Ritchie Kitoko (born 11 June 1988) is a Belgian 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 plays as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for Greek Super League 2 club

Olympiacos Volos Olympiacos Volos Football Club () is a Greek football club based in the city of Volos. History In 1938 Olympiacos achieves the biggest distinction made from a provincial team at the time, succeeding to enter the final eight in Greek Football Cup. ...

Club career

Born in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

, Kitoko moved to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

in his teens, entering

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège ( ; ; ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won t ...

's youth system in 2004. Two years later he signed his first professional contract, with

Albacete Balompié Albacete Balompié is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Albacete, in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Founded on 5 July 1939, it currently plays in Segunda División, the second tier of Spanish foo ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, spending almost two full seasons with the B-team in the fourth division. On 20 August 2009, Kitoko joined

Udinese Calcio Udinese Calcio (; "Udinese Football") is a professional association football, football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The team currently competes in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football league system, Italian fo ...

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

. However, on 2 January of the following year, he returned to Spain and signed for

Granada CF Granada Club de Fútbol (), known simply as Granada or ''"Graná"'', is a professional List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in the city of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, that currently plays in Segunda ...

on loan until the end of the campaign in the third level, as the

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

ns had recently signed a partnership agreement with the

Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...

; he contributed with 13 games (12 starts) as his team returned to the second tier after an absence of more than 20 years. On 31 January 2011, deemed surplus to requirements at Granada, Kitoko moved to another club in the same country and division,

CD Tenerife Club Deportivo Tenerife, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. Founded in 1922, the club plays in the Segunda División, holding home matches at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez L� ...

, still owned by Udinese. He appeared regularly as a starter during his short spell, but the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

side eventually suffered relegation, a second consecutive. An unassuming two-year spell in the

Superleague 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 repl ...

with Asteras Tripolis F.C. notwithstanding, Kitoko continued competing in Spain's level two in the following years.

International career

After choosing to play for

internationally, Kitoko represented the nation in various youth levels. In May 2009 he earned his first call-up to the senior team, for the

Kirin Cup The is an association football tournament organised in Japan by the Kirin Brewery Company. The host, Japan national football team, Japan, is a participant in every edition. The tournament was founded in 1978 then known as Japan Cup (Internatio ...

, but did not appear in the tournament.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kitoko, Ritchie 1988 births Living people Belgian sportspeople of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent Democratic Republic of the Congo emigrants to Belgium Footballers from Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo men's footballers Belgian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Atlético Albacete players Albacete Balompié players Granada CF footballers CD Tenerife players Girona FC players Real Jaén footballers UCAM Murcia CF players Racing de Santander players Udinese Calcio players Super League Greece players Asteras Tripolis F.C. players Apollon Smyrnis F.C. players Belgium men's youth international footballers Belgium men's under-21 international footballers Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriate men's footballers Belgian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Greece 21st-century Belgian sportsmen 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo sportsmen