Kanga Gauthier Akalé (born 7 March 1981) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Kanga Akalé
Akalé with Lens in 2009
Personal information
Full name Kanga Gauthier Akalé[1]
Date of birth (1981-03-07) 7 March 1981 (age 45)
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)
2007–2008Marseille (loan) 19 (1)
2008–2009Recreativo 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

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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

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He has 35 caps for the national team, and was called up to the 2006 World Cup.

Personal life

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Akalé holds both Ivorian and French nationalities.[7] His son Aaron is a youth international for France.[8][9]

Career statistics

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Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Total Ref.
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Stella Club 1998 Ligue 1 (Ivory Coast) 176176 [10]
Sion 1998–99 Nationalliga A 256256 [10]
FC Zürich 1999–2000 Nationalliga A 602080 [11]
2000–01 16210172 [11]
2001–02 28100281 [11]
2002–03 18574259 [11]
Total 68800001047812
Auxerre 2002–03 Ligue 1 60300010100 [11]
2003–04 234103040314 [11]
2004–05 3136130111515 [11]
2005–06 314002020354 [11]
2006–07 3591020614410 [11]
Total 1262011110024217123
Lens 2007–08 Ligue 1 90000063153 [11]
2009–10 282502000352 [11]
2010–11 303001000313 [11]
Total 675503063818
Marseille (loan) 2007–08 Ligue 1 191201000221 [11]
Recreativo de Huelva (loan) 2008–09 La Liga 2602100281 [11]
Lekhwiya 2011–12 Qatar Stars League 2020 [10]
Panetolikos 2011–12 Super League Greece 9090 [11]
Arles-Avignon 2012–13 Ligue 2 40200060 [11][12]
Career total 3634622214040943957

International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year[10]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Ivory Coast 200210
200350
200430
200541
2006122
200720
200880
Total353
Scores and results list the Ivory Coast's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Akalé goal.
List of international goals scored by Kanga Akalé[10]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
4 June 2006Bondoufle, France Slovenia3–0Friendly
14 June 2008Gaborone, Botswana Botswana1–12010 FIFA World Cup Qualification

Honours

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Ivory Coast

References

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  1. "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  2. "PSG-Auxerre, c'était déjà il y a 12 ans". europe1.fr. 28 May 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  3. "Auxerre pakt Franse beker". voetbalkrant.com. 5 June 2005. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  4. بدلا من بكارى: لخويا يضم العاجى كانجا أكالى (in Arabic)
  5. "Υπέγραψε ο Ακαλέ". Archived from the original on 2 February 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  6. Kanga Akalé pour 2 ans! AC Arles-Avignon official homepage. 24 October 2012. (in French)
  7. "Kanga Akalé". Ligue1 (in French). Archived from the original on 3 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  8. ami-sportif.com (30 January 2023). "Football : Aaron Akalé, fils d'Akalé Kanga, signe ses débuts en pro – ami-sportif.com" (in French). Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  9. "Aaron Akalé". www.fff.fr. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Kanga Akalé at National-Football-Teams.com
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "Kanga Akalé » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  12. Kanga Akalé at Soccerway
  13. "African Nations Cup 2006".
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