Yssouf Koné

Yssouf Koné (born 19 February 1982) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. Born in Ivory Coast, he represented Burkina Faso at international level.

Club career Early career Koné was born on 19 February 1982 in Korhogo, Ivory Coast and began playing senior-level football in 2002 at Moroccan side, Raja Casablanca, winning the 2003–04 Botola title. In 2004 he had a spell at Qingdao Hailifeng, making 16 appearances and scoring once in the Chinese Super League. He made his Tippeligaen debut on 9 April 2006 when coach Per-Mathias Høgmo sent him to replace Thorstein Helstad in the 68th minute of a 3–3 away draw against Lillestrøm. Koné scored his first goal on 23 July in a 2–1 away loss to IK Start. He helped The Troll Children eliminate Zhenis and Tampere United in the 2007–08 Champions League qualifying rounds, netting four goals against the first and two against the latter. Thus the club reached the group stage where he played in all six games, starting with a 1–1 home draw against Chelsea, and scored two goals in a win over Valencia and a loss to Schalke 04. As they finished third in the group, the team qualified to the UEFA Cup round of 32, where they were defeated 3–1 on aggregate by Fiorentina, Koné netting his side's goal. Subsequently, he helped Rosenborg win the 2008 Intertoto Cup, eliminating Ekranas, against whom he scored three goals, and NAC Breda.

CFR Cluj Koné was transferred from Rosenborg to CFR Cluj for €600,000 in the summer of 2008. He made his Liga I debut on 24 August 2008 under coach Ioan Andone in a 2–1 away loss to FC Vaslui. He netted his first goals in the competition on 21 September, managing a brace in 3–0 home victory against Farul Constanța. Until the end of the season, he scored a personal record of 10 league goals, including four in 1–0 wins over Dinamo București, Unirea Urziceni, Gloria Buzău and Politehnica Iași. Koné made six appearances in the 2008–09 Champions League group stage with The Railway Men. He finished the season by helping the team win the Cupa României, coach Toni Conceição using him the entire match in the 3–0 win over Politehnica Timișoara in the final.

Koné started the following season by winning the 2009 Supercupa României, as coach Conceição sent him in the 81st minute to replace Diego Ruiz in the penalty shoot-out victory against Unirea Urziceni. His goal with a lob after a pass from Sebastián Dubarbier in a 2–1 win against FK Sarajevo in the 2009–10 Europa League play-off secured the qualification to the group stage, where he made three appearances. He scored his first league goal in a 2–2 draw against Steaua București, afterwards netting a brace in a 2–0 win over Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț. Koné contributed with a total of six goals in the 21 games under coaches Conceição and Andrea Mandorlini, as the team won the championship. He also won another Cupa României with CFR, scoring a goal which helped them get past Dinamo in the semi-finals, and then coach Mandorlini used him as a starter in the eventual penalty shoot-out win against FC Vaslui in the final.

Vålerenga In January 2011, Koné signed for the Norwegian team Vålerenga. He netted his first goal for them on 2 July 2011 in a 2–2 draw against Strømsgodset. On 29 January 2013, his contract with Vålerenga was terminated by mutual consent.

International career Koné was born in Ivory Coast, but represented Burkina Faso internationally, playing 13 games and scoring four goals for them. He made his debut on 30 May 2004 under coach Ivica Todorov in a 3–2 friendly victory against Libya where he opened the score. His following appearance was in a 3–2 loss to DR Congo in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, and his third game was a 1–0 win over Senegal during the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. Coach Paulo Duarte selected Koné to be part of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations squad, using him in a goalless draw against Ivory Coast and a loss to Ghana, as The Stallions failed to progress from their group.

Career statistics Club

International Scores and results list Burkina Faso's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Koné goal.

Honours Raja Casablanca Botola: 2003–04 Moroccan Throne Cup: 2004–05 Rosenborg Tippeligaen: 2006 Intertoto Cup: 2008 CFR Cluj Liga I: 2009–10 Cupa României: 2008–09, 2009–10 Supercupa României: 2009