Kanga Akalé
Ivorian footballer (born 1981)
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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 | 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
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
Career statistics
Club
| 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
| 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.
Honours
Ivory Coast
- Africa Cup of Nations runner-up: 2006[13]