.jpg) Kossounou withBayer Leverkusen in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kouakou Odilon Dorgeless Kossounou | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (2001-01-04)4 January 2001 (age 24) | ||||||||||||||||
| 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 fromBayer 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) | 12 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2020– | Ivory Coast | 25 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:50, 11 January 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:55, 10 September 2024 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Kouakou Odilon Dorgeless Kossounou ([ɔdilɔ̃kɔsunu]; born 4 January 2001), better known asOdilon Kossounou, is anIvorian professionalfootballer who plays either as acentre-back orright-back forSerie A clubAtalanta, on loan fromBundesliga clubBayer Leverkusen, and theIvory Coast national team.
Kossounou started his career in the academy ofASEC Mimosas inAbidjan. After having been discovered at the youth tournamentGothia Cup in 2016, he was first invited to train with SwedishAllsvenskan clubHammarby IF. He went on to visit the club on numerous occasions throughout the next few years.[1][2][3][4]
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 cupSvenska Cupen, providing an assist to Mats Solhem in a 3-0 win againstVarbergs 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 againstIFK Norrköping.[7] On 8 May 2019, Hammarby reached an agreement with Belgian sideClub 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]
On 1 July 2019, Kossounou completed his transfer toClub Brugge. In his firstseason at the club, Kossounou picked up a league winner's medal as Club Brugge were declared champions in April 2020 with thePro League being cut short by theCOVID-19 pandemic in Belgium.[11]
On 22 July 2021, Kossounou joinedBundesliga clubBayer Leverkusen on a five-year deal for a reported €23 million fee.[12]
On 28 August 2024, Kossounou joinedAtalanta in Italy on loan with an option to buy.[13]
Kossounou debuted with theIvory Coast national team in a 1–1 friendly draw withBelgium on 8 October 2020.[14]
Kossounou was a member of the Ivory Coast's squad for the2021 Africa Cup of Nations and made two appearances, starting once in a 3–1 win overAlgeria in thegroup stage[15]
In December 2023, Kossounou was named in the Ivory Coast's squad for the2023 Africa Cup of Nations.[16][17] He went on to start three games, including thefinal whereIvory Coast won againstNigeria by a score of 2–1.
Kossounou prevalently plays primarily ascentre-back but can also play as aright-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]
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]
| 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 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[g] | 0 | 1[h] | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| Career total | 134 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 187 | 2 | ||
| 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 | |
Club Brugge
Bayer Leverkusen
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast squads | |||||||||||||
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