Johan Djourou

Danon Issouf Johannes Djourou Gbadjere (born 18 January 1987), known as Johan Djourou, is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a centre back.

According to his profile on the website of his former club Arsenal, Djourou possesses "pace, power and whole-hearted commitment" in addition to his versatility.

He played as a defensive midfielder in his youth for former club Étoile Carouge, but when he arrived at Arsenal, he was converted to a central defender.

He occasionally filled in at full back for Arsenal and played several games in central midfield while on loan to Birmingham City.

Djourou enrolled at the Payerne Training Center when he was 13 and then, in 2002, Djourou joined local second division side Étoile Carouge as a midfielder at 15.

He joined Arsenal on 1 August 2003.

Djourou made his first senior start for Arsenal in a 3–1 victory against Everton in the League Cup, having made his first appearance after 89 minutes of the corresponding match in the previous round against Manchester City on 27 October 2004.

He later made three appearances at the end of the 2004–05 season.

On 21 January 2005, Djourou signed a two-year contract extension with the club.

His first appearance of the 2005–06 season came on 29 November 2005 against Reading in the Round of 16 of the League Cup, starting the whole game, in a 3–0 win.

He then played in the third round clash with Cardiff City.

At the end of the 2005–06 season, he went on to make twelve appearances in all competitions.

Following the conclusion of the World Cup, Manager Arsène Wenger said that he would be planning on using Djourou in the first team ahead of the new season.

He started the whole game in the opening game of the season in Arsenal's first ever match at Emirates Stadium in a 1–1 draw with Aston Villa.

Djourou then played in both legs against Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round, as Arsenal won 5–1 on aggregate.

Djourou represented Switzerland from 2006 to 2018, earning 76 caps.

He was called up by the nation at three FIFA World Cups and two UEFA European Championships.

Djourou was born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, to Ivorian parents Joachim and Angeline, and was later adopted by his father's first wife, Danièle, a Swiss woman.

Djourou later acknowledged that he has two mothers in his life.

They moved to Geneva when he was 17 months old.

According to his father, Djourou began playing football when he was a baby, saying: "I would grab balls in stores and play football in the store."

Djourou made his full Premiership debut for Arsenal in the 7–0 victory over Middlesbrough on 14 January 2006, playing at centre-back with Philippe Senderos.

He started Arsenal's FA Cup fourth round clash with Bolton Wanderers as part of a makeshift defence, a game in which Arsenal lost 1–0.

In February 2006, Djourou played in the league games against West Ham United, Birmingham City and Bolton Wanderers.

After a five match absence, he returned to the first team, coming on as a substitute against Aston Villa in Arsenal's 5–0 victory, replacing the injured Emmanuel Eboué.

Djourou then started in a league match against Portsmouth on 12 April 2006, a game which also saw the comeback of Sol Campbell, in a 1–1 draw.

He then helped Arsenal keep two separate clean sheets; which the first one occurred between 17 September 2006 and 23 September 2006 and the second one occurred between 14 October 2006 and 22 October 2006.

On 1 November 2006, it was announced that Djourou signed a six-year contract extension with the club.

Shortly after, however, he missed four matches, due to international commitment and competitions, he returned to the first team against Fulham on 29 November 2006, coming on as a 65th-minute substitute, in a 2–1 loss.

This was followed by keeping two consecutive clean sheets against Tottenham Hotspur and FC Porto.

The next two months saw Djourou make only two appearances due to being sidelined with injuries.

At the end of the 2006–07 season, he went on to make thirty appearances in all competitions.

It wasn't until on 11 February 2007 when he returned to the first team against Wigan Athletic, starting a match and played 51 minutes before being substituted, in a 2–1 win.

However, his return was short-lived when Djourou suffered a knee injury that kept him out throughout February.

It wasn't until on 3 March 2007 when he returned to the starting line-up, in a 2–1 win against Reading.

After not playing for two months, Djourou returned to the starting line-up in the last game of the season against Portsmouth, playing in the defensive midfield position, as Arsenal drew 0–0.

On 10 August 2007, Djourou signed for Birmingham City on loan for five months.

He made his debut two days later against the previous season's FA Cup and League Cup winners Chelsea.

He spent time on loan at Hannover 96 in 2013 before joining fellow Bundesliga team Hamburger SV, initially on loan, later that year.

After three years with Hamburg he went on to play for Turkish Super Lig club Antalyaspor, SPAL of Serie A, the Swiss Super League's Sion and Neuchâtel Xamax, and finally Nordsjælland in the Danish Superliga.