La Liga-Player Profile: Didier Zokora
Didier Zokora is an Ivorian footballer, who has played for several European football clubs in his professional career thus far. Zokora usually plays as a defensive midfielder but his versatile nature as an athlete also allows managers to use him anywhere across the back four as well.
Didier was born in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire and started off his football career in the youth academy of Mimosas. In the year 200, Zokora moved to greener pastures in shape of a Belgian club, Racing Genk. At Genk, the Ivorian midfielder won the Belgian Jupiler League season in 2001-2002 when Sef Vergoossen was in charge at the club and Wesley Socnk was the main target man for them.
When the summer transfer window of 2004 approached, Zokora accepted an offer from Saint Etienne in France and went to Ligue 1 to play for them. However his stay at St.Etienne was short lived as after spending just two years at the French club, Zokora joined Tottenham in the summer transfer window which opened up before the 2006-2007 season. Tottenham was a team on the up in the English Premier League and they were looking to become one of the top four teams in the English league. Their main ambition was to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
Zokora’s transfer fee from Etienne to Tottenham amounted to around eight million Euros. The English premier league clubs fought off interest from other fellow clubs such as Chelsea who also wanted Zokora because of his impressive displays for Ivory Coast in the FIFA World Cup of 2006. Zokora also made it easy for Tottenham to gain his signature because he opted for them as he wanted to play regular first team football.
Throughout the three years, Zokora was at the London club he was adored by Tottenham fans who sung chants for him whenever he played at the white hart lane, which is Tottenham’s home ground. He made over one thirty appearances for the Spurs but the midfielder failed to score in any one of them. Didier’s most comical miss in front of goal for Tottenham is still remembered by the club’s faithful fans. This miss came in the 80th minute of the league club final which Tottenham eventually won through Jonathan Southgate’s goal in the first half of extra time.
Didier Zokora parted ways with Tottenham in 2009 as his place in the starting eleven at the club became more and more in secure. In the summer of 2009, Sevilla F.C made an approach for the player and successful signed him for a transfer fee of nine million Euros. He made his debut for Sevilla F.C on 30th of August, 2009 in their first match of the season in La Liga. The match in question was played against Valencia.
Zokora has played as a center back more often than not for his Spanish club and has done quite impressively over the past year or so. In his first season at Sevilla, Zokora took the club to Champions League qualification as they finished fourth in the league; the Spanish giants also won the Copa Del Rey in the same season after they defeated Athletico Madrid in the final match of the tournament.
Didier has adapted to the Spanish game and is now looking to do well in next season’s Champions League with Sevilla. He will be a key player for them because of his multitalented nature as a footballer.
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