Kanga Gauthier Akalé (born 7 March 1981) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
 Akalé with Lens in 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kanga Gauthier Akalé[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 7 March 1981 | ||
| 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 | |||
Club career
editWhilst 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
editHe has 35 caps for the national team, and was called up to the 2006 World Cup.
Personal life
editAkalé holds both Ivorian and French nationalities.[7] His son Aaron is a youth international for France.[8][9]
Career statistics
editClub
edit| 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
edit| 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.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 June 2006 | Bondoufle, France | 3–0 | Friendly | |||
| 14 June 2008 | Gaborone, Botswana | 1–1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification |
Honors
editIvory Coast
- Africa Cup of Nations runner-up:2006[13]
References
edit- ^ "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.
- ^ "PSG-Auxerre, c'était déjà il y a 12 ans". europe1.fr. 28 May 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
- ^ "Auxerre pakt Franse beker". voetbalkrant.com. 5 June 2005. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
- ^ بدلا من بكارى: لخويا يضم العاجى كانجا أكالى (in Arabic)
- ^ "Υπέγραψε ο Ακαλέ". Archived from the original on 2 February 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
- ^ Kanga Akalé pour 2 ans! AC Arles-Avignon official homepage. 24 October 2012. (in French)
- ^ "Kanga Akalé". Ligue1 (in French). Retrieved 21 December 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Aaron Akalé". www.fff.fr. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Kanga Akalé at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ 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.
- ^ Kanga Akalé at Soccerway
- ^ "African Nations Cup 2006".
External links
edit- Kanga Akalé – French league stats at LFP – also available in French (archived)