1. Johan Djourou played as a defensive midfielder in his youth for former club Etoile Carouge, but when he arrived at Arsenal, he was converted to a central defender.
55 Facts About Johan Djourou
1. 2.
Johan Djourou occasionally filled in at full back for Arsenal and played several games in central midfield while on loan to Birmingham City.
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Johan Djourou spent time on loan at Hannover 96 in 2013 before joining fellow Bundesliga team Hamburger SV, initially on loan, later that year.
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Johan Djourou represented Switzerland from 2006 to 2018, earning 76 caps.
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Johan Djourou was called up by the nation at three FIFA World Cups and two UEFA European Championships.
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Johan Djourou was born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, to Ivorian parents Joachim and Angeline, and was later adopted by his father's first wife, Daniele, a Swiss woman.
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Johan Djourou later acknowledged that he has two mothers in his life.
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On 21 January 2005, Johan Djourou signed a two-year contract extension with the club.
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Johan Djourou then played in the third round clash with Cardiff City.
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In February 2006, Johan Djourou played in the league games against West Ham United, Birmingham City and Bolton Wanderers.
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Johan Djourou 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.
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On 1 November 2006, it was announced that Johan Djourou signed a six-year contract extension with the club.
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The next two months saw Johan Djourou make only two appearances due to being sidelined with injuries.
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On 10 August 2007, Johan Djourou signed for Birmingham City on loan for five months.
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Johan Djourou made his debut two days later against the previous season's FA Cup and League Cup winners Chelsea.
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Johan Djourou then helped the club keep two consecutive clean sheets between 15 September 2007 and 22 September 2007 against gifted Bolton Wanderers and Liverpool.
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Johan Djourou continued to play for Birmingham consistently through his loan period until 22 December 2007, when he gifted Bolton Wanderers' Nicolas Anelka a goal via an errant throw-in.
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On 22 September 2008, Johan Djourou signed a new long-term contract.
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However, on 11 April 2009, in a league match against Wigan Athletic, Johan Djourou suffered a knee injury which later required surgery.
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Johan Djourou went on to make 29 appearances in all competitions.
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Johan Djourou appeared two times in the first two months of the season, and was placed on the substitute bench as a result.
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Johan Djourou became Arsenal's first-choice centre-back, playing in all eight games in January 2011, during which time Arsenal conceded no Premier League goals.
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Johan Djourou's performance was praised by the club's captain Cesc Fabregas.
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On 12 March 2011, while playing in the quarter finals of the FA Cup away to Manchester United at Old Trafford, Johan Djourou suffered a suspected dislocated shoulder in a collision with teammate Bacary Sagna.
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Johan Djourou built many players but first of all he gave me the chance to express myself.
26.
On 3 January 2013, Johan Djourou confirmed that he was set to move to Bundesliga club Hannover on loan until the end of the season, with no option to buy included in the deal.
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Johan Djourou then helped Hannover 96 keep two consecutive clean sheets between 30 March 2013 and 7 April 2013 against FC Augsburg and VfB Stuttgart.
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On 1 July 2013, Johan Djourou undertook a medical before signing for Bundesliga side Hamburger SV on loan for a season.
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Since making his debut for Hamburger SV, Johan Djourou started in the next six matches for the club.
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Since returning from injury, Johan Djourou regained his first team place for the next two months.
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Johan Djourou then captained Hamburger SV in the next four matches for the side.
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Shortly after Johan Djourou tore his muscle fibre that kept him out for weeks.
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Johan Djourou helped Hamburger SV keep two more clean sheets in the next two matches against Eintracht Frankfurt and FC Ingolstadt 04.
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Johan Djourou then helped the club keep two consecutive clean sheets between 4 December 2016 and 10 December 2016 against Darmstadt 98 and FC Augsburg.
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On 7 August 2017, Johan Djourou completed a free transfer to Antalyaspor after the expiry of his contract with Hamburg, signing a two-year contract with an option to extend the deal by 12 months.
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Johan Djourou made just six appearances before leaving by mutual consent in January 2019.
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On 23 January 2020, Johan Djourou completed a free transfer to Sion for the rest of the Swiss Super League season.
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Johan Djourou then moved to Neuchatel Xamax on 29 May 2020, together with fellow Sion dismissee Xavier Kouassi.
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However, Johan Djourou was plagued by injuries that affected most his time at Neuchatel Xamax.
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On 4 June 2021, Johan Djourou announced his retirement at the age of 34.
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Johan Djourou cited physical pain from playing, as well as business interests in a football academy and a podcast.
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Johan Djourou was a member of the Swiss under-19 squad that reached the semi-finals of the 2004 European Championships.
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Johan Djourou went on to play three times in the tournament, as the U20 side were eliminated in the Group Stage.
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In September 2006, Johan Djourou made two appearances during Swiss U21's qualification campaign for the UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification.
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Johan Djourou was called up to the Switzerland 2006 FIFA World Cup squad, despite not playing in the qualifiers.
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Johan Djourou started Switzerland's round of 16 game against Ukraine, and was substituted injured in the first half.
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The next two years saw Johan Djourou continuing to feature in friendly matches for Switzerland.
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Johan Djourou was named in the Swiss squad for their co-hosting of UEFA Euro 2008.
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Johan Djourou then helped Switzerland keep two consecutive clean sheets between 11 October 2011 and 11 November 2011 against Montenegro and Netherlands.
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At the start of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Johan Djourou helped Switzerland go on a four match unbeaten by the end of the 2012.
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Johan Djourou then helped the national side keep three consecutive clean sheets between 6 February 2013 and 8 June 2013 against Greece and Cyprus.
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Johan Djourou was part of Vladimir Petkovic's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
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Johan Djourou married his long-term girlfriend, Emile, and together, they have three daughters.
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Johan Djourou is good friends with Fabrice Muamba, having been teammates at Arsenal and Birmingham City.
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Johan Djourou said in an interview that he would like to become an actor once his playing career is over.