José Kanté

José Kanté Martínez (born 27 September 1990) is a Guinean professional footballer who plays for Polish club Legia Warsaw and the Guinea national team as a winger.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Kanté and the second or maternal family name is Martínez.
José Kanté
Personal information
Full name José Kanté Martínez
Date of birth (1990-09-27) 27 September 1990
Place of birth Sabadell, Spain
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position(s) Winger
Club information
Current team
 Legia Warsaw
Number 20
Youth career
PB Manresa
2007–2009 Gimnàstic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2011 Manresa
2011–2012 Rubí 27 (5)
2012–2013 Prat 14 (5)
2013 Málaga B 11 (2)
2013–2014 Prat 35 (11)
2014–2015 AEK Larnaca 29 (5)
2016 Górnik Zabrze 16 (0)
2016–2018 Wisła Płock 62 (19)
2018– Legia Warsaw 34 (12)
2019 → Gimnàstic (loan) 14 (3)
National team‡
2016– Guinea 13 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 February 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14:36, 21 November 2019 (UTC)

Club career

Born in Sabadell, Province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, Kanté only played lower league or amateur football in his country of birth initially,[1] representing CE Manresa, UE Rubí, AE Prat[2][3] (all in his native region) and Atlético Malagueño.[4] He scored his first goal in Segunda División B while at the service of the third club, in a 2–1 away win against CF Badalona on 11 November 2012.[5]

In June 2014, Kanté signed with Cypriot First Division side AEK Larnaca FC,[6] where he shared teams with a host of compatriots.[1] He played his first top flight game on 31 August of that year, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 0–2 home loss to APOEL FC.

Kanté moved to the Polish Ekstraklasa in January 2016, going on to remain several years in the country with Górnik Zabrze[7] and Wisła Płock.[8] In the 2016–17 season he scored ten goals, helping to a final ninth-place finish.[9]

On 18 June 2018, Kanté moved to Legia Warsaw, still in the first division.[10] The following 31 January, he joined Gimnàstic de Tarragona on loan for the remainder of the campaign.[11]

International career

Of Guinean descent, Kanté opted to represent that nation even though he did not speak French nor any of the local dialects when he was first summoned by manager Kanfory Lappé Bangoura in October 2016.[12] He earned his first cap the following 13 November, playing 25 minutes in a 1–2 home defeat against DR Congo for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[13]

Career statistics

International
As of matches played on 17 November 2019[14]
Guinea
YearAppsGoals
201610
201710
201841
201971
Total132

International goals
As of 17 November 2019 (Guinea score listed first, score column indicates score after each Kanté goal)[15][14]
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.16 October 2018Stade Régional Nyamirambo, Kigali, Rwanda Rwanda1–01–12019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
2.17 November 2019Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry, Guinea Namibia2–02–02021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

References
  1. "Conociendo al Spanish Larnaca" [Meeting Spanish Larnaca] (in Spanish). Vavel. 10 August 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  2. "José Kanté Martínez, sisena incorporació a l'AE Prat" [José Kanté Martínez, sixth addition to AE Prat]. La Premsa del Baix (in Catalan). 2 August 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  3. "El Prat confirma el retorn de José Kanté" [Prat confirm the return of José Kanté] (in Catalan). AE Prat. 5 August 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  4. "El Atlético Malagueño se refuerza con José Kante" [Atlético Malagueño bolster with José Kante] (in Spanish). Málaga CF. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  5. "Un Badalona poco peligroso pierde contra el Prat" [Tame Badalona lose against Prat]. El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 13 November 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  6. "Jose Kante fitxa per l´AEK Larnaca de Xipre i Putxi marxa a l´Europa" [Jose Kante signs for AEK Larnaca of Cyprus and Putxi goes to Europa] (in Catalan). Regiò 7. 18 June 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  7. "Oficjalnie: Jose Kante Martinez w Górniku Zabrze" [Official: Jose Kante Martinez to Górnik Zabrze] (in Polish). Sportowe Fakty. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  8. "Jose Kante podpisał kontrakt z Wisłą Płock" [José Kante signed contract with Wisła Płock] (in Polish). Sport.onet. 15 July 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  9. "Sezon 2016/17" [2016/17 season] (in Polish). 90 Minut. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  10. "Jose Kante podpisał kontrakt z Legią" [Jose Kante signed a contract with Legia] (in Polish). Legia Warsaw. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  11. "Kanté llega cedido del Legia de Varsovia" [Kanté arrives on loan from Legia Warsaw] (in Spanish). Gimnàstic Tarragona. 31 January 2019. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  12. "Lappé-Martinez Kanté: Dialogue de sourd, langage mimique, intégration qui nécessite assez d'efforts" [Lappé-Martinez Kanté: Deaf men talking, sign language, hard-pressed integration.] (in French). Guinée Foot. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  13. "Russie 2018 – Guinée-RD Congo: Deuxième défaite du Syli national devant la RD Congo" [Russia 2018 – Guinea-DR Congo: Second loss for Syli national team against DR Congo.] (in French). Guinée Foot. 13 November 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  14. José Kanté at National-Football-Teams.com
  15. "J. Kanté – Matches". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
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