Steve Gohouri

Steve Gohouri

Gohouri while at Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2007
Personal information
Full nameLohoré Steve Ulrich Gohouri[1]
Date of birth8 February 1981
Place of birthTreichville, Ivory Coast
Height1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in)[2]
Playing positionDefender
Club information
Current team
Free Agent
Youth career
CS Brétigny
Paris Saint-Germain
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1998–2000Paris Saint-Germain0(0)
2000Bnei Yehuda13(4)
2000–2003Yverdon-Sport73(12)
2003→ Bologna (loan)0(0)
2003–2005Vaduz53(10)
2005–2006Young Boys37(8)
2007–2009Borussia Mönchengladbach45(2)
2009–2010Borussia Mönchengladbach II4(0)
2010–2012Wigan Athletic42(2)
2012–2013Maccabi Tel Aviv10(1)
2013Skoda Xanthi2(0)
2014–FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt3(0)
National team‡
2006–Côte d'Ivoire13(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14 January 2013.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 29 February 2012

Lohoré Steve Ulrich Gohouri (born 8 February 1981), known as Steve Gohouri, is an Ivorian footballer who plays as a defender for German club FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt.

Gohouri started his career in France, playing in the youth teams at CS Brétigny and Paris Saint-Germain. Due to a lack of first team opportunities, he had a brief spell in Israel with Bnei Yehuda before moving to Switzerland and joining Yverdon-Sport. He spent the next seven seasons in the Swiss leagues, later playing for Vaduz, where he made his debut in European competition, and Young Boys, where he won a runners-up medal in the Swiss Cup.

In 2007, he signed for Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga. He struggled to become a regular in the first team, and was eventually demoted to the reserves in 2009. He was released by the club at the end of the year, and signed for Premier League side Wigan Athletic. He has also represented Côte d'Ivoire at international level, but has only played sporadically since first appearing for his country in 2006.

Club career

Early career

Gohouri was born in Treichville, Ivory Coast. At the age of five, he moved to France with his family, and grew up in the suburbs of Paris.[3] He started his career with CS Brétigny,[4] where he played in the same youth team as Patrice Evra.[3] He then spent two years at Paris Saint-Germain,[5] but failed to break into the first-team. He signed for Israeli side Bnei Yehuda midway through the 1999–2000 season.[6] He made his debut on 5 February 2000 against Hapoel Haifa, scoring the opening goal in a 1–1 draw. He scored two more goals in the next game – a 2–1 win against Beitar Jerusalem,[7] and instantly became a fan favourite at the club.[8] He finished the season with four goals in 13 appearances as the club avoided relegation from the Israeli Premier League with an 11th-place finish.[7]

Switzerland

He left the club at the end of the season and joined Yverdon-Sport in Switzerland. He was initially signed by the club as a striker, scoring nine goals in his first season at the club as they were relegated from Nationalliga A. However, his coach Gabet Chapuisat felt that if Gohouri switched to playing in defence, he "could probably play in any league in the world".[3] He has since played primarily as a central defender,[9] but can also play at right-back or left-back.[10] In January 2003, he moved to Bologna on loan for six months,[11] but did not appear in Serie A during the spell. He moved to Vaduz the following summer. In July 2004, he made his debut in European competition in a UEFA Cup Preliminary Round tie against Longford Town.[12][13] In September 2005 he signed for Young Boys, having agreed a four-year contract with the club.[14]

Borussia Mönchengladbach

Gohouri left Young Boys for Borussia Mönchengladbach on a three and a half-year contract on 28 December 2006 for a transfer fee of €1.5 million.[15] He made his Bundesliga debut on 27 January 2007 against Energie Cottbus.[16] In summer 2009, he was demoted to Borussia's reserves and was released in late December after a clash between the Club and his representative and best friend Rui Alves.

Wigan Athletic

On 12 January 2010, Gohouri joined Wigan Athletic of the Premier League, signing until the end of the season.[17] He scored his first goal for Wigan on 3 May 2010 against Hull City. The equalizer brought the game to 2–2 and relegated Hull, prompting a pitch invasion at the DW Stadium.[18]

On 7 May 2010, Gohouri signed a new two-year contract with Wigan to extend his stay at the club until the end of the 2011–12 campaign.[19] During the 2010–11 season, he made 28 appearances in all competitions, including a goal Gohouri scored against Liverpool in a 1–1 draw on 12 February and was rewarded with another contract extension, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2013.[20] Unfortunately the 2011–12 season started badly for Gohouri, getting sent off against Tottenham Hotspur after picking up a second yellow card during a match on 24 September as well as falling down to the pecking order, making just 10 league appearances.Subsequently, Gohouri was released by Wigan when his contract expired at the end of the 2011–12 season.

Skoda Xanthi

On 29 June 2013, Gohouri joined the Skoda Xanthi F.C. which is playing in the Greek Superleague.[21]

International career

Gohouri made his debut for the Côte d'Ivoire national team in August 2006 against Senegal.[5] In March 2007, he scored his first two goals for the team in a friendly against Mauritius.[22] He also played in the African Cup of Nations qualifier against Madagascar in Antananarivo, scoring the opening goal in the 3–0 victory.[23]

International goals

Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 21 March 2007 Stade Anjalay, Belle Vue Maurel  Mauritius 2–0 3–0 Friendly
2 21 March 2007 Stade Anjalay, Belle Vue Maurel  Mauritius 3–0 3–0 Friendly
3 25 March 2007 Stade Mahama Sina, Antananarivo  Madagascar 1–0 3–0 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Career statistics

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Israel League Israel State Cup Toto Cup Europe Total
1999-00Bnei Yehuda Tel-AvivPremier League 134------134
Switzerland League Schweizer Cup League Cup Europe Total
2000–01Yverdon-SportNationalliga A 349-----349
2001–02Nationalliga B 182-----182
2002–03 201-----201
2003–04VaduzChallenge League 185-----185
2004–05 285---30315
2005–06 70---41111
Young BoysSuper League 20550---255
2006–07 16330-40233
Germany League DFB-Pokal Other Europe Total
2006–07Borussia M'gladbachBundesliga 140------140
2007–082. Bundesliga 17010----180
2008–09Bundesliga 152------152
Borussia M'gladbach IIRegionalliga West 10------10
2009–10 30------30
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
2009–10Wigan AthleticPremier League 5110----61
2010–11 271--10--281
2011–12 100------100
Total Israel 134------134
Switzerland 1613080-11118031
Germany 50210----512
England 422101000442
Career total 266381001011128839

References

  1. ↑ "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/01/2010 and 31/01/2010" (PDF). The Football Association. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
  2. ↑ "Premier League Player Profile". Premier League. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Gohouri out to haunt pal Drog". The Sun. 8 May 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
  4. ↑ http://csbretignyfootball.fr/club/pros[]
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Steve Gohouri". FIFA.com. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
  6. ↑ "Israel Squads Premier League 1999/00". RSSSF. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Israel 1999/2000". RSSSF. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  8. ↑ איפה הם היום – גורי גורי (in Hebrew). Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  9. ↑ "Steve Gohouri: Abräumer mit Torinstinkt" (in German). RP Online. 4 January 2007. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
  10. ↑ "Gohouri – First Interview". Wigan Athletic F.C. 12 January 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  11. ↑ "Nervo s' allunga la vita rossoblù Beppe aspetta: Bologna o l' estero" (in Italian). repubblica. 4 January 2003. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  12. ↑ "Steve Gohouri". UEFA.com. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  13. ↑ "European tie still alive for brave Town". Leitrim Observer. 22 July 2004. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  14. ↑ "Gohouri von Vaduz zu YB" (in German). fussball.ch. 27 September 2005. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  15. ↑ Ives, Chris. "Foals complete Gohouri swoop". Sky Sports. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
  16. ↑ "Tactical Formation". Football-Lineups.com. Retrieved 29 January 2007.
  17. ↑ "Wigan sign Ivory Coast defender Steven Gohouri". BBC Sport. 12 January 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
  18. ↑ "Wigan 2–2 Hull". BBC Sport. 3 May 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  19. ↑ "Gohouri signs new Wigan deal". Ontheminute.com. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  20. ↑ "Gohouri extends Latics deal". Sky Sports. 5 June 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
  21. ↑ Ανακοίνωση (in Greek). Skoda Xanthi. 29 June 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  22. ↑ "Elephants stroll to Mauritius win". BBC Sport. 21 March 2007. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  23. ↑ "Ivory Coast cruise in Group 1". BBC Sport. 25 March 2007. Retrieved 9 June 2011.

External links