Cédric Kanté (born 6 July 1979) is a former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a defender. Born in France, he played for the Mali national team internationally winning 41 caps and scoring once.

Club career

Early career

Kanté progressed through the youth ranks at local club

RC Strasbourg Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace, commonly known as RC Strasbourg (, ; RCS) or simply just Racing, is a French professional association football club founded in 1906 and based in the city of Strasbourg, Alsace. It became a professional club in ...

before starting his professional career there. He signed his first professional contract with them in 1999, at the age of 19. He spent two seasons with them, in his first stint, making 7 appearances and picking up a

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

winners medal in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

. He moved on to find first-team football playing for

FC Istres Istres Football Club (; commonly referred to as simply Istres) is a French association football club based in Istres. The club was formed in 1920 and currently play their home matches at the Stade Parsemain in Fos-sur-Mer, a commune in the A ...

, in

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

. In one season at Istres, Kanté made 16 appearances.

ASOA Valence Association Sportive d'Origine Arménienne de Valence was a French association football, football List of football clubs in France, team playing in the city of Valence, Drôme. History The team dissoved in 2005 due to financial problems. Its suc ...

saw the talent in the 21-year-old and signed him. He spent one season there and was the focal point of the team, anchoring the center of their defense. He left the club due to its financial insecurity, having made 32 appearances.

Strasbourg and Nice

He then returned to boyhood club Strasbourg, signing a three-year deal. He quickly made it into the first team and was a main part of their progression within Ligue 2. In Kanté's three seasons for the club, he scored 3 league goals in 91 appearances. At the end of his contract, he signed with

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

side

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million2008–09 campaign. After three successful seasons, Kanté left the club for

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

club

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club based in the City of Athens. Panathinaikos is one of the mos ...

. In all, he made 97

appearances for the side and added 2 goals.

Panathinaikos

Kanté signed a three-year deal with Panathinaikos in June 2009. In his first season at Panathinaikos, he helped the "Prasinoi", the ''Greens'', to their first Greek Championship and

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

in six years. In the Greek Cup Final, Kanté played a vital role in the center of the defense for Panathinaikos as they defeated

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Konstantinidis, Greek architect * ...

1–0 with a goal from Argentinian winger

Sebastián Leto Sebastián Eduardo Leto (born 30 August 1986) is an Argentine professional football manager and former player. He is the current manager of Greek Super League club A.E. Kifisia. Club career Lanús Born in Alejandro Korn, Leto began his caree ...

. In his first season at Panathinaikos, Kanté appeared in 21 league games and added 2 assists to his name.

Sochaux

In July 2012, Kanté returned to France, signing a two-year contract with Ligue 1 team

FC Sochaux-Montbéliard Football Club Sochaux-Montbéliard (; commonly referred to as FCSM or simply Sochaux) is a Football in France, French association football club based in the city of Montbéliard. The club was founded in 1928 and currently plays in Championnat N ...

Ajaccio

After suffering relegation to Ligue 2 with Sochaux in the 2013–14 season, Kanté left the club and signed a one-year contract with another relegated side,

AC Ajaccio Athletic Club Ajaccien (), commonly referred to as AC Ajaccio, ACA or simply Ajaccio, is a French professional football club based in the city of Ajaccio on the island of Corsica. The club was founded in 1910 and plays in the Ligue 2, the sec ...

International career

Born in France, Kanté was eligible to play for the Mali national team through his ancestry. He opted to play for the country of his parents' birth and represented ''the Eagles'' 25 times as well as at the

2008 Africa Cup of Nations The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the MTN Africa Cup of Nations due to the competition's sponsorship by MTN, was the 26th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football tournament for nations affiliated with the Confede ...

in Ghana.

Honours

Strasbourg *

: 2000–01 *

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France ...

: 2004–05 Panathinaikos *

: 2009–10 *

: 2009–10 Mali *

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

bronze:

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kante, Cedric 1979 births Living people Footballers from Strasbourg Men's association football defenders French sportspeople of Malian descent Malian men's footballers French men's footballers Mali men's international footballers 2008 Africa Cup of Nations players 2012 Africa Cup of Nations players RC Strasbourg Alsace players Istres FC players ASOA Valence players OGC Nice players Panathinaikos F.C. players FC Sochaux-Montbéliard players AC Ajaccio players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Super League Greece players Malian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Black French sportspeople