Odilon Kossounou
Ivorian footballer (born 2001) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kouakou Odilon Dorgeless Kossounou ([ɔdilɔ̃ kɔsunu]; born 4 January 2001), better known as Odilon Kossounou, is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays either as a centre-back or right-back for Serie A club Atalanta, on loan from Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen, and the Ivory Coast national team.
.jpg) Kossounou with Bayer Leverkusen in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kouakou Odilon Dorgeless Kossounou | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 4 January 2001 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Abidjan, Ivory Coast | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Centre-back, right-back | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team |
Atalanta (on loan from Bayer Leverkusen) | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| –2019 | ASEC Mimosas | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Hammarby IF | 9 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2021 | Club Brugge | 40 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021– | Bayer Leverkusen | 73 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | → Atalanta (loan) | 13 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2020– | Ivory Coast | 25 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 04:24, 21 April 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:55, 10 September 2024 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Club career
Summarize
Perspective
Early career
Kossounou started his career in the academy of ASEC Mimosas in Abidjan. After having been discovered at the youth tournament Gothia Cup in 2016, he was first invited to train with Swedish Allsvenskan club Hammarby IF. He went on to visit the club on numerous occasions throughout the next few years.[1][2][3][4]
Hammarby IF
On 11 January 2019, shortly after his 18th birthday, Kossounou signed a four-year contract with Hammarby.[5] He made his competitive debut for the club on 18 February, in the main domestic cup Svenska Cupen, providing an assist to Mats Solhem in a 3-0 win against Varbergs BoIS.[6] Kossounou went on to make nine league appearances in Allsvenskan for the club, most notably being voted man of the match in a 2–2 home draw against IFK Norrköping.[7] On 8 May 2019, Hammarby reached an agreement with Belgian side Club Brugge for the transfer of Kossonou, effective on 1 July the same year.[8] The club received a record-breaking fee for the player, reportedly for a fee of around €4 million (or 44 million SEK) that could rise higher subject to bonuses, plus a 10 percent sell-on clause.[9][10]
Club Brugge
On 1 July 2019, Kossounou completed his transfer to Club Brugge. In his first season at the club, Kossounou picked up a league winner's medal as Club Brugge were declared champions in April 2020 with the Pro League being cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium.[11]
Bayer Leverkusen
On 22 July 2021, Kossounou joined Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen on a five-year deal for a reported €23 million fee.[12]
On 28 August 2024, Kossounou joined Atalanta in Italy on loan with an option to buy.[13]
International career
Kossounou debuted with the Ivory Coast national team in a 1–1 friendly draw with Belgium on 8 October 2020.[14]
Kossounou was a member of the Ivory Coast's squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations and made two appearances, starting once in a 3–1 win over Algeria in the group stage[15]
In December 2023, Kossounou was named in the Ivory Coast's squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.[16][17] He went on to start three games, including the final where Ivory Coast won against Nigeria by a score of 2–1.
Playing style
Kossounou prevalently plays primarily as centre-back but can also play as a right-back, and excels in his tackling: his long limbs and the excellent timing of his interventions gives him one of the highest tackle success ratios in Europe.[18]
Outside football
In 2020, Kossounou was the subject of a TV-documentary on Swedish television titled "Det vackra spelet" (The beautiful game), that for three years followed him on his transfer to Hammarby and then on to Club Brugge.[19]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 20 April 2025[20]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Hammarby IF | 2019 | Allsvenskan | 9 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| Club Brugge | 2019–20 | Belgian Pro League | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | |
| 2020–21 | Belgian Pro League | 33 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7[c] | 0 | — | 42 | 1 | ||
| 2021–22 | Belgian Pro League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 40 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 55 | 1 | ||
| Bayer Leverkusen | 2021–22 | Bundesliga | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5[e] | 0 | — | 33 | 0 | |
| 2022–23 | Bundesliga | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10[f] | 0 | — | 35 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | Bundesliga | 22 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 8[e] | 0 | — | 34 | 1 | ||
| Total | 73 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 23 | 0 | — | 102 | 1 | |||
| Atalanta (loan) | 2024–25 | Serie A | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[g] | 0 | 1[h] | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| Career total | 135 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 188 | 2 | ||
- Includes Svenska Cupen, Belgian Cup, DFB-Pokal
- Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearance in Belgian Super Cup
- Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana
International
- As of match played 10 September 2024[21]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ivory Coast | 2020 | 4 | 0 |
| 2021 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 25 | 0 | |
Honours
Club Brugge
Bayer Leverkusen
Ivory Coast
References
External links
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