Kouakou Odilon Dorgeless Kossounou ([ɔdilɔ̃ kɔsunu]; born 4 January 2001) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen and the Ivory Coast national team.
![]() Kossounou with Bayer Leverkusen in 2022 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Kouakou Odilon Dorgeless Kossounou | ||
Date of birth | (2001-01-04) 4 January 2001 (age 21) | ||
Place of birth | Abidjan, Ivory Coast | ||
Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Bayer Leverkusen | ||
Number | 6 | ||
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 | 38 | (0) |
National team‡ | |||
2020– | Ivory Coast | 16 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:45, 12 November 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:49, 24 September 2022 (UTC) |
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]
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]
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]
On 22 July 2021, Kossounou joined Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen on a five-year deal for a reported €23 million fee.[12]
Kossounou debuted with the Ivory Coast national team in a 1–1 friendly draw with Belgium on 8 October 2020.[13]
Kossounou prevalently plays as centre 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.[14]
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.[15]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
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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[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | |
2020–21 | 33 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | — | 42 | 1 | |||
2021–22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
Total | 40 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 55 | 1 | ||
Bayer Leverkusen | 2021–22 | Bundesliga | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | — | 33 | 0 | |
2022–23 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5[lower-alpha 5] | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | |||
Total | 38 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 | — | 50 | 0 | |||
Career total | 87 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 118 | 1 |
Ivory Coast | ||
Year | Apps | Goals |
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2020 | 4 | 0 |
2021 | 7 | 0 |
2022 | 5 | 0 |
Total | 16 | 0 |
Club Brugge
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen – current squad | |
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Ivory Coast squad – 2021 Africa Cup of Nations | ||
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