Pratik Dogra
A French born Malian, Kanouté`s potential as a tall striker first caught the eye of his local team, Olympique Lyonnais, whom he joined as an apprentice as early as 1997. He even turned out for the French Under-21 team while at the club.
At the start of the decade, he joined the premiership side West Ham United, for whom he went on to play for 84 times. He scored 29 goals for the East London club, a very successful stint by any yardstick. His speed and awareness attracted interest from other English biggies. Eventually, it was Tottenham Hotspur who got the prized catch at the end of the 2002-03 season.
Although eligible for either, Kanouté decided to play for his native Mali rather than for France. Kanouté was joint top goal scorer for Mali at the 2004 African Nations Cup, scoring 4 goals in Mali`s golden run that ended in the semis.
However, Kanouté`s spell with the Spurs wasn`t exactly spectacular, though laced with an occasional flash of brilliance. In an apparent pique, he preferred the African Nations Cup over the Premiership in 2004. He further irked his club bosses by going absent midway from Tottenham`s 2005 summer tour to Mauritius.
Kanouté was finally sold off to Sevilla on 17 August 2005 for €6.5m, where he made an immediate impact. Brought in as a second half substitute in the UEFA Cup Final against Middlesbrough and scored in the 89th minute as Sevilla completed a 4-0 rout.
At Seville, Kanoute`s first game against his former club Spurs was a memorable one for him as he scored with a controversial penalty. He followed it up with an excellent solo effort in the return game the White Hart Lane, helping the Spanish club emerging victorious 4-3 on aggregate.
It was in the 2006/2007 season that he actually blossomed as a formidable striker. He played a key role as Seville launched a surprising charge on three fronts, challenging for the Copa del Rey 2006/2007, the UEFA Cup anas well as the La Liga. It moved Kanoute into a relatively unchartered territory, as he had not experienced such a combination of success and influence in the past. In the previous year`s UEFA Cup, although he did score a late goal, it had him featuring in just a cameo appearance as his team completed a comfortable victory. Nonetheless, he secured his first silverware with Sevilla scoring twice in a penalty shoot-out victory over Espanyol on penalties.
Though eventually Madrid took the La Liga with Kanoute`s side in third, he since then emerged as the hottest property when the summer transfer window opened. He has been linked to a succession of clubs including the mighty Real Madrid, and frequently to moves back to the English Premier League with Portsmouth, Bolton and Newcastle all interested.
His current value is rumoured to be around 7 million pounds.
OFF THE FIELD
Frédéric "Fredi" Oumar Kanouté was born September 2, 1977 in Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon, near Lyon
A practising Muslim from around the age of 20, Kanouté obtained a brand-free jersey every match from Seville for the 2006-07 season as the club`s sponsor, 888.com is an internet gambling site, and gambling is against the principles of Islam. The company, however, agreed to give some money to an Islamic charity in return for Kanouté wearing the sponsored kit.
Frederic Kanoute has splashed out more than USD 700,000 to buy his own mosque in Spain. The privately owned mosque was due to be sold after a contract to use the premises by the local Muslim population had expired. The Islamic Community of Spain confirmed that a last-minute appeal was made to Kanoute after the mosque had been put up for sale.
In 2006, he launched an appeal to establish a `Children’s Village` in Mali.
In October 2007, irate Togo fans attacked Kanoute, along with Mali international teammate Mamady Sidibe, after they knocked the country out of the African Nations Cup qualifier.
From 1970-94 the award was determined by France Football magazine. Since 1995, it has been determined by CAF, the Confederation of African Football.
Below is the list of past winners of the Africa Footballer of the year award since then.
1995, George Weah, Liberia;
1996, Nwankwo Kanu, Nigeria;
1997, Victor Ikpeba, Nigeria;
1998, Mustapha Hadji, Morocco;
1999, Nwankwo Kanu, Nigeria;
2000, Patrick Mboma, Cameroon;
2001, El Hadji Diouf, Senegal;
2002, El Hadji Diouf, Senegal;
2003, Samuel Eto`o, Cameroon;
2004, Samuel Eto`o, Cameroon;
2005, Samuel Eto`o, Cameroon;
2006, Didier Drogba, Ivory Coast;
2007, Frederic Kanoute, Mali
