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Johan Djourou

Date of birth
18/01/1987
Place of birth
Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Nationality
Swiss
Height
6’4
Weight
90kg
Playing position
Defender
Current club
Arsenal

Johan Djourou was born on 18th January 1987 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast to Ivorian parents. When he was 17 months old, Johan left the Ivory Coast and went to live in Geneva with his father.Johan’s sporting talent was evident from an early age, and at 13 years old, he was spotted by the Swiss FA who enrolled him at the ‘Payerne Training Centre’, a residential football school where he boarded during the week and went back to his family home in Geneva at the weekends.

At the age of just 15, whilst Johan was playing in midfield at Etoile Carouge in the Swiss equivalent of League One, he was scouted for Arsenal. He signed scholarship forms with the Arsenal Academy and officially joined the club as a professional on 1st August 2003.

In August 2006 David joined Portsmouth where he spent four seasons winning the FA Cup in 2008. He remains the current record holder for the most Premier League appearances on 573 and also holding the record for the most Premier League clean sheets with 173.

During his first few years at Arsenal, Arsčne Wenger decided that Johan’s footballing attributes were best suited to a central defensive position and he made his first senior team start in the centre of defence in the Carling Cup against Everton in 2004.

Johan’s full Premiership debut came in Arsenal’s 7-0 victory over Middlesbrough in January 2006 where he partnered Phillip Senderos in the centre of defence. He went on to make a further six Premiership appearances that season.

In October 2006 Johan signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal and went on to make 27 appearances in a season that saw Arsenal finish fourth and qualify for the Champions League.

DJohan went on loan to Birmingham City at the beginning of the 2007/2008 in order to gain Premiership playing experience. He stayed there on loan until December and was a regular in the side making 13 appearances in total. After returning to Arsenal, Johan’s season was interrupted by injury but he did come back to make two appearances towards the end of Arsenal’s campaign.

During the 2008/2009 season Johan made a total of 25 first team starts however his season was cut short in April 2009 when he sustained a knee injury playing against Wigan in the Premier League, which later required surgery.

The knee injury kept Johan out for virtually the whole of the 2009/2010 season with his only appearance coming against Fulham in the final game of the season.

In the 2010/11 season, Johan played regularly in the centre of defence and on 5th February 2011 he scored his first goal for Arsenal in the third minute of their 4-4 draw against Newcastle United.

On 12th March, while playing in the quarter finals of the FA Cup against Manchester United Johan suffered a dislocated shoulder in a collision with team mate Bacary Sagna. This came as a major blow to Arsenal as up until then they had not lost a Premiership game with Johan on the field.

INTERNATIONAL:

Johan was part of the Swiss European Under-19 Football Championship squad that reached the semi-finals in 2004. He made his first senior squad debut when he was included in the team for the 2006 World Cup, starting in central defence for their round of 16 game against Ukraine.

Johan was also included in the squad for Euro 2008 but due to injury he was unable to travel to South Africa for the 2010 World Cup.

Away from football Johan has his own foundation, the Kemi Malaika Foundation which focuses primarily on promoting equal educational opportunities for children in Senegal by putting emphasis on teaching in vocational areas such as tourism, medicine and administration.