Younès Kaboul

Younès Kaboul (born 4 January 1986) is a French former footballer who played as a centre back for Auxerre, Tottenham Hotspur, Portsmouth, Sunderland and Watford. For France Kaboul played for the under-21's and went on to play five matches and scored once for France national team in 2011.

Younès Kaboul

Kaboul playing for Tottenham Hotspur in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Younès Kaboul[1]
Date of birth	4 January 1986
Place of birth	Saint-Julien-en-Genevois, France
Height	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[2]
Position(s)	Centre back
Youth career
1991–1993	Bellegarde
1993–1999	Concordia
1999–2000	Plastics Vallée
2000–2004	Auxerre
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2004–2007	Auxerre	52	(3)
2007–2008	Tottenham Hotspur	21	(3)
2008–2010	Portsmouth	39	(4)
2010–2015	Tottenham Hotspur	89	(3)
2015–2016	Sunderland	24	(0)
2016–2018	Watford	25	(2)
National team
2006–2008	France U21	9	(1)
2011	France	5	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13:00, 27 April 2018 (UTC)

He began his professional career with Auxerre in 2004. After an estimated £8 million move to Tottenham Hotspur in 2007 he spent eleven years in England's Premier League. He won the League Cup with Tottenham in 2008.

Club career

Auxerre

Kaboul began his career at Auxerre and was a regular for the club by 2006. He won the Coupe de France in 2005, as well as having European football experience in the UEFA Cup. He was known to be the "back bone" for Auxerre due to his excellent tackling skills, good judgment and strength. He was also known to score a few key goals that clinched wins for the club.[3]

Tottenham Hotspur

Kaboul in 2007

Kaboul signed for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on 5 July 2007 for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £8 million.[4] He quickly became a fan favourite, admired for his power and aggression on the pitch.[5] He played his first game for Tottenham in a friendly against St. Patrick's Athletic on 12 July. He made his Premier League debut starting alongside Anthony Gardner in the centre of defence in a 1–0 loss against Sunderland on the first day of the 2007–08 season. Kaboul then scored his first goal for Tottenham on 1 September against Fulham.[6] He scored again on his European debut for Tottenham, on 20 September, netting the first goal in a 6–1 win over Anorthosis.[7]

On 1 October, on the club's 125th anniversary, Kaboul scored the equalizer late in stoppage time against Aston Villa to pull Tottenham level at 4–4 and complete a remarkable comeback from 4–1 down.[8] After a period out of the team due to numerous errors, his comeback to the side away to Derby County on 8 February 2008 saw him score his fourth goal of the season.[9] He came on as a 102nd-minute substitute for Robbie Keane as Spurs beat Chelsea 2–1 in the 2008 Football League Cup Final at Wembley Stadium on 24 February.[10] Overall, Kaboul made 29 appearances for Tottenham in his initial spell at the club, adding four goals.[11]

Portsmouth

Kaboul playing for Portsmouth against A.C. Milan

On 11 August 2008, Kaboul joined Portsmouth on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £6 million.[12][13] His first goal for Portsmouth came in the UEFA Cup against Milan on 27 November 2008.[14] His first league goal was an emphatic left-footed strike into the top corner, on 12 April 2009 at home against West Bromwich Albion.[15] He scored his second league goal in a 4–1 loss to Arsenal on 22 August.[16]

In total, Kaboul made 50 appearances for Portsmouth, scoring five goals.[11]

Return to Tottenham

Kaboul playing for Tottenham in 2011

On 30 January 2010, Tottenham announced that Kaboul would be rejoining the club for an undisclosed fee, reported to be £9.5 million. Portsmouth would receive just £6.5 million of this owing to installments outstanding on the earlier transfer and to a sell-on clause.[13][17] Then club manager Harry Redknapp stated that the player was "much improved" from his original spell at White Hart Lane, and that Kaboul was a "late developer".[18]

On 5 May 2010, Kaboul was in the starting 11 against Manchester City playing right back. He was instrumental in the goal that brought Tottenham a 0–1 victory, whipping in a cross that the City goalkeeper could only palm into the path of Tottenham striker Peter Crouch. This victory guaranteed them fourth position in the 2009–10 Premier League and passage into the UEFA Champions League qualifiers for the first time in the club's history.[19] Kaboul scored the winner in the North London derby against Arsenal in a match which Spurs were 2–0 down at half-time, and continued his scoring form after volleying home the first goal in a 3–0 victory against Werder Bremen in the Champions League.

On 15 September 2014, manager Mauricio Pochettino made Kaboul Tottenham's permanent club captain, after predecessor Michael Dawson moved to Hull City.[20]

Sunderland

Kaboul (right) with Yann M'Vila, playing for Sunderland in 2015

On 16 July 2015, Kaboul signed for Sunderland on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee.[21] On 8 August 2015, he made his debut in a 2–4 defeat away to Leicester City.[22] On 19 September, Kaboul was sent off for two bookable offences in a 0–2 defeat away to AFC Bournemouth.[23]

After struggling for form and fitness under Dick Advocaat at the start of the season, new manager Sam Allardyce paired Kaboul with new defensive signing Lamine Koné in the latter stages of the season. The pair formed an effective partnership as Sunderland improved defensively, culminating in a man of the match performance from Kaboul in a 3–0 victory over Everton on 11 May 2016 that secured the club's Premier League survival and left Kaboul in tears during post-match celebrations.[24]

Watford

On 19 August 2016, Kaboul joined Watford on a three-year deal for a fee around the margin of £4 million.[25] On 1 January 2017, he scored his first goal for the Hornets in 1–4 loss to his former club Tottenham Hotspur,[26] and netted again in a 2–1 win at Arsenal later in the same month.[27]

Having not played since September 2017, on 21 December 2018 he left the club by mutual consent.[28]

International career

Kaboul captained the under-21 team. He played five times for the senior team in 2011, scoring a header from Marvin Martin's corner on his debut, a 4–1 friendly win away to Ukraine at the Donbass Arena on 6 June.[29]

On 15 May 2012, Kaboul was ruled out of a possible place at UEFA Euro 2012 after suffering a knee injury during Tottenham's final match of the 2011–12 season.[30]

Kaboul is of Moroccan descent, and in 2010 he denied choosing their national team.[31]

Career statistics

Club

As of As of May 2018[32]

Club	Season	League			Cup[33]		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Auxerre	2004–05	Ligue 1	12	0	0	0	3	0	15	0
	2005–06		9	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
	2006–07		31	2	0	0	4	0	35	2
	Total		52	2	0	0	7	0	59	2
Tottenham Hotspur	2007–08	Premier League	21	3	5	0	3	1	29	4
Portsmouth	2008–09	Premier League	20	1	3	0	2	1	25	2
	2009–10		19	3	6	0	0	0	25	3
	Total		39	4	9	0	2	1	50	5
Tottenham Hotspur	2009–10	Premier League	10	0	0	0	0	0	10	0
	2010–11		21	1	0	0	3	1	24	2
	2011–12		33	1	4	0	4	0	41	1
	2012–13		1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2013–14		13	1	1	0	6	1	20	2
	2014–15		11	0	2	0	2	0	15	0
	Total		89	3	7	0	15	2	111	5
Sunderland	2015–16	Premier League	23	0	0	0	0	0	23	0
	2016–17		1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	Total		24	0	0	0	0	0	24	0
Watford	2016–17	Premier League	23	2	2	0	0	0	25	2
	2017–18		2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	2018–19		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		25	2	2	0	0	0	27	2
Career total			248	15	21	0	26	4	295	19

International

France[34]
Year	Apps	Goals
2011	5	1
Total	5	1

Honours

Auxerre

• Coupe de France: 2004–05[35]

Tottenham Hotspur

• Football League Cup: 2007–08[10]

References

1. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Mainstream Publishing. p. 229. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
2. "Premier League Player Profile Younes Kaboul". Premier League. Barclays Premier League. 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
3. "Younes Kaboul Player Profile – ESPN FC". Soccernet.espn.go.com. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
4. "Kaboul makes White Hart Lane move". The Guardian. London. 5 July 2007.
5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
6. Mercer, Nathan (1 September 2007). "Fulham 3–3 Tottenham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
7. Sinnott, John (20 September 2007). "Tottenham 6–1 A Famagusta news". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
8. Bevan, Chris (1 October 2007). "Tottenham 4–4 Aston Villa". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
9. Lyon, Sam (9 February 2008). "Derby 0–3 Tottenham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
10. Stevenson, Jonathan (24 February 2008). "Tottenham 2–1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
11. "Kaboul completes return". Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
12. "Portsmouth sign Kaboul from Spurs". BBC Sport. 11 August 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
13. "BBC Sport – Football – Defender Younes Kaboul rejoins Tottenham". BBC News. 30 January 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
14. Hughes, Ian (27 November 2008). "Portsmouth 2–2 AC Milan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
15. Chowdhury, Saj (11 April 2009). "Portsmouth 2–2 West Brom". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
16. Ornstein, David (22 August 2009). "Arsenal 4–1 Portsmouth". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
17. "Peter Storrie: Portsmouth players to be paid on Monday – ESPN FC". Soccernet.espn.go.com. 31 January 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
18. "Kaboul seals Spurs return | Football News". Sky Sports. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
19. McNulty, Phil (5 May 2010). "BBC Sport – Football – Manchester City 0-1 Tottenham". BBC News. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
20. "Kaboul named new Tottenham captain". Talksport. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
21. "Kabould joins Sunderland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
22. "Leicester 4 – 2 Sunderland". BBC Sport.
23. "Bournemouth 2 – 0 Sunderland". BBC Sport.
24. "Sunderland fans react on Twitter to Younes Kaboul's performance". Hitc.com. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
25. "Younes Kaboul joins the Golden Boys". Watford F.C. 19 August 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
26. "Watford 1-4 Spurs". The Guardian. 1 January 2017.
27. "Arsenal 1 Watford 2: Hosts' title challenge looks to be over after shock defeat at the Emirates". The Daily Telegraph. 31 January 2017.
28. "Younes Kaboul leaves Watford by mutual consent". BBC Sport. 21 December 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
29. "France rises above Ukraine in football friendly". France 24. 7 June 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
30. "Euro 2012: Younes Kaboul misses out on France squad". BBC Sport. 15 May 2012.
31. "Younes Kaboul Denies Opting For Morocco". Goal.com. 5 October 2010. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
32. "Younes Kaboul | Football Stats | Sunderland | Age 30". Soccer Base. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
33. Includes FA Cup, League Cup and FA Community Shield.
34. "Younès Kaboul" (in French). French Football Federation. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
35. "Auxerre pakt Franse beker". voetbalkrant.com. Retrieved 8 September 2019.

External links

• Younes Kaboul at tottenhamhotspur.com
• Younès Kaboul at National-Football-Teams.com
• Younès Kaboul at Soccerbase
• Younès Kaboul – French league stats at LFP (also available in French)
• Younes Kaboul at football-lineups.com