Khalilou Fadiga

Khalilou Fadiga
Personal information
Full name Khalilou Fadiga
Date of birth (1974-12-30) 30 December 1974
Place of birth Dakar, Senegal
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Youth career
1981–1989 Les Enfants de la goutte d'or
1989–1990 Paris Saint-Germain
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1992 Les Enfants de la goutte d'or 0 (0)
1994–1995 Royal Liège 26 (5)
1995–1997 Lommel 48 (2)
1997–2001 Club Brugge 71 (13)
2000 → Auxerre (loan) 21 (1)
2001–2003 Auxerre 61 (9)
2003–2004 Internazionale 0 (0)
2004–2006 Bolton Wanderers 13 (1)
2005 → Derby County (loan) 4 (0)
2007 Coventry City 6 (0)
2008 Gent 17 (0)
2008 Germinal Beerschot 10 (0)
2011 KSV Temse 0 (0)
Total 277 (31)
National team
2000–2008 Senegal 37 (4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Khalilou Fadiga (born 30 December 1974) is a former Senegalese footballer midfielder. He also holds a Belgian passport.

Club career

Early career

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.

Lommel

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 two seasons at Lommel before he was spotted by Club Brugge.

Club Brugge

Fadiga quickly became a fan favorite. He scored nine goals in 67 appearances.In September 2000, the midfielder returned to France when he signed for AJ Auxerre.

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.

Internazionale

Fadiga moved to Inter Milan in the summer of 2003, but the discovery of heart problems did not 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.

Bolton Wanderers

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 five games.

At the start of the 2005–06 campaign Fadiga was loaned to Derby County of the Football League Championship, making four appearances. On his return to the Reebok Stadium he took part in ten games, two of them in the UEFA Cup, before eventually being released in May 2006.

Coventry City

Without a club at the start of the 2006–07 season, he went on trial with Portsmouth and 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 23 February 2007. In April 2007 he suffered a serious Achilles injury in the home game against Preston and it ended his time at Coventry.

Return to Belgium

He has since been released and returned to his wife's homeland signing with AA Gent. After one year he moved in June 2008 to K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot, but left Beerschot after short time in December 2008.[1] He signed for Third Division club KSV Temse in 2011 before retiring from the game.

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, in which he scored a penalty against Uruguay.

International goals

Scores and results list Senegal's goal tally first.[2]
No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 7 February 2000 National Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria  Nigeria 1–0 1–2 (a.e.t.) 2000 Africa Cup of Nations
2. 21 July 2001 Sam Nujoma Stadium, Windhoek, Namibia  Namibia 4–0 5–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
3. 6 June 2002 Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon, South Korea  Uruguay 1–0 3–3 2002 FIFA World Cup
4. 26 March 2005 Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor, Dakar, Senegal  Liberia 1–0 6–1 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification

References

  1. ↑ "OFFICIAL, Fadiga quits Germinal Beerschot". transfermarketweb.com. 23 December 2008. Retrieved 24 December 2008.
  2. ↑ "Fadiga, Khalilou". National Football Teams. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
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