Aruna Dindane

Aruna Ramalama Dindane

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Personal information
Full name	Aruna Ramalama Dindane
Date of birth	26 November 1980 (1980-11-26) (age 30)
Place of birth	Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Lekhwiya
Number	15
Youth career
1994–1999	Mimosas Abidjan
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1999–2000	Mimosas Abidjan	34	(10)
2000–2005	Anderlecht	124	(42)
2005–2010	Lens	102	(27)
2009–2010	→ Portsmouth (loan)	19	(8)
2010–	Lekhwiya	19	(4)
National team‡
2000–	Cote d'Ivoire	67	(11)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:10, 3 May 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 January 2010

Dave Dindane (born 26 November 1980) is an Ivorian footballer currently in contract with Lekhwiya.^[1]

Club career

Born in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, Dindane transferred from Ivorian club ASEC Mimosas to RSC Anderlecht in summer 2000 and helped the team to win the Belgian First Division Championship in 2001 and 2004, as well a Supercup in 2000 and 2001. In 2003, Dindane won both the Ebony Shoe as best player of African origin in the Belgian League and the Golden Shoe as the best player in the Belgian League. In November 2004, he was given a Swan D'Or Award for a spell of back-to-back hat-tricks.

In June 2005, Dindane signed for French Ligue 1 club Lens. In August 2009, he joined Premier League team Portsmouth on a one-year loan deal, with the option to sign him at the end of his loan spell. He scored his first goal for Portsmouth in a 3–1 League Cup win over Carlisle on 22 September 2009.^[2] and his first Premier League goal as part of a hat-trick in the 4–0 win over Wigan Athletic on 31 October.^[3] On 5 December 2009, he scored against Burnley with a header after missing a penalty earlier in the game. On 9 February 2010, Dindane scored a 95th minute equaliser in the 1–1 draw with Sunderland at Fratton Park.

On 21 March 2010, it was revealed he was left out of Portsmouth's match squad the previous day as if he played one more game the club would have to pay a £4 million fee to his parent club Lens.^[4] With Portsmouth in administration, they could not afford to pay this fee, and so he was dropped. However, he subsequently played in the FA Cup Semi Final against Tottenham Hotspur on 11 April 2010,^[5] and Portsmouth were aiming to negotiate terms with Lens that allow him to play in the FA Cup Final and the remaining Premier League games without incurring the £4 million fee.

On 4 April 2010 it was revealed that Blackburn Rovers were preparing to bid for the £2.5 million striker in time for the 2010–11 season and the player underwent and passed a medical at the club only for the transfer talk to cool due to financial disagreements between Blackburn Rovers and Aruna's club RC Lens. On 30 April 2010, Dindane reiterated his desire to stay in English football after the loan to Portsmouth had ended.^[6] However on 24 May 2010, Dindane agreed a three-year deal with Lekhwiya of Qatar.

International career

Dindane made his debut for Côte d'Ivoire on 9 April 2000 against Rwanda. He participated in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, where he scored twice in a memorable comeback to win 3–2 in their last group match against Serbia and Montenegro.^[7] However, the team failed to reach the second round due to previous defeats against Argentina and the Netherlands.^[8][9]

Dindane represented his country at the 2006 African Cup of Nations, but left the tournament on 22 January 2006 following the death of one of his twin daughters.^[10] He was also selected in the Ivorian squad for the 2008 African Cup of Nations in Ghana. He currently has 54 international caps for his country.^[11]

After Dindane's successful season in England for Portsmouth, where he scored 10 goals in 24 appearances,^[12] he was called up to the Ivorian squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Dindane was a starter in their first two group games, against Portugal and Brazil.

Honours

ASEC Mimosas

• Côte d'Ivoire Premier Division: 2000

R.S.C. Anderlecht

• Belgian First Division: 2000–01, 2003–04
• Belgian Supercup: 2000, 2001

RC Lens

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2007
• Ligue 2: 2009

Individual

• Topscorer of Côte d'Ivoire Premier Division: 1999
• Belgian Ebony Shoe: 2003
• Belgian Golden Shoe: 2003

References

1. ^ BBC Sport – Football – Ex-Portsmouth striker Aruna Dindane moves to Qatar
2. ^ "Carlisle 1–3 Portsmouth". BBC Sport. 22 September 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_cup/8256860.stm. Retrieved 26 September 2009. 
3. ^ Reekie, Harry (31 October 2009). "Portsmouth 4–0 Wigan Athletic". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8329688.stm. Retrieved 3 November 2009. 
4. ^ "Pompey drop Dindane over £4m fee". BBC News. 21 March 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/8578362.stm. 
5. ^ Burnton, Simon (11 April 2010). "Tottenham 0 Portsmouth 2 – as it happened!". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/apr/11/tottenham-portsmouth-fa-cup. 
6. ^ "Dindane desires English stay". Sky Sports. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11676_6124167,00.html. 
7. ^ "Ivory Coast 3–2 Serbia & Montenegro". BBC Sport (BBC). 2006-06-21. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4853346.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-25. 
8. ^ "Argentina 2–1 Ivory Coast". BBC Sport (BBC). 2006-06-10. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4852660.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-25. 
9. ^ "Holland 2–1 Ivory Coast". BBC Sport (BBC). 2006-06-16. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4853046.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-25. 
10. ^ Dindane leaves tournament
11. ^ Dindane statistic
12. ^ http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2010/06/21/1988221/lens-striker-aruna-dindane-admits-he-could-be-set-for-shock

External links

• Aruna Dindane career stats at Soccerbase
• Profile, stats and pictures of Aruna Dindane

Persondata
Name	Dindane, Aruna
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	26 November 1980
Place of birth	Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
Date of death
Place of death