 Eboué playing forGalatasaray in 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Emmanuel Eboué[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1983-06-04)4 June 1983 (age 42)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Abidjan, Ivory Coast | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[3] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Right back | |||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | ASEC Mimosas | |||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2002 | ASEC Mimosas | 25 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2004 | Beveren | 70 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2011 | Arsenal | 132 | (5) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2015 | Galatasaray | 77 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Sunderland | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| Total | 304 | (16) | ||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2013 | Ivory Coast | 79 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||
Emmanuel Eboué (born 4 June 1983) is an Ivorian former professionalfootballer who played as aright back.
Formed atASEC Mimosas, he moved to Europe to play for Belgium'sBeveren in 2002. He spent most of his career, from 2005 to 2011, withArsenal of thePremier League, playing 214 games, including the2006 UEFA Champions League Final. Later he moved toGalatasaray, where he played regularly and won five domestic honours in Turkey. Eboué made his international debut for theIvory Coast in 2004, eventually earning 79 caps by 2013. He was part of their squads at fiveAfrica Cup of Nations tournaments and twoWorld Cups.
Born inAbidjan,[2] Eboué began his football career in theASEC Mimosas youth academy. In 2002, Eboué moved to ASEC's Belgian parent clubKSK Beveren and spent three seasons there. His impressive performances in Belgium caught the eye ofArsenal's scouts.[citation needed]
Eboué's debut came only days after signing from Beveren, in theFA Cup againstStoke City. Although he was not initially a first team regular, making just oneFA Premier League appearance, as a substitute, in2004–05, Eboué was regularly in Arsenal's reserve team. He did however contribute three appearances to Arsenal's victorious2004–05 FA Cup campaign.[4]
In2005–06, Eboué made his breakthrough into the Arsenal side. He started the season mainly as a reserve player, though he scored his first goal for Arsenal in the club's 3–0League Cup third round victory atSunderland on 25 October 2005. Despite leaving for theAfrican Cup of Nations in January 2006, he was immediately sent into action on his return; he made his first career Premiership start at right back againstLiverpool atAnfield, replacing the injuredLauren. With Lauren injured for the rest of the season, Eboué unexpectedly held his place for the remainder of Arsenal's 2005–06 campaign.[citation needed]
Eboué's run in the Arsenal side included matches in theUEFA Champions League knockout phase againstReal Madrid,Juventus, andVillarreal. Impressed with the way the Ivorian adapted to the increased pace of the Premiership and pressure of the Champions League, Arsenal managerArsène Wenger even compared Eboué to the legendary Brazilian wingerGarrincha after an energetic performance in the 1 April 2006 game againstAston Villa.[5] Eboué continued in the starting line-up for Arsenal in the2006 UEFA Champions League Final at theStade de France.[6]
Eboué started the2006–07 season, and was named the Arsenal Player of the Month for September. However, he was injured in an international and spent the whole of the month of October out with injury. He made his first team return as a substitute in the 1–0 defeat byWest Ham United on 5 November, and started the League Cup win overEverton later that same week. He scored his second Arsenal goal in their 3–1 Champions League victory overHamburg on 21 November 2006. Persistentankle problems have plagued him throughout December 2006 and January 2007. He attempted to make many comebacks, mostly against high-profile teams such as Liverpool, in the FA Cup third Round andManchester United, but he was unable to come through them unscathed. Wenger decided to wait until there was no chance that there would be a recurrence of the injury. He came off the bench forArmand Traoré in theLeague Cup final againstChelsea. He started the match againstBlackburn Rovers in the FA cup 5th Round Replay, only for his ankle to get injured again from a studs-up challenge from Blackburn wingerMorten Gamst Pedersen, which the referee also missed. In May 2007, Eboué signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal.
From the start of the2007–08 season, Arsène Wenger stated his intention to move Eboué into a role on the right wing, following the signing ofBacary Sagna. On 20 September 2008, Eboué scored his first Premier League goal againstBolton Wanderers in an away match, which Arsenal won 3–1.[7]
During the2008–09 season, he was frequently criticised by Arsenal fans after some less-than-satisfactory performances.[citation needed] In December 2008 against Wigan Athletic at the Emirates, Eboué played particularly poorly after being brought on as a substitute. He made many[quantify] unforced errors to the point where a small section of Arsenal fans began to boo him. Eboué continued to lose possession and in the second half, Eboué tackled his own player and gifted possession to Wigan.[citation needed] He was subsequently substituted. This dramatic dip in form also coincided with other problems in the team, notably the absence of teammateTheo Walcott (who also played regularly on the right wing) through injury. Further appearances were confined to playing as a wing-forward or right back. On 8 March 2009, he scored the third goal againstBurnley in theFA Cup fifth round match. On 14 March, he scored two goals (one a penalty) in the Gunners' 4–0 hammering ofBlackburn Rovers.[8]
He scored his first goal of the 2009–10 season for Arsenal againstWigan Athletic at theEmirates Stadium, on 19 September 2009, the fixture in which he was booed by a small section of his own fans in the previous season. On 9 March 2010, in the second leg of Arsenal's Champions League tie at home to Porto, Eboué scored the fourth goal in a 5–0 win having come on as a substitute. In March 2010, Eboué dismissed speculation he would leaveArsenal and pledged to see out the remainder of his contract.[9]
At the end of 2010, late October or November, Eboué signed another long-term contract with Arsenal.[10]
In April 2011, Eboué scored for Arsenal in their 3–1 win overBlackpool atBloomfield Road, with a powerful strike from his weaker left foot, which helped keep Arsenal's title hopes alive. In the following match againstLiverpool at theEmirates Stadium, however, he conceded a last-minute penalty by pushingLucas Leiva in the back which denied the club victory and left them six points adrift of the leaders. On 8 May 2011, he was an unused substitute in the game againstStoke City at theBritannia Stadium in a 3–1 defeat.[citation needed]
At the end of the 2010–11 season, Eboué made 27 appearances in total and scored once in all competitions.[citation needed]
At the start of the 2011–12 season, Eboué lost his squad number to new signingGervinho, who was given the number 27 shirt upon his arrival, which left Eboué's future at the club unclear. On 16 August 2011, Eboué completed a move to Turkish clubGalatasaray[11][12] for €3.5 million in 4-year contract (worth €2.35M a season plus bonus).[13] Following his move to Galatasaray, Eboué revealed that managerArsène Wenger told him he would have few first-team opportunities and to listen to interest to join the Turkish side.[14] On 11 September 2011, Eboué made his debut in the clubs shirt in a 2–0 loss againstİstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi.[citation needed]
In the match between Galatasaray andBeşiktaş which was 0–0, Eboué was pelted with missiles from the crowd whenever he neared the touchline.[15] On 3 December 2011, Eboué scored his first goal againstGençlerbirliği, which was the only goal in a 1–0 win. He played 31 matches in the league as he secured his first league title of his professional career.[citation needed]
In Eboué's second season at the club, the Ivorian helped the team claim victory in theTurkish Super Cup on 12 August 2012, playing the whole game in an entertaining 3–2 victory over rivals Fenerbahçe at theKazım Karabekir Stadium inErzurum.[16] Eboué was part of the squad that surprisingly fell 2–1 to Turkish Second Division side1461 Trabzon in December 2012.
During the 2013 winter transfer window, he was joined by national teammateDidier Drogba on 28 January 2013.[17][18] On 9 April 2013, in theChampions League quarter-final second leg againstLa Liga clubReal Madrid, Eboué scored from long range as Galatarsay secured a 3–2 win, falling 5–3 on aggregate.[19] Eboué helped Galatasaray defend their league title, playing the full ninety minutes in their 4–2 defeat ofSivasspor on 5 May, a win which secured the club's 19th Turkish Super Lig title.[20] In Gala's following match on 12 May, theKıtalar Arası Derbi against Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray lost the match 2–1 but Eboué and Drogba were subject to racist abuse from Fenerbahçe fans during the game and no punishment was handed down on the club or its supporters.[21]
Eboue was left out of the main squad byCesare Prandelli at the beginning of 2014–15 season. As a consequence, he played with the U21 team the whole season. As Galatasaray's foreign player limit was full, he could not return to the team after Prandelli had left.[22] At the end of the season, his contract was not renewed and Eboué left the club.[23]
On 9 March 2016, Eboué signed a short-term contract with Sunderland.[24] On 31 March 2016, Eboué began serving a one-year ban from all football-related activity, for failing to pay a former agent. He was released by Sunderland in April 2016, having not played for the club.[25][26]
In July 2017, Eboué trained with HungarianFerencváros, but could not agree on a contract with the club.[27]
In October 2017, Eboué was looking to joinTürk Ocağı Limasol, a team in theTurkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The move fell through due to issues with his blood that were discovered in a medical test.[28]
In December 2017, Eboué was offered a job coaching the under-14 team at former club Galatasaray, when their managerFatih Terim was made aware of Eboué's financial problems.[29]
Eboué debuted forIvory Coast in 2004 and had generally been a regular fixture in the defence operating at right-back for the Elephants, along with former teammateKolo Touré. On 18 November 2009, Eboué scored his first goal for Ivory Coast in a 2–2 draw againstGermany. He was named inSven-Göran Eriksson's Ivory Coast squad for the2010 FIFA World Cup.[30]
Eboué is a Christian.[31] He had three children with his Belgian wife, Aurélie, whom he married before joining Arsenal. In December 2017, Eboué told theSunday Mirror that he is poor and homeless due to his divorce and bad investments that were under his former wife's control.[32][33]
In June 2019, Eboué spoke about his ongoing struggles withmental health.[34]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| ASEC Mimosas | 2001–02 | Ivory Coast Ligue 1 | 25 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 25 | 3 | ||||
| Beveren | 2002–03 | Belgian Pro League | 23 | 0 | — | — | — | 23 | 0 | |||||
| 2003–04 | Belgian Pro League | 30 | 2 | — | — | — | 30 | 2 | ||||||
| 2004–05 | Belgian Pro League | 17 | 2 | — | 7[c] | 0 | — | 24 | 2 | |||||
| Total | 70 | 4 | — | 7 | 0 | — | 77 | 4 | ||||||
| Arsenal | 2004–05 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
| 2005–06 | Premier League | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 11[d] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 1 | |
| 2006–07 | Premier League | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6[d] | 1 | — | 35 | 1 | ||
| 2007–08 | Premier League | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10[d] | 0 | — | 36 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | Premier League | 28 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11[d] | 0 | — | 44 | 4 | ||
| 2009–10 | Premier League | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10[d] | 2 | — | 36 | 3 | ||
| 2010–11 | Premier League | 13 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6[d] | 0 | — | 27 | 1 | ||
| Total | 132 | 5 | 15 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 54 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 214 | 10 | ||
| Galatasaray | 2011–12 | Super Lig | 31 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 33 | 3 | |||
| 2012–13 | Super Lig | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 10[d] | 1 | 1[e] | 0 | 39 | 1 | ||
| 2013–14 | Super Lig | 18 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 8[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 31 | 1 | ||
| 2014–15 | Super Lig | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 77 | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 103 | 5 | |||
| Sunderland | 2015–16 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 304 | 15 | 20 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 79 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 416 | 21 | ||
| National team | Season | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ivory Coast | 2004 | 5 | 0 |
| 2005 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 16 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 10 | 1 | |
| 2010 | 14 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 79 | 3 | |
International goals
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 November 2009 | Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany |  Germany | 1–1 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 2 | 4 September 2010 | Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Ivory Coast |  Rwanda | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2012 African Cup of Nations qualification |
| 3 | 30 January 2012 | Estadio de Malabo, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea |  Angola | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2012 African Cup of Nations |
Arsenal
Galatasaray
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