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Date of Birth: Tuesday, November 2, 1982
Birth Place: France
Height: 193cm
Position: Goalkeeper
Former Clubs/Teams: RC Lens

Biography

Charles Itanje is a goalkeeper for Liverpool in the English Premier League. Though he has received call-ups to the France A-Team, Itanje has yet to win his first international cap. He is an athletic and capable goalkeeper, who is famous in France for his crazy pre-penalty routine which involves trying to put the opposition striker off – rather like ex-Anfield legend Bruce Grobelaar used to. He is very much the reserve goalie to Jose Reina, and now faces new competition from Diego Cavalieri.

Childhood

Charles Itanje was born on 2nd November 1982, in the outskirts of Paris. The son of Cameroonian parents, Itanje was brought up in a poor area of Paris, and focussed on football to ensure he kept on the right path. He didn’t make it into the famous Claire Fontaine academy, instead coming through the youth-ranks at non-league Red Star before getting scouted by Lens.

Early Career

Itanje joined Lens from the lower-leagues when they were still in the second division, but by the end of the season they had won Promotion to Ligue 1. Itanje made his league debut for the club in the top division, aged 20 years old, and won himself the goalkeeper jersey on a regular basis.

Lens may have just arrived in the top division, but a string of great seasons led them to consolidate their position in the top-flight, and even win a European campaign by finishing in fourth. Itanje was still hoping for a big move, and a chance to prove himself worthy of Les Blues.

Current Club

Charles Itandje arrived at Anfield in August 2007, following the departure of Jerzy Dudek. Whilst he would be competing with Jose Reina, he felt confident that it was a matter of time before he would become first-team ‘keeper. Unfortunately, Jose Reina chose around this time to put together numerous clean-sheets and some fantastic form as Liverpool became real title challengers. With Reina winning the Premier League Goalkeeper of the Year Award for three years running, the chances of Itandje breaking through seem slim.

Itandje’s worth at Lens has been proven, with Lens slipping out of the top division in the season they let Charles go.

International

Charles Itandje is still hopeful of establishing himself in the French set-up, having represented his country over 20 times at U-21 level. He has been called up to the A-Team on a few occasions, but has failed to win his big breakthrough into the first-team. He could play for Cameroon, but he insists that he could only play for his homeland.