Biography of Salomon Kalou

About

Salomon Kalou (born August 5, 1985 in Oumé, Côte d'Ivoire) is an Ivorian football player, who currently plays for Chelsea and formerly for the Dutch club Feyenoord Rotterdam.

He is a forward, but he is also capable of playing on the wing. He has a preference for playing on the left wing as this gives him opportunities to cut inside and take shots with his favoured right foot. However, he can also put in fairly accurate crosses.

Background

Club Football

AJ Auxerre coach Guy Roux wanted to sign him to unite him with his brother, and former Feyenoord Rotterdam player, Bonaventure Kalou. However, Kalou signed for Excelsior Rotterdam, Feyenoord Rotterdam's 'satellite club' Kalou scored 15 goals in 11 appearances for Excelsior in 2002–2003. He was 'promoted' to Feyenoord and played in the Dutch top flight for three seasons from 2003 to 2006. During his time at Feyenoord he scored 35 goals in 67 league appearances, and in 2005 he won the Johan Cruyff Award for young talent playing in the Netherlands.

Failure to acquire Dutch citizenship

Kalou received much media attention regarding his possible naturalization as a Dutch citizen which, if granted, would allow him to play for the Netherlands national football team. Having never played for the Côte d'Ivoire team, he would be eligible for the Dutch team if he was naturalized. His brother Bonaventure had advised him to pursue foreign citizenship after experiencing regular problems with the Côte d'Ivoire football authorities.

The Dutch national team head coach, Marco van Basten, regards Kalou as a great talent, so an official application was quickly made. However the Minister of Immigration Rita Verdonk was opposed to considering Kalou for an accelerated naturalization process.

Van Basten, keen to show Kalou's worth to the Dutch team, obtained support from influential football figures, including the legendary Johan Cruijff. Despite general agreement among football pundits that Kalou would be valuable for the Dutch team, Verdonk rejected a request for reconsideration.

Kalou appealed the decision and took the matter to a court of law, gaining a victory on December 9 2005 when the judge ordered Verdonk to reconsider whether or not Kalou could be considered for accelerated naturalization. Verdonk has decided to appeal, placing the matter before the Council of State. Kalou has since then publicly stated he has given up hope of ever attaining the Dutch nationality.

For the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the Netherlands and Côte d'Ivoire were allocated to the same group in the first round. If Kalou had become a Dutch citizen and was selected for the Netherlands, he could have played against his native country and possibly against his own brother.

Kalou's failure to acquire Dutch citizenship was a factor in his decision to leave Feyenoord for Chelsea.

He has been named in the Côte d'Ivoire national squad on a number of occasions, However he rejected all call ups until February 6, 2007 when he finally made his Côte d'Ivoire debut in the friendly against Guinea, where the Elephants ran out 1–0 winners. He also features in the Elephant's African Cup of Nations and scored a terrific goal to stun co-favourites Nigeria in the opening game.

Chelsea F.C.

Kalou moved to Chelsea on May 30, 2006, for an undisclosed fee. Under contract with Chelsea until 2009, Kalou was handed the number 21 jersey, which had been left vacant since the 2003/04 season when it was worn by Hernán Crespo (Crespo wore the Number 9 shirt in 2005/06, which had been vacated by Mateja Kežman following his departure from the club).

Former Chelsea manager José Mourinho has spoken highly of Kalou, praising the young Ivorian as being hardworking, versatile, eager to improve, and unafraid of the physical side of the game. Kalou himself admitted while he still gets 'overwhelmed' at the prospect of training with such luminaries of world football as Andriy Shevchenko, Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard, he is determined to learn as much as he can and improve his game.

According to Soccernet, Kalou revealed that he idolises French forward Thierry Henry, of Barcelona, and tries to imitate Henry's moves in his free time. His admiration of Henry was a factor in his decision to play in the Premier League.

At Chelsea, Kalou plays with compatriot, Côte d'Ivoire captain Didier Drogba. Kalou scored his first goals for Chelsea in a reserve game against Portsmouth bagging a hat trick and the match ball in a 5–0 thrashing. Scott Sinclair scored the other two goals in the game. Kalou scored his first senior goal for Chelsea in a two-goal win over Blackburn Rovers in the third round of the Carling Cup.

Kalou scored his first Premiership goal in December 2006 in Chelsea's 3–2 victory over Wigan Athletic at the JJB Stadium. He scored his second Premiership goal against Blackburn in Chelsea's 3–0 win. He also scored a 93rd minute goal against Watford, putting Chelsea 1–0 up. He also scored a volleyed goal from 12 yards against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup Quarter-Final, which ended 3–3. Chelsea won the replay 1–2, before progressing to the final with a similar scoreline against Blackburn Rovers. Kalou also played in the 2007 FA Cup final win over Manchester United. Recently Kalou has continued his great form by scoring a second half goal against Manchester City in Chelsea's 6–0 at Stamford Bridge and the opening goal against Derby County in a 2–0 win. Saloman Kalou has the record number of offsides in a season with 107 in 30 games; this shows just how attack minded he is, but also shows his lack of defensive awareness. Kalou has been regularly played under new coach Avram Grant, the Carling Cup quarter final, saw Kalou take up the right wing position of two wing players (the other being Scott Sinclair) of a 4-3-2-1 formation. Kalou made lots of chances for himself and his team-mates; including a very precise left-footed cross, resulting in a Shevchenko headed goal. He has been fantastic thereafter scoring goals against Newcastle Utd and Fulham contributing to chelsea's success.He carried on with his superb form from the AFCON to Chelsea which made him a first team. He scored goals against West Ham, Olympiakos and Derby and has been one of the most consistent players for Chelsea.

International Football

After failing to obtain his Dutch passport, Kalou decided to play for the Côte d'Ivoire. He played at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations with the team, where he scored 3 goals.

International Goals

Awards and Honours

Personal Awards

Career Statistics

M = Matches, G = Goals, A = Assists

Personal Info

Wife / Girlfriend

Sponsors

Important Links

References