Djakaridja Koné (born 22 July 1986) is a Burkinabé former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.
Koné was born on 22 July 1986 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast and began playing football in Israel with Hapoel Petah Tikva, making his senior debut during the 2005âÂÂ06 Israeli Premier League campaign. In the summer of 2006 he was loaned in the second league to Hapoel Haifa, appearing regularly for the side during his two-year spell. He returned to Hapoel Petah Tikva in first league football, playing constantly in the 2008âÂÂ09 season.
On 18 July 2009, Koné moved to Romania, signing a three-year contract with Dinamo BucureÃÂti. He made his Liga I debut on 7 August 2009 when coach Dario Bonetti sent him in the 64th minute to replace Gabriel BoÃÂtinàin a 0âÂÂ1 home loss to InternaÃÂional Curtea de ArgeÃÂ. In his first season spent at the club, he formed a partnership in the central midfield with Ousmane N'Doye. He helped the club fulfill "The wonder from Liberec" by winning with 3âÂÂ0 the away game against Slovan Liberec, as the first leg was lost with the same score, qualifying after the penalty shoot-out to the group stage of the 2009âÂÂ10 Europa League.
In his last season spent with The Red Dogs, Koné won the 2011âÂÂ12 Cupa României, being used by coach Bonetti the entire match in the 1âÂÂ0 victory in the final against Rapid BucureÃÂti, and was named Man of the match. Shortly afterwards he was linked to Olympique de Marseille, but nothing came of it, similar to another rumor that he was going to sign with Bundesliga side, Hannover 96. Koné has a total of 75 appearances with four goals in Liga I, and also represented Dinamo in 13 games with one goal in the Europa League.
On 20 July 2012, Koné switched teams and countries once more, after agreeing to a three-year contract with Ligue 1 side Evian. He made his debut in the league on 24 August under coach Pablo Correa, coming on as a late substitute for Cédric Barbosa in a 1âÂÂ1 home draw against Lyon. Koné scored his only goal in French top-flight on 27 September 2014, netting the first in a 2âÂÂ0 away win over Lorient. He appeared regularly for The Savoy Crosses during his three-season spell, but in the last one, they were relegated to the second division.
In September 2015, Koné signed with Turkish side, Sivasspor. He made his Süper Lig debut under coach Sergen Yalçñn on 13 September in a 1âÂÂ1 draw against Rizespor. In his single season spent at the club, Koné made a total of 18 league appearances with one goal scored in a 2âÂÂ2 draw against Mersin Talim Yurdu.
After representing Ivory Coast at under-17 and under-19 levels, Koné was subsequently eligible to play for Burkina Faso. He made his debut for the latter's main squad under coach Paulo Duarte on 9 February 2011, in a 0âÂÂ1 friendly loss to Cape Verde.
Koné played two games during the successful 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. Subsequently, he played under coach Duarte in two losses to Angola and Sudan in the final tournament, as his side failed to progress from their group. Coach Paul Put used Koné in all the six games in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, as they got past the group stage where he netted the third goal in a 4âÂÂ0 win against Ethiopia. Then they eliminated Togo in the quarter-finals and Ghana in the semi-finals, losing the final with 0âÂÂ1 to Nigeria in which he played the entire match.
Koné played six games during the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, scoring a goal in the 3âÂÂ2 victory in the first leg of the play-off against Algeria which was eventually lost on the away goals rule, as they suffered a 0âÂÂ1 defeat in the second leg. He made five appearances in the successful 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. Afterwards coach Paul Put used him in all three group stage games of the final tournament which consisted of a draw against Equatorial Guinea and losses to Gabon and Congo, as they surprisingly did not advance further. Subsequently, Koné played two games in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. He made his last appearance for the national team on 12 November 2015 in a 1âÂÂ2 away loss to Benin during the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, having a total of 41 matches with two goals for The Stallions.
Dinamo BucureÃÂti
Burkina Faso