Khalilou Fadiga

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Khalilou Fadiga (born December 30, 1974 in Dakar) is a Senegalese and French football player who plays in midfield for Germinal Beerschot Antwerpen in Belgium. He also holds a Belgian passport.

[edit] Club career

[edit] PSG

Fadiga moved to France when he was six years old. Fadiga began his career at Paris Saint-Germain in France, but failed to make an impression, and so was transferred to fellow Parisian club, Red Star 93, before moving to Belgian club FC Liège.

[edit] Career in Belgium

It was in Belgium that he found the profile that was to launch his international career. After one season he moved from FC Liège to Lommel, which is now KVSK United. He played 2 seasons at Lommel before he was spotted by Club Brugge. Fadiga quickly became a fan favorite. He scored 9 goals in 67 appearances.

[edit] Move to Auxerre

In September 2000, the midfielder returned to France when he signed for AJ Auxerre. In all, he played in 82 league games for the French club, scoring 10 goals as well as appearing in the Champions League and UEFA Cup during season 2002-03.

[edit] Inter Milan

Fadiga moved to Inter Milan in the summer of 2003, but the discovery of heart problems didn't allow him to feature for the Italian club, apart from appearing in a few friendly games during the Summer. He was released from the San Siro side after just one season, but decided against retirement despite the heart problems.

[edit] Move to England

English club Bolton Wanderers signed Fadiga for the 2004-05 season, after he passed a medical. However before he made an appearance for Bolton, he collapsed prior to a match in October, and had to be fitted with a defibrillator due to an irregular heartbeat. Despite stating his desire to return to the game, medical specialists urged him to retire, warning that if during a game his chest was knocked the defibrillator could fail, leading to instant death.

However, following a period of rest and passing a medical, Fadiga returned to the Bolton squad in early 2005 and played in 5 games. At the start of the 2005-06 campaign Fadiga was loaned to Derby County of the Football League Championship, making 4 appearances. On his return to the Reebok Stadium he took part in 10 games, 2 of them in the UEFA Cup, before eventually being released in May 2006 after largely failing to impress Bolton boss Sam Allardyce. In March 2006, despite scoring a goal in a 1-1 away draw against Portsmouth F.C., he also missed a penalty in the same match, ultimately costing Bolton a victory which could have helped them qualify for Europe for a second consecutive season, a factor that may have precipitated his demise with the club.

Without a club at the start of the 2006-07 season, he has gone on trial with Portsmouth F.C. and has played for their reserve team. He also had trials at Watford and Hull City before eventually signing a four-month contract with Coventry City on February 23, 2007. He has since been released and returned to his wife's homeland signing with AA Gent.

[edit] International career

Fadiga earned his first caps for the Senegal national side during his final season in Belgium. Being a Belgian passport holder through his marriage, Fadiga was also eligible to play for Belgium, but opted to represent Senegal instead, becoming an instrumental member of the team during the qualifying campaign for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and the final tournament itself.

[edit] External links

• Khalilou Fadiga career stats at Soccerbase
• BBC profile

v • d • e Senegal squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Sylva • 2 Daf • 3 Sarr • 4 Malick Diop • 5 N'Dour • 6 Cissé • 7 H. Camara • 8 Traoré • 9 S. Camara • 10 Fadiga • 11 Diouf • 12 Faye • 13 Diatta • 14 Moussa N'Diaye • 15 Diao • 16 Diallo • 17 Coly • 18 Thiaw • 19 Bouba Diop • 20 S. N'Diaye • 21 Beye • 22 Cissokho • 23 Makhtar N'Diaye • Coach: Metsu