Khalilou Fadiga

Khalilou Fadiga

Personal information
Full name	Khalilou Fadiga
Date of birth	(1974-12-30) 30 December 1974
Place of birth	Dakar, Senegal
Height
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
1981–1989	Les Enfants de la goutte d'or
1989–1990	Paris Saint-Germain
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1991–1992	Les Enfants de la goutte d'or	0	(0)
1994–1995	Royal Liège	26	(5)
1995–1997	Lommel	48	(2)
1997–2001	Club Brugge	71	(13)
2000	→ Auxerre (loan)	21	(1)
2001–2003	Auxerre	61	(9)
2003–2004	Internazionale	0	(0)
2004–2006	Bolton Wanderers	13	(1)
2005	→ Derby County (loan)	4	(0)
2007	Coventry City	6	(0)
2008	Gent	17	(0)
2008	Germinal Beerschot	10	(0)
2011	KSV Temse	0	(0)
Total		277	(31)
International career
2000–2008	Senegal	37	(4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Khalilou Fadiga (born 30 December 1974) is a former Senegalese footballer midfielder. He also holds a Belgian passport.

Club career

Early career

Fadiga moved to France when he was six years old. Fadiga began his career at Paris Saint-Germain in France, but failed to make an impression, and so was transferred to fellow Parisian club, Red Star 93, before moving to Belgian club FC Liège.

Lommel

It was in Belgium that he found the profile that was to launch his international career. After one season he moved from FC Liège to Lommel, which is now KVSK United. He played two seasons at Lommel before he was spotted by Club Brugge.

Club Brugge

Fadiga quickly became a fan favorite. He scored nine goals in 67 appearances.In September 2000, the midfielder returned to France when he signed for AJ Auxerre.

Auxerre

In all, he played in 82 league games for the French club, scoring 10 goals as well as appearing in the Champions League and UEFA Cup during season 2002–03.

Internazionale

Fadiga moved to Inter Milan in the summer of 2003, but the discovery of heart problems did not allow him to feature for the Italian club, apart from appearing in a few friendly games during the Summer. He was released from the San Siro side after just one season, but decided against retirement despite the heart problems.

Bolton Wanderers

English club Bolton Wanderers signed Fadiga for the 2004–05 season, after he passed a medical. However before he made an appearance for Bolton, he collapsed prior to a match in October, and had to be fitted with a defibrillator due to an irregular heartbeat. Despite stating his desire to return to the game, medical specialists urged him to retire, warning that if during a game his chest was knocked the defibrillator could fail, leading to instant death. However, following a period of rest and passing a medical, Fadiga returned to the Bolton squad in early 2005 and played in five games.

At the start of the 2005–06 campaign Fadiga was loaned to Derby County of the Football League Championship, making four appearances. On his return to the Reebok Stadium he took part in ten games, two of them in the UEFA Cup, before eventually being released in May 2006.

Coventry City

Without a club at the start of the 2006–07 season, he went on trial with Portsmouth and played for their reserve team. He also had trials at Watford and Hull City before eventually signing a four-month contract with Coventry City on 23 February 2007. In April 2007 he suffered a serious Achilles injury in the home game against Preston and it ended his time at Coventry.

Return to Belgium

He has since been released and returned to his wife's homeland signing with AA Gent. After one year he moved in June 2008 to K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot, but left Beerschot after short time in December 2008. He signed for Third Division club KSV Temse in 2011 before retiring from the game.

International career

Fadiga earned his first caps for the Senegal national side during his final season in Belgium. Being a Belgian passport holder through his marriage, Fadiga was also eligible to play for Belgium, but opted to represent Senegal instead, becoming an instrumental member of the team during the qualifying campaign for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and the final tournament itself, in which he scored a penalty against Uruguay.

External links

• Khalilou Fadiga – French League Stats at LFP.fr (French)