Daniel Michel Cousin (born 7 February 1977) is a Gabonese 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 striker. He played for

Martigues Martigues ( in classical norm, ''Lou Martegue'' in Mistralian norm) is a commune northwest of Marseille. It is part of the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the eastern end of the Canal de Caronte. A ...

Chamois Niortais Chamois Niortais Football Club (; often referred to as ''Les Chamois'', Chamois Niortais, or simply Niort) are a French association football club based in the commune of Niort, in the Deux-Sèvres department of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwest ...

Le Mans Union Club 72 Le Mans Football Club (; commonly referred to as Le Mans FC) is a French professional football club based in Le Mans. The club set to compete in Ligue 2 from 2025–26, the second tier of French football after promotion from Championnat Nation ...

RC Lens Racing Club de Lens (), commonly referred to as RC Lens or simply as Lens, is a French professional football club based in the northern city of Lens in the department of Pas-de-Calais. The club's nickname, ''Les Sang et Or'' (), comes from i ...

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

Larissa Larissa (; , , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 148,562 in the city proper, according to the 2021 census. It is also the capital of the Larissa ...

and Sapins, as well as the Gabon national team. In March 2019, Cousin formally signed a contract to serve as a coach of Gabon national team despite being confirmed in September 2018, but left a few weeks later before being appointed manager of French club ES Fos-sur-Mer.

Early life

Born in

Libreville Libreville (; ) is the capital and largest city of Gabon, located on the Gabon Estuary. Libreville occupies of the northwestern province of Estuaire Province, Estuaire. Libreville is also a port on the Gabon Estuary, near the Gulf of Guinea. A ...

Estuaire Province Estuaire is the most populous of Gabon's nine provinces. It covers an area of 20,740 km. The provincial capital is Akanda, but the largest city is Libreville, Gabon's national capital. The province is named for the Gabon Estuary, which li ...

, Cousin () moved to

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, France, when he was three.

Club career

France

Cousin played in the lower leagues in France for

and

Niort Niort (; Poitevin: ''Niàu''; ; ) is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department, western France. It is the prefecture of Deux-Sèvres. The population of Niort is 58,707 (2017) and more than 177,000 people live in the urban area. Geography T ...

before moving to

. He joined

in the summer of 2004. Whilst at

he appeared in the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

in both 2005–06 and 2006–07 starting 13 games with 2 appearances as a substitute netting 8 goals in the process. Lens qualified for the 2005–06 tournament after triumphing in the

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

competition with Cousin starting in five games, making three substitute appearances and scoring three goals including one in the final itself versus

CFR Cluj Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ) or simply CFR, is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, that competes in the Liga I. Founded as ''Kolozsvári Vasut ...

of Romania.

Rangers

On 9 August 2007, Cousin arrived at Murray Park in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

to hold contract talks over a move and signed a three-year deal for a reported fee of £750,000. He scored his first goal for Rangers on his debut in a 2–0 home league win against St Mirren on 11 August 2007, and scored twice on his first start a week later against

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

. Cousin played at Ibrox, against Lyon in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

on 12 December 2007. Rangers lost 3–0 with Cousin playing the first half before getting substituted for

Steven Naismith Steven John Naismith (born 14 September 1986) is a Scottish professional association football, football coach and former player. Naismith began his career with Kilmarnock F.C., Kilmarnock in 2004. He spent four years with the Ayrshire side wher ...

in that game. In November 2007 he was linked with a transfer away from Rangers, and it was reported that he had a release clause in his current contract which means he could leave in January 2008. This was denied by

but the club did reveal there was a £3 million release clause during the 2008 summer transfer window. On 21 January 2008, it was reported that

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

had had a £2 million bid rejected by Rangers manager

Walter Smith Walter Ferguson Smith (24 February 1948 – 26 October 2021) was a Scottish football player, manager and director, primarily associated with his two spells as manager of Glasgow club Rangers. A defender, Smith's playing career consiste ...

. The next day a bid of £3 million from Fulham activated a release clause, however

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

regulations meant Cousin required special dispensation to complete the move. On 29 January, the transfer was cancelled as FIFA did not grant permission but it later emerged that FIFA had not reached a decision over the transfer. On 29 February, FIFA announced it would not allow the deal to be completed. On 1 May 2008, Cousin was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

during

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

of the

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

v Rangers

semi-final second leg match for a

headbutt A headbutt or butt is a targeted strike (attack), strike with the head, typically involving the use of robust parts of the headbutter's Skull#Humans, cranium as the area of impact. The most effective headbutts strike the most sensitive areas of ...

. Despite Cousin's sending off, Rangers progressed to win the game on penalties. A matter of days later, he did the same to

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

defender

Lee Wilkie Lee Wilkie (born 20 April 1980) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played as a central defender. He spent the majority of his career in Dundee, playing for both Dundee and Dundee United. Wilkie started his career with Dundee, maki ...

, in a 3–1 win mired in refereeing controversy. Although he was not sent off, Cousin was widely criticised for his stupidity. On 31 August, Cousin scored the opening goal in the first

Old Firm The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded i ...

match of the season. Rangers went on to win the match 4–2 and he was later sent off for two bookable offences. This was the player's final game for Rangers, but Rangers' then-assistant manager

Ally McCoist Alistair Murdoch McCoist (; born 24 September 1962) is a Scottish former association football, footballer who has since worked as a Manager (association football), manager and TV pundit. McCoist began his playing career with Scottish club St Jo ...

said: "That was as good a centre-forward performance in an Old Firm game as I've ever seen from anybody. That particular day he was phenomenal.""Si Ferry Meets... Ally McCoist"
- Open Goal, YouTube, published on 16 April 2018

Hull City

On 1 September 2008, Cousin signed for English

side

on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee. Cousin scored his first Hull goal against Arsenal at the

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a association football, football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal F.C., Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. ...

on 27 September 2008. His header was the decisive goal and helped to exalt Hull City to a historic 2–1 victory against Arsenal at their home. He scored in a 4–3 defeat to

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

before scoring again at home to

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

. On 1 September 2009, a loan deal to Premier League rivals

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

fell through. In total, Cousin scored five goals in 33 matches for the Tigers.

Larissa

Cousin joined the Greek side

on loan for the second half of the 2009–10 season. He was the second player from

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

to play for Larissa after

Henry Antchouet Henri Arnaud Antchouet Rebienot (born 2 August 1979), known as Antchouet, is a Gabonese former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed "The Arrow" due to his agility, he spent most of his professional career in Portugal and ...

. The transfer was made permanent on 18 August 2010. Despite a good performance the following season, Larissa were relegated from the top tier, and he left the club.

Sapins

On 13 October 2011, Cousin returned home to Gabon to play for local team

Sapins FC Akanda Football Club (formerly Sapins Football Club, French: ''Club de football d'Akhanda'') is a Gabonese football club based in Libreville, Gabon. The club plays in the highest level league of Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Rep ...

in an attempt to boost his chances of playing at the

2012 Africa Cup of Nations The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football (C ...

. The deal with Sapins allowed the striker to leave without any conditions if he received an offer from a club in Europe. Cousin was released by Sapins on 31 January 2012. Cousin agreed personal terms to rejoin

until the end of the season, but Rangers entered

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

and had a transfer embargo applied by the

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

. When Rangers attempted to register Cousin with the league, their application was rejected.

International career

Cousin made his debut for Gabon on 23 January 2000 in a 3–1 defeat to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. He participated in all three of Gabon's matches at the

2000 Africa Cup of Nations The 2000 African Cup of Nations was the 22nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was co-hosted by Ghana and Nigeria, who jointly replaced Zimbabwe as host. Just like in 1998, the field o ...

. On 2 September 2006, he was made captain of the national team and led them to a 4–0 win over

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. He scored the only goal in a 1–0 win at the

2010 Africa Cup of Nations The 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was held in Angola, where it began on 10 January 2 ...

over

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

Managerial career

On 4 September 2014, Cousin was named general manager of the Gabon national team. In September 2018, he became manager of the Gabon national team. He left in March 2019. On 20 May 2019, Cousin was appointed manager of French club ES Fos-sur-Mer. He was sacked on 30 September 2019. In June 2020, Cousin joined the technical staff of FC Côte Bleue, where he would be in charge of the attacking section of the U18 to the senior reserve of the French club.

Career statistics

International goals

:''Scores and results list Gabon's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Cousin goal.''

Honours

Lens *

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

References

External links

* * *
Daniel Cousin Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cousin, Daniel 1977 births Living people Footballers from Libreville Gabonese men's footballers Gabon men's international footballers 2000 African Cup of Nations players 2010 Africa Cup of Nations players 2012 Africa Cup of Nations players Men's association football forwards FC Martigues players Chamois Niortais FC players Le Mans FC players RC Lens players Gabonese emigrants to France Naturalized citizens of France Rangers F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Athlitiki Enosi Larissa F.C. players Akanda FC players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Scottish Premier League players Premier League players Super League Greece players Gabonese football managers Gabon national football team managers Gabonese expatriate men's footballers Gabonese expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Gabonese expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in France Gabonese expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Gabonese expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England 2014 African Nations Championship players Gabon men's A' international footballers