Gervinho

Gervais Yao Kouassi (born 27 May 1987), known as Gervinho, is an Ivorian professional footballer who last played as a forward for Greek Super League club Aris.

Gervinho began his career at ASEC Abidjan and Toumodi, before moving to Belgium in 2004 to play for Beveren.

At the end of the 2006–07 season Gervinho moved to Ligue 1 side Le Mans, where he played alongside Ivorian international midfielder Romaric.

He scored two goals in his debut season in Ligue 1, with one of them coming against AS Nancy.

Gervinho scored 9 times in 59 Ligue 1 appearances over 2 seasons with the French side.

Between 2007 and 2011, he played in the French Ligue 1, initially at Le Mans and then at Lille.

In his final season in France, he helped his club win the league and the Coupe de France.

He has made over 80 appearances for the national team from his debut in 2007 until 2021, scoring 23 goals.

He was part of the squad at five Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and two World Cups.

Gervinho was born in Anyama, Ivory Coast.

He began his career in the famed ASEC Abidjan youth academy, where he spent five years.

At ASEC Abidjan, he was given the Brazilian Portuguese style nickname "Gervinho", derived from his first name Gervais, by the Brazilian coach who trained ASEC Abidjan.

The suffix "-inho", in Portuguese, denotes smallness and/or affection, in this case, effectively meaning "Little Gervais".

Following this, he moved to Ivorian Deuxieme Division Zone Four side Toumodi F.C., where he turned professional.

Gervinho played for two seasons at Belgian side Waasland-Beveren, where he made 61 appearances for the club and scored 14 goals.

On 21 July 2009, Gervinho joined Lille for a reported fee of about €6 million (US$8.5 million) on a three-year contract.

Gervinho scored 13 times in 32 appearances in his debut season for the club.

His first goal for Lille came in a 3–2 victory away to US Boulogne on 4 October 2009.

Gervinho had an even more successful second season with Lille.

He scored 18 goals in all competitions, 15 in Ligue 1, to help Lille win the Ligue 1 for the first time in 56 years.

His side were also crowned Coupe de France champions, with Gervinho scoring a goal in the 2–0 semi-final victory over Nice on 20 April.

At the end of the season, Gervinho was linked with clubs like Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, Atlético Madrid and Newcastle United.

He was sold to Arsenal in 2011 for £10.8 million and moved to Roma in 2013 for €8 million.

On 12 July 2011, Gervinho completed a transfer from Lille to Arsenal for a fee believed to be around £10.8 million.

Gervinho was given the number 27 shirt, which was last worn by Ivory Coast teammate Emmanuel Eboué who was already on the verge of leaving the club.

He made his debut in a pre-season friendly match against 1. FC Köln, in which he scored a brace within the first 15 minutes.

He was sent off on his Premier League debut against Newcastle United for slapping Joey Barton.

The game finished 0–0.

This resulted in a standard three-match ban for violent conduct.

Alan Pardew (manager of Newcastle United) accused Gervinho of diving when Cheick Tioté challenged him inside the box.

He scored his first league goal in a 4–3 loss to Blackburn Rovers.

On 23 October 2011 Gervinho followed this up by contributing to all three goals in Arsenal's 3–1 win over Stoke City, scoring the first and assisting both of Robin van Persie's goals.

He then scored his third goal for Arsenal on 3 December 2011, in a 4–0 win at Wigan Athletic, scoring the third goal of the match in a comfortable victory.

He scored his fourth goal of his time at Arsenal on 27 December 2011 in the 1–1 draw against Wolves.

Gervinho then departed for the Africa Cup of Nations after a 2–1 defeat to Fulham.

Gervinho made his return on 18 February 2012 in the FA Cup match against Sunderland which ended in a 2–0 defeat that knocked Arsenal out of the 2011–12 FA Cup.

Gervinho played in three of the first four league games of the season and scored a double in the 6–1 home victory over Southampton on 15 September.

In January 2016, Gervinho moved to Hebei China Fortune.

In August 2018, he joined Parma.

Gervinho is a retired Ivory Coast international.