Salomon Kalou
There are a lot of Ivorian footballers currently playing in the Premier League, including the famous striker Didier Drogba and this next young player we are about to discuss in this article: Salomon Kalou. Born on August 5th, 1985, Salomon is now playing for Chelsea as a striker for the team.
As you may have guessed, Salomon Kalou is the brother of Bonaventure Kalou who started his career as a professional football player much earlier. When Salomon first started his career, he joined the local club Mimosas – the same club his brother used to play for – before signing for Excelsior Rotterdam in 2003.
Salomon played for Excelsior throughout the 2003 season and showed spectacular performances that captured everyone’s attention; he scored 15 goals in 11 appearances for the team, a stunning record nonetheless. He was then ‘promoted’ to join Feyenoord at the end of the season and played for the team until 2006.
It was José Mourinho who insisted on acquiring Solomon and bringing him to Chelsea in 2006. The team manager acknowledged Solomon’s talents and his fighting spirit; just the right combination Chelsea needed at the time.
Salomon continued to show amazing performances. He scored a total of 32 goals in his 135 Premier League appearances with Chelsea. He helped Chelsea won the 2009-10 Premier League trophy and FA Cup.
Solomon also supported the Ivory Coast national team in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, scoring a total of 13 goals for the national team in 36 appearances. It is interesting to see what this young striker can accomplish in the near future.