Player Profile – Bonaventure Kalou

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Bonaventure Kalou was born on January 12, 1978 in Oumé, a city in Fromager Region of Côte d’Ivoire.

Like the majority of Ivorian players he started out his career in the Ivorian league with ASEC Abidjan before being spotted by European scouts and moving to the continent.

Dutch team Feyenord spotted his potential and signed him up in 1997, and he was loaned out to local rivals Excelsior Rotterdam,to gain experience before returning to Feyenord in 1998.

He was in and out of the Feyenord first team for the next few seasons and he was eventually transferred out to French League One team Auxerre in 2003.

Whilst playing for the french team he won his first major domestic honour when he scored the winning goal in the 2005 French Cup Final. This brought him to the attention of top French side Paris saint Germain who snapped him up in June 2005.

He made his debut for the national team in 1998 against Cameroon and has since gone on to establish himself as a regular in the Ivorian first team. He has also captained the side on a few occasions.

Bonaventure Kalou is another key player in the Ivorian side and can be used as an attacking midfielder or in the hole just behind the strikers.