Didier Zokora
Zokora playing for Trabzonspor in 2012
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Déguy Alain Didier Zokora | ||
| Date of birth | 14 December 1980 | ||
| Place of birth | Abidjan, Ivory Coast | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
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Current team
|
NorthEast United | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–1999 | Académie MimoSifcom | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1999–2000 | ASEC Mimosas | 1 | (0) |
| 2000–2004 | Racing Genk | 130 | (2) |
| 2004–2006 | Saint-Étienne | 74 | (0) |
| 2006–2009 | Tottenham Hotspur | 134 | (0) |
| 2009–2011 | Sevilla | 79 | (0) |
| 2011–2014 | Trabzonspor | 105 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Akhisar Belediyespor | 30 | (0) |
| 2015 | Pune City | 13 | (0) |
| 2016– | North East United | 14 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 2000–2014 | Ivory Coast | 123 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 5 December 2016. |
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Déguy Alain Didier Zokora (born 14 December 1980), commonly known as Didier Zokora, is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays for Indian club North East United FC in the Indian Super League. He represented the Ivory Coast national team for nearly 15 years, beginning in 2000, and is currently the nation's most capped player.
Zokora was born in Abidjan, at Académie MimoSifcom. He was offered a professional contract along with his younger brother, Armando, with Ivorian club ASEC Mimosas. Tragedy struck though as Armando drowned to death celebrating at the beach in Grand-Bassam; in memory of his brother and hero, Zokora has Armand tattoed on his right forearm.
In 2000, Zokora moved abroad to play for Belgian side Genk, where he won the Jupiler League during the 2001–02 campaign, as manager Sef Vergoossen was named Coach of the Year and Wesley Sonck won top goal-scorer honors in the league. Zokora went on to feature in 126 matches for the club and was memorably part of the squad that recorded a 1–1 home draw with Real Madrid on 12 November 2002. In the summer of 2004, he joined Saint-Étienne in the French Ligue 1.
Zokora joined Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2006 following his performances for the Ivory Coast at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. The deal was reported by media as being worth £8.2 million. Shortly after joining the Premier League club, it was announced on 24 October 2006 that Zokora had contracted malaria after falling ill on the morning of a UEFA Cup group match against Beşiktaş in Istanbul. Zokora was in the hospital for four days and then spent a period of two weeks recovering, missing the win over Beşiktaş, two Premier League matches and a League Cup fixture as well. It was announced on 31 October that Zokora had returned to training with first-team.
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