Yssouf Koné

Yssouf Koné
Koné in 2008
Personal information
Date of birth (1982-02-19) 19 February 1982
Place of birth Korhogo, Ivory Coast
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2005 Raja Casablanca
2004Qingdao Hailifeng (loan) 16 (1)
2005–2006 Olympic Safi
2006–2008 Rosenborg 44 (16)
2008–2010 CFR Cluj 51 (16)
2011–2013 Vålerenga 11 (1)
Total 122 (34)
International career
2004–2010 Burkina Faso 13 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Yssouf Koné (born 19 February 1982) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. Born in Ivory Coast, he represented Burkina Faso at international level.

Club career

Early career

Koné was born on 19 February 1982 in Korhogo, Ivory Coast, starting to play senior level football in 2002 at Moroccan side, Raja Casablanca, winning the 2003–04 Botola title.[1][2][3] In 2004 he had a spell at Qingdao Hailifeng, making 16 appearances in the Chinese Super League, scoring once.[1][2][3] Afterwards he came back to Raja, winning the 2004–05 Moroccan Throne Cup.[1][2][3] In 2005 he went to play for Olympic Safi, also in Morocco.[1][2][3]

Rosenborg

In 2006, Koné signed with Rosenborg, making his debut in European competitions by playing in both legs of the 4–1 aggregate loss to Zenit Saint Petersburg from the sixteenths-finals of the 2005–06 UEFA Cup.[1][2][3][4] He made his Tippeligaen debut on 9 April 2006 when coach Per-Mathias Høgmo sent him on the field to replace Thorstein Helstad in the 68th minute of a 3–3 away draw against Lillestrøm.[5][6] He scored his first goal on 23 July in a 2–1 away loss to IK Start.[5] He netted a total of three goals in 16 matches until the end of the season as the team won the championship.[1][2][5]

Koné started to play more often in the following season as Daniel Braaten was sold to Bolton Wanderers.[7] He helped The Troll Children eliminate Zhenis and Tampere United in the 2007–08 Champions League qualifying rounds, netting four goals against the first and two against the latter.[1][8] Thus the club reached the group stage where he played in all six games, starting with a 1–1 home draw against Chelsea and scored two goals in a win over Valencia and a loss to Schalke 04.[1][9] As they finished third in the group, the team qualified to the sixteenths-finals of the UEFA Cup where they were defeated 3–1 on aggregate by Fiorentina, Koné netting his side's goal.[1][10] He helped Rosenborg win the 2008 Intertoto Cup, eliminating Ekranas against whom he scored three goals and NAC Breda.[1][11][12]

CFR Cluj

Koné was transferred from Rosenborg to CFR Cluj for €600.000 in the summer of 2008.[1][3][13] He made his Liga I debut on 24 August 2008 under coach Ioan Andone in a 2–1 away loss to FC Vaslui.[1][14] He netted his first goals in the competition on 21 September, managing a brace in 3–0 home victory against Farul Constanța.[1][15] Until the end of the season, he scored a personal record of 10 league goals, including four in 1–0 wins over Dinamo București, Unirea Urziceni, Gloria Buzău and Politehnica Iași.[1][16] He made six appearances in the 2008–09 Champions League group stage with The Railway Men, in the first one the team obtained a historical 2–1 victory at Stadio Olimpico against AS Roma, then in the last two, Koné scored once in losses against each of Roma and Chelsea.[1][17] At the end of the season he helped the team win the Cupa României, coach Toni Conceição using him all the minutes in the 3–0 win over Politehnica Timișoara from the final.[1][18]

Koné started the following season by winning the 2009 Supercupa României, coach Conceição sending him on the field in the 81st minute to replace Diego Ruiz in the victory at the penalty shoot-out against Unirea Urziceni.[1][19] He scored an important goal with a lob after a pass from Sebastián Dubarbier in a 2–1 win against FK Sarajevo from the 2009–10 Europa League play-off which helped the team reach the group stage where he played three games.[1][20] He scored his first league goal in a 2–2 draw against Steaua București, also netting a brace in a 2–0 win over Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț, contributing with a total of six goals in the 21 games in which coaches Conceição and Andrea Mandorlini used him, as the team won the championship.[1][21] He also helped CFR win another Cupa României, scoring a goal which helped them get past Dinamo in the semi-finals, then coach Mandorlini used him as a starter in the eventual penalty shoot-out win against FC Vaslui from the final.[1][22]

Vålerenga

In January 2011 he signed for the Norwegian team, Vålerenga.[1][3] He helped the club get past Mika in the 2011–12 Europa League second qualifying round, being eliminated by PAOK in the following round.[1][23] He netted his first goal for the team on 2 July 2011 in a 2–2 draw against Strømsgodset.[24] On 29 January 2013, his contract with Vålerenga was terminated by mutual consent.[25]

International career

Koné was born in Ivory Coast but represented Burkina Faso internationally, playing 13 games and scoring four goals at international level for them.[1][2][26] He made his debut on 30 May 2004 under coach Ivica Todorov in a friendly against Libya which ended with a 3–2 victory in which he opened the score.[2][27] His following appearance was in a 3–2 loss to DR Congo at the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, his third game being a 1–0 win over Senegal at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.[2] He played six games at the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, netting a double in a 2–1 away victory against Tunisia and one goal in a win over Seychelles.[2][28][29][30] Coach Paulo Duarte selected Koné to be part of the squad that went at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, using him in a goalless draw against Ivory Coast and a loss to Ghana as The Stallions did not get past the group stage.[2][26][31]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[1][2][7][32][33]
Club Season Division League Cup Continental Super Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Qingdao Hailifeng Chinese Super League 2004 16 1 16 1
Rosenborg Tippeligaen 2005 2[a] 0 2 0
2006 16 3 3 0 18 3
2007 19 9 1 2 12[b] 9 32 20
2008 9 4 1 0 3[c] 3 13 7
Total 44 16 5 2 17 12 66 30
CFR Cluj Liga I 2008–09 28 10 3 0 6[d] 2 37 12
2009–10 21 6 2 1 5[e] 1 1 0 29 8
2010–11 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Total 51 16 5 1 11 3 1 0 68 20
Vålerenga Tippeligaen 2011 11 1 2 1 4[e] 0 17 2
2012 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career total 122 34 12 4 32 15 1 0 167 53
  1. ^ Appearances in the UEFA Cup
  2. ^ 10 appearances with eight goals scored in the UEFA Champions League and two appearances with one goal in the UEFA Cup
  3. ^ Appearance in the UEFA Intertoto Cup
  4. ^ Appearances in the UEFA Champions League
  5. ^ a b Appearances in the UEFA Europa League

International

Scores and results list Burkina Faso's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Koné goal.
List of international goals scored by Yssouf Koné[2]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 30 May 2004 Stade du 4 Août, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso  Libya 1–0 3–2 Friendly [27]
2 1 June 2008 Hammadi Agrebi Stadium, Tunis, Tunisia  Tunisia 1–1 2–1 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification [28]
3 2–1 [28]
4 21 June 2008 Stade du 4 Août, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso  Seychelles 4–1 4–1 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification [29]

Honours

Raja Casablanca

Rosenborg

CFR Cluj

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab Yssouf Koné at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Yssouf Koné at National-Football-Teams.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Yssouf Kone a semnat un contract pe trei ani cu Valerenga" [Yssouf Kone signs three-year contract with Valerenga] (in Romanian). RomanianSoccer.ro. 29 January 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  4. ^ "Yssouf Koné. UEFA Cup 2005/2006". WorldFootball. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  5. ^ a b c "Yssouf Koné. Tippeligaen 2006". WorldFootball. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  6. ^ "Lillestrøm SK - Rosenborg BK 3:3". WorldFootball. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Koné klar for Cluj" [Koné ready for Cluj] (in Romanian). Rbkweb.no. 26 June 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  8. ^ "Yssouf Koné. Champions League Qualifiers 2007/2008". WorldFootball. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  9. ^ "Yssouf Koné. Champions League 2007/2008". WorldFootball. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  10. ^ "Champions League 2007/2008. Group B". WorldFootball. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
    "Yssouf Koné. UEFA Cup 2007/2008". WorldFootball. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  11. ^ a b "Intertoto Cup 2008". WorldFootball. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  12. ^ "Intertoto Cup 2008. 3. Round". WorldFootball. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  13. ^ "Yssouf Kone va juca la CFR Cluj" [Yssouf Kone will play for CFR Cluj] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 29 July 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  14. ^ "Vaslui 2-1 CFR Cluj(Burdujan x2/Cadu)" (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 24 August 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  15. ^ "CFR Cluj 3-0 Farul Constanta(Kone x2, Dubardier)" (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 21 September 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  16. ^ "CFR-ul revine in lupta pentru titlu: 1-0 cu Dinamo! CUM COMENTEZI?" [CFR returns to the title fight: 1-0 with Dinamo! WHAT DO YOU COMMENT ON?] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 17 October 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
    "CFR, gata de Bordeaux! CFR 1-0 Unirea Urziceni! Comenteaza aici!" [CFR, ready for Bordeaux! CFR 1-0 Unirea Urziceni! Comment here!] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 31 October 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
    "Kone le-a umflat Buzau'! Gloria Buzau 0-1 CFR Cluj!" [Kone blew them away in Buzau! Gloria Buzau 0-1 CFR Cluj!] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 7 March 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
    "Acelasi joc, alt antrenor: Poli Iasi 0-1 CFR Cluj (Kone '79)" [Same game, different coach: Poli Iasi 0-1 CFR Cluj (Kone '79)] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 7 April 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  17. ^ "Primari, antrenori, preoți! Ce fac acum jucătorii CFR-ului care au învins Roma pe Olimpico" [Mayors, coaches, priests! What are the CFR players who beat Roma at the Olimpico doing now?] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 26 November 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
    "FINAL AS Roma - CFR Cluj 1-2 Victorie incredibila: Culio cucereste Roma!" [FINAL AS Roma - CFR Cluj 1-2 Incredible victory: Culio conquers Rome!] (in Romanian). Hotnews.ro. 16 September 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  18. ^ "Romanian Cup – Season 2008–2009". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
    "Cupa ramane la Cluj! CFR 3-0 Timisoara! (Deac '6, Peralta '28, Culio '53)" [The cup remains in Cluj! CFR 3-0 Timisoara! (Deac '6, Peralta '28, Culio '53)] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 13 June 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  19. ^ "CFR Cluj a castigat Supercupa Romaniei: Unirea 1-1 CFR (3-4 d.p)" [CFR Cluj won the Romanian Supercup: Unirea 1-1 CFR (3-4 d.p.)] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 26 July 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  20. ^ "CFR, in grupele Europa League! CFR Cluj 2-1 FK Sarajevo!" [CFR, in the Europa League groups! CFR Cluj 2-1 FK Sarajevo!] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 27 August 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
    "Yssouf Koné. Europa League Qualifiers 2009/2010". WorldFootball. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
    "Yssouf Koné. Europa League 2009/2010". WorldFootball. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  21. ^ "Romania National Champions". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
    "CFR pune capat victoriilor Stelei! Steaua 2-2 CFR Cluj!" [CFR puts an end to Steaua's victories! Steaua 2-2 CFR Cluj!] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 9 August 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
    "CFR Cluj învinge cu 2-0 pe Ceahlăul și urcă pe primul loc" [CFR Cluj defeats Ceahlău 2-0 and climbs to first place] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 12 December 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  22. ^ "Romanian Cup – Season 2009–2010". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
    "Finala din semifinale! Dinamo – CFR 1-1" [The semi-finals final! Dinamo – CFR 1-1] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 24 March 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
    "CFR - Dinamo 2-1, clujenii merg în finală!" [CFR - Dinamo 2-1, the team from Cluj goes to the final!] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 14 April 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
    "FC Vaslui - CFR Cluj 4-5. Ardelenii au câştigat Cupa României la penalty-uri" [FC Vaslui - CFR Cluj 4-5. The Transylvanians won the Romanian Cup on penalties] (in Romanian). Evz.ro. 27 May 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  23. ^ "Yssouf Koné. Europa League Qualifiers 2011/2012". WorldFootball. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  24. ^ "Yssouf Koné. Tippeligaen 2011". WorldFootball. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  25. ^ "Vålerenga avsluttet ekteskapet med Koné" (in Norwegian). Dittoslo.no. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  26. ^ a b "FOCUS: Cinci fotbaliști din Liga I au fost selecționați pentru Cupa Africii pe Națiuni 2010" [FOCUS: Five footballers from Liga I were selected for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations] (in Romanian). Mediafax.ro. 8 January 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  27. ^ a b "Burkina Faso vs. Libya, 30 May 2004". National-football-teams.com. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  28. ^ a b c "Tunisia vs. Burkina Faso, 1 June 2008". National-football-teams.com. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  29. ^ a b "Burkina Faso vs. Seychelles, 21 June 2008". National-football-teams.com. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  30. ^ "Soccer-Substitute gives Burkina Faso surprise win in Tunisia". Reuters. 1 June 2008. Archived from the original on 14 December 2008.
  31. ^ "Ivory Coast 0-0 Burkina Faso". Bbc.co.uk. 11 January 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
    "Africa Cup of Nations: Burkina Faso 0-1 Ghana - as it happened". Theguardian.com. 19 January 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
    "Ivory Coast in disappointing draw". Timeslive.co.za. 12 January 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  32. ^ Yssouf Koné at WorldFootball.net
  33. ^ "Yssouf Koné´s career". Besoccer.com. Retrieved 8 July 2025.