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{{Short description|Ivorian footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name               = Bonaventure Kalou
| image              = Bonaventure Kalou.jpg
| image_size         = 200
| caption            = Kalou playing for [[Feyenoord]] in 2002
| fullname           = Bonaventure Kalou<ref>{{cite web|title=FIFA World Cup Germany 2006 – List of Players|url=https://www.fifadata.com/document/fwc/2006/PDF/FWC_2006_SquadLists.pdf|publisher=Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)|access-date=6 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190610174527/https://www.fifadata.com/document/fwc/2006/PDF/FWC_2006_SquadLists.pdf|archive-date=10 June 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|1978|1|12|df=yes}}
| birth_place        = [[Oumé]], Ivory Coast
| clubnumber         = 
| position           = [[Midfielder|Attacking midfielder]]
| height             = 1.82m
| youthyears1   =  | youthclubs1   = 
| years1 = 1996–1997 | clubs1 = [[ASEC Mimosas]] | caps1 = 35 | goals1 = 6
| years2 = 1997–2003 | clubs2 = [[Feyenoord]] | caps2 = 149 | goals2 = 35
| years3 = 2003–2005 | clubs3 = [[AJ Auxerre|Auxerre]] | caps3 = 63 | goals3 = 19
| years4 = 2005–2007 | clubs4 = [[Paris Saint-Germain F.C.|Paris Saint-Germain]] | caps4 = 55 | goals4 = 11
| years5 = 2007      | clubs5 = [[RC Lens|Lens]] | caps5 = 4 | goals5 = 0
| years6 = 2007–2008 | clubs6 = [[Al-Jazira Club]] | caps6 =  | goals6 = 
| years7 = 2008–2010 | clubs7 = [[SC Heerenveen|Heerenveen]] | caps7 = 23 | goals7 = 2
| totalcaps = 329
| totalgoals = 73
| nationalyears1 = 1998–2006 | nationalteam1 = [[Ivory Coast national football team|Ivory Coast]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalfootballteams.com/v2/player.php?id=1713|title=Kalou, Bonaventure|publisher=nationalfootballteams.com|access-date=15 December 2011}}</ref> | nationalcaps1 = 51 | nationalgoals1 = 12
}}
'''Bonaventure Kalou''' (born 12 January 1978) is an Ivorian former professional [[Association football|footballer]] who played as an [[Midfielder|attacking midfielder]]. He serves as elected mayor of [[Vavoua]].<ref name="Mayor Vavoua">{{cite web |last1=Alfa Shaban |first1=Abdur Rahman |title=Ex Ivorian footballer Bonaventure Kalou elected mayor |url=http://www.africanews.com/2018/10/15/ex-ivorian-footballer-bonaventure-kalou-elected-mayor/ |website=Africanews.com|date=15 October 2018 }}</ref>

==Club career==
Born in [[Oumé]], Kalou started playing for [[ASEC Mimosas]] in his home country, before moving to Dutch-based [[Feyenoord Rotterdam|Feyenoord]]. He played in [[Rotterdam]] for six seasons as a first team regular. He mainly played as a winger, but also played as a striker when necessary. Meanwhile, his brother, [[Salomon Kalou|Salomon]], who came to visit him, impressed the Feyenoord staff and was signed as a youth player.

When Bonaventure decided to leave Feyenoord and try his luck in another European competition, the Ligue 1, at [[AJ Auxerre]], Salomon was sent to Feyenoord's partner [[Excelsior Rotterdam|Excelsior]] on loan, before taking over his brother's role. Bonaventure played two seasons at Auxerre, where he developed further as a striker and an attacking [[midfielder]] as opposed to a winger. However, he still managed to score a similar number of goals compared to previous seasons. It was in this period that he talked to his brother, who still played at Feyenoord, into acquiring Dutch citizenship, which eventually was rejected by Dutch Immigration Minister [[Rita Verdonk]]. While at Auxerre, Kalou scored the winning goal in injury time in the [[Coupe de France Final 2005|2005 Coupe de France final]] as they defeated his future club [[Paris Saint-Germain]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.voetbalkrant.com/nieuws/2005-06-05/auxerre-pakt-franse-beker |title=Auxerre pakt Franse beker |website=voetbalkrant.com |date=5 June 2005 |access-date=8 September 2019}}</ref>

In 2005–06, he was transferred to Auxerre's [[Ligue 1]] rivals Paris Saint-Germain. He scored one of PSG's goals as they won the [[2006 Coupe de France Final]]; the second consecutive season he had scored in the final.<ref>{{cite news |title=PSG win French Cup |url=https://www.eurosport.com/football/coupe-de-france/2005-2006/psg-win-french-cup_sto876477/story.shtml |access-date=25 January 2021 |publisher=Eurosport |date=29 April 2006}}</ref> PSG started to become a relegation-threatened team and he soon signed for another French team, [[RC Lens]]. The future looked bright for them, but they were surprisingly relegated at the end of the season. Kalou returned to the Netherlands in 2008 with [[SC Heerenveen]], with whom he won the [[Dutch Cup]] in 2009. Heerenveen beat [[FC Twente]] in the final, and Kalou scored a goal. In the end of 2009, he was on trial at [[Crystal Palace F.C.|Crystal Palace]] and [[Le Mans FC|Le Mans]], but both trials were unsuccessful. In February 2011, Kalou announced his retirement from professional football. He joined French lower league amateur club Combs-la-Ville for the 2011–12 campaign.

==International career==
[[Image:Ivory Coast penalty.jpg|thumb|Kalou scores a penalty for Ivory Coast during the 2006 World Cup|left]]
Kalou played in the [[1997 FIFA World Youth Championship]], and was also in the squad for the [[2006 FIFA World Cup]] for the [[Ivory Coast national football team|Ivory Coast]]. He scored the winning goal in their final match, against [[Serbia and Montenegro national football team|Serbia and Montenegro]].<ref>[http://soccernet.espn.go.com/match?id=191955&cc=5739 Match report: Ivory Coast v Serbia & Montenegro] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019171726/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/match?id=191955&cc=5739 |date=19 October 2012 }} ESPN Soccernet</ref>

== Political career ==
In 2018 Kalou successfully ran as an [[Independent politician|independent]] candidate for Mayor of [[Vavoua]].<ref name="Mayor Vavoua" />

==Personal life==
His younger brother, [[Salomon Kalou|Salomon]], also played for [[Feyenoord]]. In the build-up to the [[2006 FIFA World Cup]], there was speculation that the brothers could have become the first to play against each other in a [[FIFA World Cup|World Cup]] match, as Salomon was attempting to gain fast-track Dutch citizenship. This did not happen and ultimately Salomon would also play for the [[Ivory Coast national football team|Ivory Coast]], though not until after the World Cup.

Kalou was formerly a Catholic, but told ''[[La Croix (newspaper)|La Croix]]'' in 2017 that he had become an Evangelical Christian.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bonaventure Kalou, le footballeur qui croyait en Dieu|trans-title=Bonaventure Kalou, the footballer who believed in God|url=https://africa.la-croix.com/bonaventure-kalou-footballeur-croyait-dieu/ |access-date=8 February 2022 |work=[[La Croix (newspaper)|La Croix]] |date=20 January 2017 |language=French}}</ref>

He holds both Ivorian and Dutch nationalities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bonaventure Kalou |url=https://www.ligue1.fr/joueur |access-date=2024-01-08 |website=Ligue1 |language=fr-FR}}</ref>

==Honours==
'''Feyenoord'''<ref name="SW">{{cite web|url=https://us.soccerway.com/players/bonaventure-kalou/311/|title=Bonaventure Kalou|website=Soccerway|access-date=8 March 2020}}</ref>
*[[Eredivisie]]: [[1998–99 Eredivisie|1998–99]]
*[[Johan Cruyff Shield]]: [[1999 Johan Cruyff Shield|1999]]
*[[UEFA Europa League|UEFA Cup]]: [[2002 UEFA Cup Final|2001–02]]

'''Auxerre'''<ref name="SW" />
*[[Coupe de France]]: [[2004–05 Coupe de France|2004–05]]

'''Paris Saint-Germain'''<ref name="SW" />
*Coupe de France: [[2005–06 Coupe de France|2005–06]]

'''Heerenveen'''<ref name="SW" />
*[[KNVB Cup]]: [[2008–09 KNVB Cup|2008–09]]

'''Ivory Coast'''
*[[Africa Cup of Nations]] runner-up:[[2006 Africa Cup of Nations|2006]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tables/06a.html|title=African Nations Cup 2006}}</ref>

'''Individual'''
*[[Trophées UNFP du football#2004–05|UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year]]: [[2004–05 Ligue 1|2004–05]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Worldfootball.net|bonaventure-kalou}}

{{2004–05 Ligue 1 UNFP Team of the Year}}
{{Navboxes colour
|title=Ivory Coast squads
|bg=#F1771D
|fg=white
|bordercolor= green
|list1=
{{Côte d'Ivoire Squad 1998 Africa Cup of Nations}}
{{Côte d'Ivoire Squad 2000 Africa Cup of Nations}}
{{Côte d'Ivoire Squad 2002 Africa Cup of Nations}}
{{Côte d'Ivoire Squad 2006 Africa Cup of Nations}}
{{Côte d'Ivoire Squad 2006 World Cup}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalou, Bonaventure}}
[[Category:1978 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Ivorian men's footballers]]
[[Category:Ivory Coast men's international footballers]]
[[Category:Ivory Coast men's under-20 international footballers]]
[[Category:Dutch men's footballers]]
[[Category:Naturalised citizens of the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Men's association football forwards]]
[[Category:ASEC Mimosas players]]
[[Category:Feyenoord players]]
[[Category:AJ Auxerre players]]
[[Category:Paris Saint-Germain FC players]]
[[Category:RC Lens players]]
[[Category:Al Jazira Club players]]
[[Category:SC Heerenveen players]]
[[Category:UEFA Europa League–winning players]]
[[Category:2006 FIFA World Cup players]]
[[Category:1998 African Cup of Nations players]]
[[Category:2000 African Cup of Nations players]]
[[Category:2002 African Cup of Nations players]]
[[Category:2006 Africa Cup of Nations players]]
[[Category:Eredivisie players]]
[[Category:Ligue 1 players]]
[[Category:Ivorian expatriate men's footballers]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in France]]
[[Category:Ivorian sportsperson-politicians]]
[[Category:Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in France]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates]]
[[Category:Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates]]
[[Category:Footballers from Gôh-Djiboua District]]
[[Category:UAE Pro League players]]
[[Category:Ivorian evangelicals]]
[[Category:Converts to evangelical Christianity from Roman Catholicism]]
[[Category:21st-century Ivorian sportsmen]]