Djakaridja Koné

Djakaridja Koné (born 22 July 1986) is a Burkinabé former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.

Born on 22 July 1986 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Djakaridja Koné started his career in Israel with Hapoel Petah Tikva, making his senior debuts in the 2005–06 Israeli Premier League campaign.

In the summer of 2006 he was loaned in the second league at Hapoel Haifa, appearing regularly for the side during his two-years spell.

He returned at Hapoel Petah Tikva to first league football, playing constantly in the 2008–09 season.

On 18 July 2009, Koné moved to Romania, signing a three-year contract with Dinamo București.

He made his Liga I debut on 7 August 2009 when coach Dario Bonetti sent him on the field in the 64th minute in order to replace Gabriel Boștină in a 0–1 home loss in front of Internațional Curtea de Argeș.

In his first season spent at the club, he formed a couple in the central midfield with Ousmane N'Doye, helping the club fulfill "The wonder from Liberec" after winning with 3–0 the away game against Slovan Liberec, as the first leg was lost with the same score, qualifying after the penalty shoot-out to the group stage of the 2009–10 Europa League.

Djakaridja Koné was an ever-present figure for The Red Dogs afterwards, in his last season spent with the club, he won the 2011–12 Cupa României, being used by Bonetti in all the minutes from the 1–0 victory in the final against Rapid București, also being named Man of the match.

Shortly afterwards he was linked to Olympique de Marseille, but nothing came of it, same as with another rumor that he was going to sign with Bundesliga side, Hannover 96.

Koné has a total of 75 appearances with four goals scored in Liga I, he also represented Dinamo in 13 games with one goal scored in the Europa League.

He made his debut for the latter's main squad under coach Paulo Duarte on 9 February 2011, in a 0–1 loss with Cape Verde.

On 20 July 2012, after refusing to sign a new deal, Koné switched teams and countries again, after agreeing to a three-year contract with Ligue 1 side Evian.

He made his debut in the category on 24 August under coach Pablo Correa, coming on as a late substitute for Cédric Barbosa in a 1–1 home draw with Lyon.

Koné played two games at the successful 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, also being used by coach Duarte in two losses in front of Angola and Sudan at the final tournament, as the team did not pass the group stage.

Coach Paul Put used Koné in all the six games at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, as the team passed the group stage in which he scored his first goal for Burkina Faso, netting the third in a 4–0 against Ethiopia, then they eliminated Togo in the quarter-finals and Ghana in the semi-finals, losing the final with 0–1 in front of Nigeria in which he played all the minutes.

Koné scored his first and only goal in the main category of French football on 27 September 2014, netting the first in a 2–0 away win against Lorient.

He appeared regularly for The Savoy Crosses during his three-seasons spell, but in the last one, they relegated to the second division.

He played six games at the 2014 World Cup qualifiers in which he scored a goal in the 3–2 victory from the first leg of the play-off with Algeria which was eventually lost on the away goal rule, as they suffered a 0–1 defeat in the second leg.

In September 2015, Djakaridja Koné signed with Turkish side, Sivasspor.

He made his Süper Lig debut under coach Sergen Yalçın on 13 September in a 1–1 with Rizespor.

In his single season spent at the club, Koné made a total of 18 league appearances with one goal scored in a 2–2 with Mersin Talim Yurdu.

After representing Ivory Coast at under-17 and under-19 levels, Djakaridja Koné was subsequently eligible to play for Burkina Faso.

He made five appearances at the successful 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, then coach Paul Put used him in all three games from the group stage of the final tournament which consisted of a draw with Equatorial Guinea and two losses in front of Gabon and Congo as they surprisingly did not advance further.

Afterwards, Djakaridja Koné played two games at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, making his last appearance for the national team on 12 November 2015 in a 1–2 away loss with Benin at the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, having a total of 41 matches with two goals scored for The Stallions.

Dinamo București

Burkina Faso