11]
2010–11 30 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 31 3 [11]
Total 67 5 5 0 3 0 6 3 81 8 –
Marseille (loan) 2007–08 Ligue 1 19 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 22 1 [11]
Recreativo de Huelva (loan) 2008–09 La Liga 26 0 2 1 – 0 0 28 1 [11]
Lekhwiya 2011–12 Qatar Stars League 2 0 – 2 0 [10]
Panetolikos 2011–12 Super League Greece 9 0 9 0 [11]
Arles-Avignon 2012–13 Ligue 2 4 0 2 0 0 0 – 6 0 [11][12]
Career total 363 46 22 2 14 0 40 9 439 57 –

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[10]
National team Year Apps Goals
Ivory Coast 2002 1 0
2003 5 0
2004 3 0
2005 4 1
2006 12 2
2007 2 0
2008 8 0
Total 35 3
Scores and results list the Ivory Coast's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Akalé goal.
List of international goals scored by Kanga Akalé[10]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
4 June 2006 Bondoufle, France  Slovenia 3–0 Friendly
14 June 2008 Gaborone, Botswana  Botswana 1–1 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification

Honors

Ivory Coast

References

  1. ^ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  2. ^ "PSG-Auxerre, c'était déjà il y a 12 ans". europe1.fr. 28 May 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Auxerre pakt Franse beker". voetbalkrant.com. 5 June 2005. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  4. ^ بدلا من بكارى: لخويا يضم العاجى كانجا أكالى (in Arabic)
  5. ^ "Υπέγραψε ο Ακαλέ". Archived from the original on 2 February 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  6. ^ Kanga Akalé pour 2 ans! AC Arles-Avignon official homepage. 24 October 2012. (in French)
  7. ^ "Kanga Akalé". Ligue1 (in French). Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  8. ^ ami-sportif.com (30 January 2023). "Football : Aaron Akalé, fils d'Akalé Kanga, signe ses débuts en pro – ami-sportif.com" (in French). Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Aaron Akalé". www.fff.fr. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d e Kanga Akalé at National-Football-Teams.com
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Kanga Akalé » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  12. ^ Kanga Akalé at Soccerway
  13. ^ "African Nations Cup 2006".