André Bikey

Russia Bikey moved to Russia to join Premier League club Shinnik Yaroslavl. He scored one goal in 11 league games for Oleg Dolmatov's "Black-Blues". His performances attracted the attention of Lokomotiv Moscow head coach Vladimir Eshtrekov, who signed him in July 2005. Lokomotiv ended the 2005 season in third place after finishing behind runners-up Spartak Moscow on matches won. He played for the club in the qualification stages of the UEFA Champions League, and was sent off in the competition as they were knocked out by Austrian side Rapid Wien. Lokomotiv dropped into the UEFA Europa League, and Bikey played for the club as they were knocked out by Spanish side Sevilla in the Round of 32. Bikey featured in five league games in the early part of the 2006 season. He was popular with supporters yet struggled to find a common ground with most of the teammates, and perceived himself as targeted for racist abuse to the extent that he felt it necessary to carry a gun whilst out in Moscow to protect himself from racist gangs. He was allowed to leave by head coach Slavoljub Muslin in August 2006, who said "he is a good player, he just doesn’t fit into our team".

Reading Bikey joined English Premier League club Reading for an initial trial period during their pre-season trip to Sweden in 2006, where he impressed manager Steve Coppell despite being sent off in his final trial match for head-butting an Örgryte IS player. After much negotiation with Lokomotiv, a season-long loan deal was agreed on 26 August 2006, giving Reading the option to purchase the player at the end of the loan. He was sent off for receiving two yellow cards in only his second Premier League appearance, after pulling Didier Drogba's shirt in a 1–0 defeat to Chelsea at the Madejski Stadium on 14 October. He scored his first goal for the club in his return to action 11 days later, as Reading were knocked out of the League Cup after being beaten 4–3 by Liverpool at Anfield. He expressed a desire to obtain a permanent deal, and following improving performances, it was announced on 24 April 2007 that Bikey had signed a three-year contract with Reading for a transfer fee in excess of £1 million.

Bikey scored his first league goal for Reading in a 2–1 home defeat to Chelsea on 15 August 2007, which he celebrated with a triple somersault. He scored two more goals in a 2–1 home win over Birmingham City on 22 March. He ended the 2007–08 season with 24 appearances to his name. Still, he was unable to prevent the "Royals" from being relegated. Speaking in September 2008, Coppell bemoaned the fact that Bikey's international commitments had left him only able to train with the club for six days within three months. He scored three goals in 25 Championship games during the 2008–09 campaign as Reading qualified for the play-offs. However, he was sent off for stamping on Robbie Blake during the play-off semi-final first leg at Burnley on 9 May, having earlier conceded the winning penalty taken by Graham Alexander. He aggravated the situation by ripping off his shirt and stamping around the pitch, resulting in the extension of his ban to five games and a charge for improper conduct.

Burnley Having beaten Reading in the play-offs, Burnley went on to win promotion into the Premier League, and manager Owen Coyle signed Bikey to a three-year deal on 18 August 2009. The fee was undisclosed, but was reported as being around £2.8 million. He scored his first goal for the "Clarets" in a 2–1 win over Birmingham City at Turf Moor on 3 October. He ended the 2009–10 season with 31 appearances to his name, playing mostly in midfield, as Burnley were relegated to the Championship. Speaking in August 2010, manager Brian Laws said that Bikey would be played at centre-half as he was more comfortable there and "could be one of outstanding centre halves in the division". Laws reportedly turned down an approach for Bikey from "a major European club" on transfer deadline day. Bikey went on to score two goals in 30 appearances across the 2010–11 campaign.

He was dropped by manager Eddie Howe at the start of the 2011–12 season. On 22 March, he secured a loan move to Championship rivals Bristol City until the end of the season. Manager Derek McInnes said he was "delighted" with his performances, and Bikey played in seven of the "Robins" last eight fixtures, in which City remained unbeaten, to help the club retain their Championship status. However, after returning from Ashton Gate to Burnley he learned that he would be released upon the expiry of his contract.

Middlesbrough On 11 September 2012, Bikey signed for Middlesbrough on a free transfer after impressing manager Tony Mowbray on trial, who wanted cover for injured captain Rhys Williams. He made his debut in a 2–0 home win over Ipswich Town four days later. Mowbray praised him after the match. He scored his first goal for "Boro" with a header in a 4–1 defeat away to Blackpool. He made 37 appearances throughout the 2012–13 season, but left the Riverside Stadium after he was released in the summer.

Later career In July 2013, he trained with the Spanish Segunda División team Sabadell. On 16 September 2013, Bikey signed a one-year contract with Greek Super League side Panetolikos. On 10 November, he scored both goals in the "Canaries" 2–1 win over Levadiakos at Panetolikos Stadium. He made a total of 26 appearances for Panetolikos over the course of the 2013–14 season.

In July 2014, Bikey returned to England to sign for Championship side Charlton Athletic on a two-year contract after impressing manager Bob Peeters on trial. He scored his first and only goal for Charlton in a 1–1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers at The Valley on 16 September. He featured 34 times for the "Addicks" in the 2014–15 season. Still, he was a peripheral figure after Guy Luzon took charge in January. On 31 August 2015, Bikey's contract was cancelled by mutual consent.

In October 2015, Bikey signed for Indian Super League team NorthEast United as a replacement for the injured Miguel Garcia. He featured nine times during the 2015 season, scoring one goal, as César Farías's "Highlanders" posted a fifth-place finish. However, he was unable to feature for the club due to injury.

On 17 March 2017, Bikey once again returned to England and signed for EFL League One side Port Vale on a deal until the end of the 2016–17 season. He was signed by caretaker manager Michael Brown to provide cover for his only two fit centre-halves. Brown emphasized that Bikey was still recovering fitness from a quadriceps injury and that there was no timescale on how soon he would be able to play for the first-team. However, injury trouble with Remie Streete meant Bikey was forced to play despite struggling with fitness and hamstring problems of his own, and Bikey was in fact one of the "Valiants" better players towards the end of the season.

On 29 August 2017, Bikey signed with newly formed Indian Super League side Jamshedpur after being recruited by former Reading manager Steve Coppell. On 18 August 2018, he joined Steve Coppell at Indian Super League rivals ATK. He played two Tercera División games for CF Igualada in the 2019–20 season. He went on to play in the quarter-finals, and converted his penalty in the shoot-out defeat to the Ivory Coast on 4 February. He was dropped by new coach Arie Haan after the tournament, and then turned down a call-up under Jules Nyongha in March 2007.

He was named by Otto Pfister in Cameroon's squad for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana. On 31 February, he was sent off in the semi-final win over Ghana after a bizarre incident where he pushed a Ghanaian stretcher bearer in the dying seconds of the match. The medic in question, Samuel Ashia, said that "It was very forceful, and I landed badly. It didn’t hurt at the time but the next day my head ached and the area around my waist did, too... he hasn't apologised and I will be happy when he does, because no player should do that." Bikey was banned from the final and Cameroon were fined US$5,000 by the CAF. Egypt went on to beat Cameroon in the final.

He scored his first and only international goal in a 3–0 victory over Mauritius in a World Cup qualification match in Curepipe on 8 June 2008. He was named in Cameroon's squad for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He played in all three group games as well as the quarter-final, where Cameroon were beaten 2–0 by Brazil in extra time at the Shenyang Olympic Sports Center Stadium.

He was named in the squad for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola, and played in Cameroon's 3–1 extra-time defeat to Egypt at the Estádio Nacional de Ombaka in the quarter-finals on 25 January. However, he was benched for much of the tournament by Paul Le Guen and was not named in the squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He was recalled by new head coach Javier Clemente and won the last of his 25 caps in a 3–0 friendly victory over Poland on 11 August 2010.

Coaching career On 27 July 2020, Bikey was named José Gomes' assistant at Spanish Segunda División side UD Almería. He joined Gomes again in 2022 to be his assistant at rival Segunda División side SD Ponferradina. He joined Egyptian club Zamalek as a coach in 2024, three months before they lifted the CAF Confederations Cup.

Style of play Primarily a defender, he could also play in midfield. He had great strength and athleticism, as well as good technical ability. He was described by the Middlesbrough Gazette as an "absolute monster, a physically imposing hulk with a massive turning circle who did a solid if sometimes erratic job at Boro but was always worth at least one heart-stopping moment of madness per game".

Personal life In April 2007, it was reported that Bikey had a Portuguese wife and was a fan of British food and comedy, particularly Mr. Bean.

Career statistics Club

International

Score and result list Cameroon's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Bikey goal.

+ International goal scored by André BikeyNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 8 June 2008 Stade George V, Curepipe 1–0 3–0 2010 World Cup qualification

Honours Cameroon Africa Cup of Nations runner-up: 2008