Arouna Koné – An Ivorian with Blonde Ambition

May 3rd, 2006 | by: Ade Lamidi | View Comments

Arouna Koné is a 22 year old is from a small town called Anyama near Abidjan, comes from a family of 17 kids. He is a striker who currently plays for PSV Eindhoven of the Dutch Eredivisie as well the Côte d’Ivoire national football team.

Koné learned soccer as a youth on the street and joined local club Rio Sport d’Ányama where he played, helping the team gain promotion to the first division after being added to the first team roster at the age of 17. French club RC Lens invited him for a trial, but he could not get along with the management there and transferred to Belgian club Lierse S.K. a month later.

In 2003, he transferred to Dutch club Roda JC, where he scored 28 goals in 63 matches. A good performance at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship earned him a transfer deal to PSV Eindhoven for the 2005/06 season.

This season, he featured prominently in the the African Cup of Nations that concluded in Egypt in February where his country was runners up.

For Koné , he’s shined so far alongside Chelsea front man Didier Drogba. He’s blindingly quick and deceptively plays with a sleepy disposition.

He is another young player to watch at the World Cup and depending on if Aruna Didane is fit or not, I expect him to either start alongside Didier Drogba or come off the bench during games.

And if he makes a good impression at the World Cup, I expect the man with blonde ambition to attract numerous offers from the big clubs.