A Day With: Fomer Premier League star Freddy Kanoute

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  • Enjoying giving back: Freddy Kanoute.

    Frederic Kanoute is a gigantic figure in more ways than one. The 6ft4ins/1.93m striker excelled for sides such as West Ham, Tottenham and Sevilla during a superb playing career. He also stood tall for Mali, the country of his father, claiming the coveted 2007 African Footballer of the Year award.

    But it is not just on the field where he has made a telling impact. His Muslim faith has seen him take up a number of humanitarian causes with the Kanoute Foundation.

    The 38-year-old has also made a telling impact in the city where he now resides. He took six leading starlets to Lyon – his boyhood club – yesterday as part of Dubai Sport Council’s ‘Future Striker Program’, while hundreds of kids have gone through the doors of the KAFO Academy in Silicon Oasis.

    Sport360 caught up with him recently to talk about the varied interests of this engaging ex-footballer.

    You are currently working with kids in your KAFO Academy. Do you want to progress to adult coaching?

    I am open. Now I am mainly managing two academies, in Dubai and Mali. I really enjoy working with youngsters, from 12-18-years old. This is a really interesting stage where everything is learned. I am passing all my badges (UEFA A licence) also, so maybe in the future I will take a first team. There is no rush.

    I am not desperate to coach right now, I enjoy the process of learning. I put all this into practice with my academy, sometimes with Sevilla etc. I love doing that and I also have management and consulting companies, so it is always good to know more about football.

    How big are the challenges when a footballer retires?

    I was thinking after football, I wouldn’t be as busy. But it is the opposite with my charity (Kanoute Foundation) and all my football activities.

    As footballers, we are lucky enough to retire young. Some people think this isn’t a positive, but I look at it as a chance to start a new life.

    What is happening at Dubai Sports World with KAFO Academy?

    It is our third year here. Every summer we come here to carry on our activities. We have kids from our regular academy, who are staying in Dubai. We also have kids who are here on holiday, who want to keep practising. We have great experience from the previous years, when we had 50 kids here every day.

    As a France-born centre forward, what did you make of Olivier Giroud’s performances for the nation at Euro 2016?

    They were very good. Giroud received plenty of criticism in the build-up, particularly with Arsenal. I think he is not an all-round player, but a real ‘No 9’. We can see he is always there when the team needs some crucial goals. His record is quite good and the national team needs him.

    There has been so much incident and upheaval in France during recent years. How important can Euro 2016 be as a healing process for the nation?

    Hopefully, it would have brought the nation closer together. It is difficult to mix all the matters. It is true that you always need some things to bring people closer together. Unfortunately, it has proven that football sometimes is not enough to bring people together. With the terrorist attacks, they are a worldwide issue now.

    To talk again about France, coach Unai Emery has swapped Sevilla – one of your former clubs – for Paris Saint-Germain this summer. How do you see him getting on there?

    I think it is a good move. The only challenges for him will be language and how he can adjust. You have to get your message across and it can be difficult in a foreign culture. It won’t be easy, but if PSG give him some time then I am sure he will do something good.

    Every time I go to Sevilla (Kanoute has spent time coaching their Under-19s) the staff always talk well of him. He seems very passionate about football and is really meticulous in his work. Anywhere he goes, he will give 100 per cent – it is rather positive feedback.

    A big season lies ahead for one of your former clubs in West Ham, with their move to the Olympic Stadium. What are your memories of playing there?

    It is always where everything started for me. I was quite young (22) when I went there and I became a man. It was the first time I was outside of my hometown of Lyon. I learned ‘the job’, as you would say, at West Ham.

    There are some beautiful memories. My first goal came on debut and I arrived on loan just three days before. I was 100 per cent fit as I had fallen out with Lyon. I was so eager to prove myself to everybody. I scored, but unfortunately it was hidden by the fantastic goal of Paulo Di Canio to seal a 2-1 victory over Wimbledon (the Italian struck an exquisite scissor-kick volley considered one of the finest in Premier League history).

    Tottenham striker Harry Kane has received plenty of criticism after his displays at the European Championships. What do you make of him?

    I think it is very easy to criticise him. There is a bigger issue than that – it is a problem of England’s team, management and the whole thing. Apart from that, he has done fantastically for Spurs. He has confirmed his talent.

    The Chinese Super League is intriguing the world at the moment. How do you look back on your time at Beijing Guoan?

    It was difficult to adjust to a new culture, not just outside but within football. The clubs were not so, so professional and were in a learning process. But I adjusted after six months and I really enjoyed it.

    The fans are unbelievable and at every home game in Beijing, we had at least 50,000 supporters. I travelled there a few weeks ago and all the fans remembered me. The world of football is slowly turning towards Asia.

    In China, they have the financial support to keep buying very good players. But they have to keep improving their academies. If they do that, they can become a big, big power.

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