Didier Ya Konan

Didier Ya Konan (born 22 May 1984[3][4]) is an Ivorian former footballer who played as a forward for the Ivory Coast national team.

Didier Ya Konan

Ya Konan in July 2015
Personal information
Full name	Didier Ya Konan[1]
Date of birth	22 May 1984
Place of birth	Angouakro, Ivory Coast[2]
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
2003	Sepahan
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2003–2006	ASEC Mimosas	77	(13)
2006–2009	Rosenborg	50	(13)
2009–2014	Hannover 96	124	(39)
2014–2015	Al-Ittihad	14	(8)
2015	Hannover 96	7	(1)
2015–2017	Fortuna Düsseldorf	20	(4)
National team^‡
2006–2017	Ivory Coast	27	(7)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 09:56, 1 December 2018 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 June 2014

Club career

Born in Angouakro, Ya Konan started his professional career with ASEC Mimosas in 2003, a club that is known for producing players, such as Kolo Touré and Didier Zokora. He was the top scorer in the African Champions League competition that season, with ASEC eventually failing in the semi finals, to Egyptian club Al Ahly.

In December 2006, he signed for Rosenborg,[5] for a three-year contract in the Norwegian Premier League.

In January 2007, Ya Konan was nominated for the Ivorian Footballer of the Year award for 2006, which was eventually won by Chelsea's striker Didier Drogba. He was one of two homeland-based players at the time to be nominated, the other being former ASEC teammate Bakary Soro.[6]

On 11 August 2009, Ya Konan moved to Bundesliga side Hannover 96, initially signing a three-year contract.[7]

Following the 2013–14 season, he left Germany and completed a move to Al-Ittihad of the Saudi Professional League.

On 27 January 2015, he returned to Hannover 96, where he signed a one-year contract.[8]

On 25 June 2015, Ya Konan signed a two-year deal with Fortuna Düsseldorf.[9]

International career

Ya Konan was called up to the Ivory Coast national football team for the 2008 African Cup of Nations qualifier against Gabon on 5 October 2006.[10] In March 2007, he was one of four players to receive a late call-up for the Ivorian's African Cup of Nations qualifier against Madagascar in Antananarivo, due to injuries to other members of the squad.

Career statistics

As of 16 November 2013

Season	Club	League			Cup		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Rosenborg	2007	Tippeligaen	20	6	2	3	9	1	31	10
	2008		22	6	0	0	8	2	30	8
	2009		8	1	3	2	4	1	15	4
	Total		50	13	5	5	21	4	76	22
Hannover 96	2009–10	Bundesliga	25	9	0	0	0	0	25	9
	2010–11		28	14	0	0	0	0	28	14
	2011–12		28	6	1	0	12	1	41	7
	2012–13		27	7	2	0	8	4	37	11
	2013–14		16	3	0	0	0	0	16	3
	2014–15		7	1	0	0	0	0	7	1
	Total		131	40	3	0	20	5	154	45
Career total			181	53	8	5	41	9	230	67

• All European competition includes: Champions League, Champions League qualifying, Europa League and Europe League qualifying

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	8 February 2011	Stade Georges Pompidou, Valence, France	Mali	1–0	1–0	Friendly
2	11 May 2011	Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Ivory Coast	Namibia	4–1	5–1	Friendly
3	5 June 2011	Stade de l'Amitié, Cotonou, Benin	Benin	0–1	2–6	2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification – Group H
4	10 August 2011	Stade de Geneve, Geneve, Switzerland	Israel	1–0	4–3	Friendly
5	3 September 2011	Stade Amahoro, Kigali, Rwanda	Rwanda	0–4	0–5	2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification – Group H
6	14 November 2012	Linzer Stadion, Linz, Austria	Austria	0–1	0–3	Friendly
7	14 January 2013	Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	Egypt	4–2	4–2	Friendly
8	26 January 2013	Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg, South Africa	Tunisia	3–0	3–0	2013 Africa Cup of Nations

Honours

Club

ASEC Mimosas

• Côte d'Ivoire Premier Division: 2004, 2005, 2006
• Côte d'Ivoire Cup: 2005
• Coupe Houphouët-Boigny: 2004, 2006

Rosenborg

• Norwegian Premier League Championship: 2009[11]

Ivory Coast

• Africa Cup of Nations runner-up:2012[12][13]

References

1. "List of Players" (PDF). Confederation of African Football (CAF). Retrieved 24 January 2013.
2. "Didier Ya Konan - National Football Teams". Retrieved 9 June 2019.
3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
4. "Current Squad (from 07/2011)". Hannover 96. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
5. "Ivorian Ya Konan joins Rosenborg". BBC Sport. 29 December 2006. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
6. "Drogba swoops Ivorian award". BBC Sport. 6 January 2007. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
7. "Hannover 96 holt Didier Ya Konan" (in German). Hannover 96. 11 August 2009. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
8. "Ya Konan kehrt zu 96 zurück - Vertrag bis Saisonende". Hannover 96. 27 January 2015. Archived from the original on 27 January 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
9. "Ya Konan wird Fortune" [Ya Konan is going to become a "Fortune"] (in German). kicker. 25 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
10. "Ivory Coast drop Kalou". BBC sport. 5 October 2006. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
11. Berre, Tor. "Mestvinnende spillere" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
12. https://africanfootball.com/team/39/Cote-d-Ivoire/25/2012-Africa-Cup-of-Nations/
13. https://africanfootball.com/tournament-matches/25/2012-Africa-Cup-of-Nations/

External links

• Didier Ya Konan at fussballdaten.de (in German)
• "Biography on Rosenborg site (rbk.no)" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 19 December 2007. Retrieved 16 September 2007.
• "Profile on Guardian Unlimited (guardian.touch-line.com)". Archived from the original on 6 May 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
• Didier Ya Konan at Soccerway