Abdoulaye Méïté

Abdoulaye Méïté (born 6 October 1980) is an Ivorian former professional footballer. He represented Ivory Coast internationally and was awarded a total of 48 caps.

Abdoulaye Méïté
Personal information
Full name Abdoulaye Méïté[1]
Date of birth (1980-10-06) 6 October 1980
Place of birth Colombes, France
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Playing position(s) Centre back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–2000 Red Star 28 (3)
2000–2006 Marseille 152 (3)
2006–2008 Bolton Wanderers 56 (0)
2008–2011 West Bromwich Albion 48 (0)
2011–2012 Dijon 25 (1)
2013–2014 FC Honka 25 (0)
2014 Doncaster Rovers 16 (1)
2014–2015 OFI Crete 9 (0)
2015 Ross County 0 (0)
2016 SJK 18 (1)
2016–2017 Newport County 4 (0)
2017 FC Lusitanos 0 (0)
National team‡
2003–2011 Ivory Coast 48 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:49, 16 January 2017 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 8 January 2011

Club career

Red Star 93

Méïté's first club at the age of 17 was the Division 2 Paris side, Red Star 93. He joined the club in 1998, before being snapped up by Olympique de Marseille.[3]

Olympique de Marseille

Méïté joined Marseille in July 2000, where he made 172 league appearances, as well as many in European competitions – including one against Bolton in January 2006. Whilst at Marseille, he started in the 2004 UEFA Cup Final.

Bolton Wanderers

Méïté moved to Bolton Wanderers in July 2006. He scored two goals for Bolton: one in the 3–1 FA Cup defeat to Arsenal on 14 February 2007,[4] and the other in a 1–1 draw with ZFK Rabotnički Kometal of Macedonia in the UEFA Cup on 20 September the same year.[5]

He was involved in controversy during Bolton's defeat against Manchester United at Old Trafford in March 2008. Manager Gary Megson blamed him for two goals that Bolton had conceded in the first half of the game (both scored by Cristiano Ronaldo), and Méïté refused to come out for the second half.[6] He claimed he was unfit to carry on, but the Bolton medical staff confirmed that there was no injury.[6] Megson subsequently forced Méïté to train with the reserves, and the player was widely expected to move on from the Reebok Stadium.[6] He never played for Bolton again; he was not selected for any of the remaining eight Premier League fixtures in the 2007–08 season. He had previously missed only twelve League games in the two years he had been at Bolton, and five of these were while he was representing Ivory Coast in the African Nations Cup in January and February 2008.

When Bolton's squad numbers for the 2008–09 season were announced, Méïté had not signed for any other club and he was assigned the number 10 shirt for Bolton. This caused further controversy as the number 10 shirt had once been worn by John McGinlay, a particular favourite of many Bolton fans in the 1990s. After Méïté's behaviour at Old Trafford, many found this a contentious and shocking decision.[7]

West Bromwich Albion

As the 2008–09 season approached, Méïté was linked with Premier League newcomers West Bromwich Albion and Hull City, both of which had bids accepted by Bolton. Méïté chose to sign for West Brom on 10 August 2008 for an initial fee of £2 million, which could rise to £2.5 million depending on appearances. The contract covers three years,[8] with a fourth year in the club's favour. Meïté made his debut in a 1–0 defeat to Arsenal in the opening game of the 2008–09 Premier League season.[9]

His first season at West Brom was interrupted by a series of injuries, with four separate spells out of the side restricting him to 18 appearances. For the first ten Championship games of the 2009–10 season, Shelton Martis was preferred by the Baggies' new first team coach, Roberto Di Matteo, and there was speculation that Méïté might be allowed to leave.[10] Following a disappointing run of results, culminating in a catastrophic defensive display against Barnsley when Martis scored an own goal,[11] Méïté returned to the side against Preston North End on 3 October,[12] and Albion conceded just four goals in the next eight games.[13] Following a 4–0 win away to Sheffield Wednesday at the end of November, Di Matteo picked out Méïté and his central defensive partner Jonas Olsson for praise: "Jonas leads the back four most of the time but Abou is also doing a great job."[14]

Having played 20 games in the Championship promotion season, mostly alongside Olsson in the centre of defence, Méïté was left out in the cold by Di Matteo in the 2010–11 Premier League campaign, playing only in the League Cup. Since the sacking of Di Matteo in early 2011, due to a poor sequence of results, Méïté has seen a revival under the tutelage of new head coach Roy Hodgson.

To the surprise of many Albion fans, Méïté was brought back to partner Olsson against Stoke City, which added to the 3–3 draw vs West Ham under caretaker manager Michael Appleton, has resulted in a 7-game unbeaten run, including a 2–1 home win over Liverpool.

The organizational skills brought in by Hodgson has galvanized the Albion defensive unit, with Méïté bringing a composed, positional sense to the controlled aggression of Olsson.

On 25 May 2011, Méïté was released by West Bromwich Albion.[15]

Dijon

On 30 June 2011, Méïté was signed by Ligue 1 newcomers Dijon FCO.[16] With the club's relegation to Ligue 2, Méïté left the club. In September 2012, he started training with AS Cannes to maintain his fitness.

FC Honka

On 25 March 2013, Méïté was signed by Veikkausliiga side FC Honka. He was selected as the Veikkausliiga Player of the Month and in the Team of the Month for August 2013.[17]

Doncaster Rovers

On 9 January 2014, Méïté signed for Doncaster Rovers in a deal until the end of the season.[18][19]

Ross County

On 12 February 2015, Méïté signed for Ross County on a free transfer until the end of the season.[20] He was one of 14 players released by Ross County at the end of the season.[21]

Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho

In February 2016, Méïté signed a one-year contract with Finnish Veikkausliiga side Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho.[22] He left SJK on 31 August 2016, after his contract was terminated by mutual consent.[23]

Newport County

On 25 November 2016, Méïté joined Welsh side Newport County on non-contractual terms.[24] He made his debut the following day in a 4–1 defeat against Blackpool as a second-half substitute. He was released by Newport County on 14 January 2017.[25]

FC Lusitanos

In November 2017, he signed with FC Lusitanos in Andorra.[26]

Honours

Club

Marseille

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References
  1. "FIFA World Cup Germany 2006 – List of Players" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  2. "Abdoulaye Meite". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 12 August 2008. Archived from the original on 20 November 2008.
  3. "Abdoulaye MEITE". ligue1.com. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  4. "Bolton 1–3 Arsenal (aet)". BBC Sport. 14 February 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  5. "Rabotnicki Kometal 1–1 Bolton". BBC Sport. 20 September 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  6. Whittell, Ian (21 March 2008). "Abdoulaye Meite faces Bolton exit after taking off boots and refusing to play on". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  7. "10 very good reasons to sell Abdoulaye Meite". Manny Road. 8 August 2008. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011.
  8. "West Brom take Meite from Bolton". BBC Sport. 10 August 2008. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  9. "Arsenal vs WBA". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 16 August 2008. Archived from the original on 19 September 2008. Retrieved 16 August 2008.
  10. "Di Matteo rules out Meite move". Sky Sports. 28 September 2009. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  11. "Barnsley vs WBA". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 29 September 2009. Archived from the original on 29 November 2009.
  12. "Preston vs WBA". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 3 October 2009. Archived from the original on 6 October 2009.
  13. "Fixtures". West Bromwich Albion F.C. Archived from the original on 22 January 2010.
  14. "Di Matteo: Not the season for giving". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 4 December 2009. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012.
  15. "Albion release quartet". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 4 July 2011. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011.
  16. "Abdoulaye Meite joins French newcomers Dijon". BBC Sport. 30 June 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  17. "Hongan Abdoulaye Méïté Veikkausliigan elokuun pelaaja". Veikkausliiga. 3 September 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  18. "Meite signs up". Doncaster Rovers F.C. 9 January 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  19. "Transfer window: Doncaster Rovers sign Abdoulaye Meite". BBC Sport. 9 January 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  20. Dowden, Martin (13 February 2015). "Abdoulaye Meite: Ross County sign defender until season's end". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  21. "Ross County to release 14 players at end of season". BBC Sport. 20 May 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  22. "Meite SJK-paitaan vuoden sopimuksella". sjk2007.fi (in Finnish). Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho. 28 February 2016. Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  23. "Meiten sopimus purettiin". sjk2007.fi (in Finnish). Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho. 31 August 2016. Archived from the original on 2 September 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  24. "Ivory Coast international Abdoulaye Meite joins Newport County". BBC Sport. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  25. "Abdoulaye Meite: Newport County release Ivory Coast international". BBC Sport. 16 January 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  26. Saint-Marc, Jean (16 November 2017). "OM: What? Après la Finlande, Abdoulaye Meïté signe en Andorre! 'Ce sont les aléas de la vie...'". 20 minutes. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  27. "Marseille 5-1 Deportivo (Aggregate: 5 - 3)". uefa.com. Archived from the original on 31 May 2006. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
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