Odilon_Kossounou
Odilon Kossounou
Ivorian footballer (born 2001)
Kouakou Odilon Dorgeless Kossounou ([ɔdilɔ̃ kɔsunu]; born 4 January 2001) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or right-back for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen and the Ivory Coast national team.
.jpg) Kossounou with Bayer Leverkusen in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kouakou Odilon Dorgeless Kossounou | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (2001-01-04) 4 January 2001 (age 23) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Abidjan, Ivory Coast | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Centre-back, right-back | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Bayer Leverkusen | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 6 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 0000–2019 | ASEC Mimosas | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Hammarby IF | 9 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2021 | Club Brugge | 40 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021– | Bayer Leverkusen | 73 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2020– | Ivory Coast | 23 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 03:21, 19 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:05, 26 March 2024 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Early career
Kossounou started his career in the academy of ASEC Mimosas in Abidjan. After having been discovered at the youth tournament Gothia Cup in 2016, he was first invited to train with Swedish Allsvenskan club Hammarby IF. He went on to visit the club on numerous occasions throughout the next few years.[1][2][3][4]
Hammarby IF
On 11 January 2019, shortly after his 18th birthday, Kossounou signed a four-year contract with Hammarby.[5] He made his competitive debut for the club on 18 February, in the main domestic cup Svenska Cupen, providing an assist to Mats Solhem in a 3-0 win against Varbergs BoIS.[6] Kossounou went on to make nine league appearances in Allsvenskan for the club, most notably being voted man of the match in a 2–2 home draw against IFK Norrköping.[7] On 8 May 2019, Hammarby reached an agreement with Belgian side Club Brugge for the transfer of Kossonou, effective on 1 July the same year.[8] The club received a record breaking fee for the player, reportedly for a fee of around €4 million (or 44 million SEK) that could rise higher subject to bonuses, plus a 10 percent sell-on clause.[9][10]
Club Brugge
On 1 July 2019, Kossounou completed his transfer to Club Brugge. In his first season at the club, Kossounou picked up a league winner's medal as Club Brugge were declared champions in April 2020 with the Pro League being cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium.[11]
Bayer Leverkusen
On 22 July 2021, Kossounou joined Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen on a five-year deal for a reported €23 million fee.[12]
Kossounou debuted with the Ivory Coast national team in a 1–1 friendly draw with Belgium on 8 October 2020.[13]
Kossounou was a member of the Ivory Coast's squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations and made two appearances, starting once in a 3–1 win over Algeria in the group stage[14]
In December 2023, Kossounou was named in the Ivory Coast's squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.[15][16] He went on to start three games, including the final where Ivory Coast won against Nigeria by a score of 2–1.
Kossounou prevalently plays as centre back and excels in his tackling: his long limbs and the excellent timing of his interventions gives him one of the highest tackle success ratios in Europe.[17]
In 2020, Kossounou was the subject of a TV-documentary on Swedish television titled "Det vackra spelet" (The beautiful game), that for three years followed him on his transfer to Hammarby and then on to Club Brugge.[18]
Club
- As of match played 25 May 2024[19]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[lower-alpha 1] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Hammarby IF | 2019 | Allsvenskan | 9 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| Club Brugge | 2019–20 | Belgian Pro League | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | |
| 2020–21 | 33 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | — | 42 | 1 | |||
| 2021–22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 40 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 55 | 1 | ||
| Bayer Leverkusen | 2021–22 | Bundesliga | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5[lower-alpha 5] | 0 | — | 33 | 0 | |
| 2022–23 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10[lower-alpha 6] | 0 | — | 35 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24 | 22 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 8[lower-alpha 5] | 0 | — | 34 | 1 | |||
| Total | 73 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 23 | 0 | — | 102 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 122 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 170 | 2 | ||
- Includes Svenska Cupen, Belgian Cup, DFB-Pokal
- Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearance in Belgian Super Cup
International
- As of match played 26 March 2024[20]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ivory Coast | 2020 | 4 | 0 |
| 2021 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 23 | 0 | |
Club Brugge
Bayer Leverkusen
Ivory Coast
- "Duo från Elfenbenskusten besöker Hammarby" (in Swedish). Hammarby IF. 10 April 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- "Odilon och "Rooney" tillbaka i Hammarby" (in Swedish). Hammarby IF. 7 January 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- "Kossounou Odilon tillbaka i träning med Hammarby" (in Swedish). Hammarby IF. 22 July 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- "Odilon: En dröm att komma till Hammarby" (in Swedish). Hammarby IF. 11 January 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- "Kossounou Odilon på plats – avtalet påskrivet" (in Swedish). Hammarby IF. 11 January 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- "Smakstart med sagoslut i cuppremiären" (in Swedish). Hammarby IF. 19 February 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- "Matchens Lirare i Bajen mot Norrköping: Odilon Kossounou" (in Swedish). Hammarby IF. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- "Odilon klar för Club Brügge" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- "Klart – Hammarby säljer backen för rekordsumma" (in Swedish). Expressen. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- ""Det skulle till något exceptionellt på bordet"" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- "Dennis and Tau's Club Brugge declared Belgian champions". Goal. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- "Bayer 04 sign Ivorian international Kossounou". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 22 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- "Belgium vs. Côte d'Ivoire - 8 October 2020 - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com.
- "Afcon 2021: Holders Algeria crash out after Ivory Coast defeat". ESPN. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
- "LA LISTE" (in Portuguese). Ivorian Football Federation. 28 December 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2024 – via Facebook.
- "CÔTE D'IVOIRE" (PDF). Confederation of African Football. 5 January 2024.
- "Wonderkids: Odilon Kossounou". Soccerment. 12 January 2021.
- "Det vackra spelet". 22 March 2020.
- Odilon Kossounou at Soccerway. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
- Odilon Kossounou at National-Football-Teams.com
- "Club Brugge vs. Gent 3–2". Soccerway. 17 July 2021.
- "Bayer Leverkusen are 2023/24 Bundesliga champions!". Bundesliga. 15 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
- Stevens, Rob (11 February 2024). "Nigeria 1–2 Ivory Coast". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
- Odilon Kossounou at National-Football-Teams.com