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Date of Birth: Sunday, January 18, 1987
Birth Place: Switzerland
Height: 191cm
Position: Defender
Former Clubs/Teams: Birmingham City, Arsenal FC, Etoile Carouge

Biography

Johan Djourou plays as a defender for Arsenal in the English Premier League and Switzerland. He is a tall central defender, but is good enough with his feet to be considered as a central midfielder, using his tackling skills to break up play before it reaches the back-line. He is already a key member of the Swiss national side, having been involved since he was just 19 years old.

Childhood

Johan Djourou was born on January 18th 1987 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. He lived with his father, and they moved to Geneva with his father’s Swiss wife, with Johan being formally adopted by his step-mother when he was just 13 months old. He played for various youth teams, and left school with a firm offer of a contract from Etoile Carouge.

Early Career

Djourou signed for Etoile Carouge at just 15 years old, and played a number of reserve team games. At that time he was a classy central-midfielder, but he found it difficult to out-muscle opponents, and his height meant that he stood out as a potential centre-back. Djourou’s ability was such that it was not long before he was moving on to bigger and better things.

Current Club

Johan Djourou signed his contract with Arsenal on August 1st 2003, when he was just 16 years old. It took time for Johan to settle, but alongside fellow Swiss compatriot Phillipe Senderos he began to enjoy his football.

Having debuted for Arsenal in October 2004, Djourou was used as part of the ‘Carling Cup Kids’ teams during his early years at the club whilst he learnt his trade from the likes of Sol Campbell and Patrick Vieira.

Johan spent 2007/08 on loan at Birmingham City, gaining match experience as a centre-back and sometimes defensive midfielder, and returned to Arsenal in August 2008 ready to make a claim for the first-choice centre-back position. A new contract, signed in September 2008, ensures that Djourou will be at Arsenal for many years to come.

International

Djourou could have played for the Ivory Coast, having been born there, but instead chose to play for Switzerland – something his club coaches are very happy with when the African Cup of Nations comes round! He was called up to the Swiss U21 side in 2005, when he was just 18, and was in the squad for the World Cup Finals campaign in Germany 2006 – entering the pitch in the Quarter-Final against Ukraine. He is pushing for a first-team spot, potentially playing alongside Senderos.