Cote d’Ivoire Player Profile – Aruna Didane

Aruna Didane, the Cote d’Ivoire striker forms a unique strike partnership for Cote d’Ivoire alongside captain Didier Drogba and is one of the key members of the Ivorian national team.

Born in Marcory on 26 November 1980, he took his first steps to becoming a footballer in the slums of Adjame where he would travel with his friends to the neighbouring districts to take part in five or seven-a-side ‘Maracana’ tournaments.

In 1994, Didana joined Adjame-based Les Inconditionnels team where he learnt the basics of his future profession.

Jean-Marc Guillou, who formed the Asec Mimosas Academy in Sol Beni, a smart Abidjan surburb noticed the formidable skills of Arena Didane during a game between Les Inconditionnels and the Asec Mimosas Academy. He subsequently joined the academy.

At the Asec Mimosas Academy, he played alongside prominent players such as Kolo Toure, Zezeto, Didier Zokora, Gilles Yapi and Bakary Zone who today form the backbone of the Ivorian team.

He would reflect on his five years at the academy by saying “Myself and the other players were like a big family, and in addition to football, we also went to school to get a better understanding of life”. Didane went on to become one of the academy’s top strikers.

Guillou’s decided to blend the academy’s top students in Asec Abidjan’s first team and Didane shone when he came on as a youngster in the African Super Cup final against Esperance de Tunis. When the game moved into extra-time, Guillou introduced Didane into the match and a moment of magic allowed him to get the better of legendary Tunisian goalkeeper Chokri El Quaer and win the match for Asec Simosa.

In 2000, at the tender age of 20, he attracted a lot of attention after impressive performances for the Ivorian Olympic team in Sydney and Asec Mimosas. He joined Anderlecht and his first season proved very productive as he won the Belgian league with his new side and managed 5 goals in 26 appearances.

His impressive display in Belgium earned him a call-up to the Ivorian national side and was part of the squad that took part in the CAF African Cup of Nations in Mali in 2002.

The 2003/2004 season was his most productive season in the Belgian League. He scored 15 goals in 25 matches including nine in the UEFA Champions League. He won the Ebony Boot, awarded to the best African Player in the Belgian League.

Altogether, five seasons with Anderlecht produced a highly commendable return of 50 goals in 132 matches, two league titles and two individual awards.

Aruna Didane also struck a good partnership with Didier Drogba and both of them were instrumental in the Elephants qualifying campaign for the 2006 World Cup and the Nations Cup. In the eight matches of the campaign that saw the Elephants secure their first FIFA World Cup finals, Didane scored five goals and set up another five.

He joined Lens last summer and has scored a total of five goals in 18 matches in France’s top division. However he has been hampered by injuries and just before the Nations Cup, he lost one of his twin daughters which prompted him to return to France. He subsequently rejoined the national team in Egypt but Henri Michel decided against playing him due to more injuries.

With just a few months to the World Cup Finals in which the Elephants have been placed in the ‘Group of Death’ alongside Holland, Argentina and Serbia and Montenegro, Cote d’Ivoire will need a fit Didane to spearhead his country’s attack in partnership with Didier Drogba.