Frédéric Kanouté

1. Overview

Frédéric Oumar Kanouté is a former professional footballer from France with Malian heritage, widely recognized for his impactful career as a striker. He achieved his greatest club success with La Liga side Sevilla, where he became an iconic figure and the club's highest-scoring foreign player. Kanouté's career was marked by significant achievements, including winning two consecutive UEFA Cups with Sevilla in 2006 and 2007. In 2007, he was named the African Footballer of the Year, a historic recognition as the first player born outside Africa to receive the award. Beyond his on-field prowess, Kanouté is also celebrated for his deep commitment to his Islamic faith and extensive social justice and humanitarian work, including establishing a children's village in Mali and publicly advocating for social causes.

2. Early life

Frédéric Oumar Kanouté was born on 2 September 1977, in Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon, Rhône, France. Standing at 6.3 ft ^{(1.92 m)}, his dual French-Malian heritage stems from his father being Malian, which later allowed him to represent Mali internationally. He began his football journey in his local area, where his talents as a striker were quickly recognized.

3. Club career

Kanouté's professional club career spanned several top-tier leagues across Europe and Asia, where he consistently demonstrated his scoring ability and technical skill.

3.4. Sevilla FC

On 17 August 2005, Kanouté made a significant move to Spanish club Sevilla for a fee of 6.50 M EUR. His tenure at Sevilla proved to be the most successful period of his club career. In his first season, the 2005-06 season, he played 32 matches and scored 6 goals. He was a second-half substitute in the 2006 UEFA Cup Final against Middlesbrough, where he scored in the 89th minute, contributing to Sevilla's dominant 4-0 victory.

In the 2006-07 UEFA Cup campaign, Kanouté faced his former club, Tottenham Hotspur. He scored a penalty at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium in a match that was marred by crowd disturbances, and also found the net at White Hart Lane, helping Sevilla to a 4-3 aggregate victory. During the 2006-07 season, Kanouté was instrumental in Sevilla's pursuit of a La Liga title, though they ultimately finished third, with Real Madrid securing the championship. He scored 21 goals in 32 league appearances that season. He also scored the decisive goal in the 2006-07 Copa del Rey final against Getafe, securing a 1-0 victory for Sevilla. Furthermore, he scored in the 2006-07 UEFA Cup final against RCD Espanyol, which Sevilla won after a penalty shootout, successfully defending their title.

Kanouté remained a consistent and vital member of the team, helping Sevilla qualify for a UEFA Cup position in 2008 and direct qualification for the UEFA Champions League in 2009. On the opening day of the 2009-10 season, he was sent off against Valencia after receiving two yellow cards for fouls in first-half stoppage time.

During the 2011-12 season, Kanouté received two yellow cards against FC Barcelona for kicking the ball off the penalty spot as Lionel Messi prepared to take it, followed by an altercation with Cesc Fàbregas. His farewell season in Spain was hampered by injuries, limiting him to 26 matches, where he scored four goals and provided two assists. He departed Sevilla at the end of his contract in the summer of 2012.

Kanouté became an iconic figure at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, netting 136 goals in 290 matches across all competitions. During his highly successful period with the club, he helped secure two UEFA Cups, one UEFA Super Cup, two Copa del Rey trophies, and one Supercopa de España.

4. International career

Kanouté initially played for the France national under-21 team, making 11 appearances and scoring one goal between 1998 and 1999. Despite his eligibility for the senior French national team after turning 21 in 1998, he was not called up in 2000, 2002, or 2004. In 2004, FIFA revised its rules, allowing players to represent the national team of the country where their mother or father was born. Given this new eligibility, Kanouté chose to represent Mali, the country of his father's birth, over France.

He quickly became a key player for Mali, serving as a joint top goal scorer at the 2004 African Cup of Nations. Kanouté scored four goals in four matches, leading Mali to the semi-finals, where they were ultimately defeated by Morocco. In October 2007, following a 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier match where Mali eliminated Togo, Kanouté and his Malian teammate Mamady Sidibé were attacked by irate Togolese fans. Frédéric Kanouté announced his retirement from international football after Mali's elimination from the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. He concluded his international career with a total of 38 caps and 23 goals for Mali.

5. Playing style

Frédéric Kanouté was renowned for his distinctive playing style, characterized by a blend of technical skill, physical presence, and tactical intelligence. In 2001, The Irish Times described him as "highly skilful, quick-footed, quick-witted and with an eye for the spectacular." Upon his signing for Sevilla in 2005, the club's sporting director, Monchi, highlighted his attributes, stating, "He's tall, good in the air, skilful and strong and can play up front or just behind the lead striker." Throughout his career, Kanouté was consistently recognized for his keen eye for goal. In 2020, Chris Howie of beIN Sports characterized him as a "tall, languid, graceful" striker, also noting him as a "late bloomer," suggesting his peak performance came later in his career.

6. Personal life and faith

Kanouté converted to Islam around the age of 20, and his faith has profoundly influenced his personal life and career decisions. He is married to Fatima and they have two children, Ibrahim and Imam. During his time at Sevilla, he notably refused to wear a club shirt bearing the name of sponsor 888.com because the website was associated with gambling, which is against Islamic principles. As a result, the club provided him with a brand-free jersey for each match. The company eventually agreed to exempt him from their publicity campaigns in exchange for him wearing the sponsored kit, which was part of the players' contractual duties.

In 2007, Kanouté demonstrated his deep commitment to his faith by personally contributing over 700.00 K USD to purchase a mosque in Seville. The mosque's lease had expired, and it was slated for sale, prompting the Islamic community in Spain to seek his assistance. He further aided in raising over 1.00 M USD through a crowdfunding campaign to support the construction of the mosque. Kanouté has consistently affirmed that his faith never caused issues with his coaching staff, teammates, or fans. He has stated that "Islam has helped me to be this way, so this is normal. It's a path you take to keep you calm, to help you think about the place you live in, to love your neighbour. It's strange when I hear about all these problems of terrorism because it's the opposite of what I understood for Islam." He also observes fasting during the Islamic month of Ramadan, noting that he can maintain the fast even while playing, despite the challenges posed by the heat in southern Spain.

In January 2009, following a goal in a Copa del Rey match against Deportivo La Coruña, Kanouté famously lifted his jersey to reveal a black shirt underneath emblazoned with the word "Palestine". This action was widely interpreted as a protest against the Israeli Army operation in the Gaza Strip that was ongoing at the time. For displaying a political message, Kanouté received a yellow card and was subsequently fined around 4.00 K USD by the league.

7. Social and humanitarian work

Frédéric Kanouté has a strong dedication to various humanitarian causes. In 2006, he launched an appeal to establish a "Children's Village" in Mali, which has since become the well-established Sakina Children's Village. He has spoken extensively about his foundation and the village in the book How to do good: Essays in Building a Better World, published in December 2016. In 2017, he participated in a speaker tour inspired by the book, giving talks in cities such as Oslo, Stockholm, Paris, and London alongside other humanitarians and philanthropists, advocating for a better world.

8. Career statistics

9. Honours

Frédéric Kanouté achieved numerous team and individual honors throughout his distinguished career.

Lyon

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1997

Sevilla

• Copa del Rey: 2006-07, 2009-10
• Supercopa de España: 2007
• UEFA Cup: 2005-06, 2006-07
• UEFA Super Cup: 2006

Individual

• Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2004
• African Footballer of the Year: 2007
• ESM Team of the Season: 2006-07