Euro 2008 Player Profile: Johan Djourou

Name: Johan Djourou
Date of Birth: January 18th, 1987
Place of Birth: Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Height: 1m92
Current Club: Arsenal FC, Number 20
Position: Centre Back
Club History: 1996-2003 Etoile Carouge, 2003-2004 Arsenal FC (Youth Clubs), 2004-onwards Arsenal FC (30 App.), 2007-2008 Birmingham City (Loan, 13 App)
Switzerland Stats: 17 Appearances, 1 Goal. Number 2 – Debut Game: Scotland – Switzerland 1-3 (01.03.06)

In his early days he played as a central midfielder
2006-2007 was his best season at Arsenal where he played alongside Kolo Touré following Gallas’ injury.
He was called back to Arsenal after an excellent spell at Birmingham because of Arsenal having lost defenders to the African Cup of Nations.
He was born in Ivory Coast, lived in Geneva and now lives in London. And all of that at the age of 21.
He said: “There was talk, last year, of my playing for Ivory Coast but I always knew I would play for Switzerland,” said Djourou. “I grew up there. I played for the national teams when I was younger. I’ve always felt both [nationalities]. My dad is from the Ivory Coast, my mum raised me, helped me to grow up. So I feel Swiss as well.”
About the World Cup: “When we came back from the World Cup people were waiting for us at the airport and they are really looking forward to the Euros. Now people respect us. They no longer say ‘the little Swiss team’, we have showed we can compete as we did against France. We have young players in nearly every position, the future looks good.”

Read more about him in this interview

Fancy move by Djourou: