Serge Gakpé

Serge Gakpé (born 7 May 1987) is a French-Togolese footballer who plays as a right winger for the Togo national team.

Serge Gakpé
Personal information
Full name Serge Gakpé
Date of birth (1987-05-07) 7 May 1987
Place of birth Bondy, France
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing position(s) Right Winger
Youth career
1995–2001 UMS Pontault-Combault
2001–2004 AS Monaco
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2005 AS Monaco (res.) 38 (15)
2006–2011 AS Monaco 92 (9)
2010 → Tours (loan) 17 (5)
2011–2015 Nantes 124 (22)
2012 → Standard Liège (loan) 19 (1)
2015–2017 Genoa 20 (4)
2016 → Atalanta (loan) 5 (0)
2017 → Chievo (loan) 8 (0)
2017–2018 Amiens 29 (3)
2018–2019 Cercle Brugge 26 (5)
2019–2020 Apollon Limassol 13 (6)
National team‡
2002–2003 France U16 9 (0)
2003–2004 France U17 3 (1)
2004–2005 France U18 10 (0)
2005–2006 France U19 8 (0)
2007–2008 France U21 6 (1)
2009–2017 Togo 45 (4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12 January 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20 January 2017

Playing career

Gakpé began his career playing for his local club UMS Pontault-Combault, whom AS Monaco share a partnership with. During his time in Pontault-Combault, he regularly attended sessions at the Clairefontaine academy. After being recommended to the Ligue 1 side by Pontault-Combault and Clairefontaine officials, he agreed to join the principality-based side in 2001.

Despite not having a professional contract to his name, he joined the first-team squad following the winter break of the 2005–06 season making his professional debut in a 1–1 draw against RC Lens on 22 January 2006. Not only did he start the match, but he also scored his first professional goal in the 7th minute.[1] He went on to play in 13 more matches and added another goal to his tally as well.

Serge then signed his first professional contract on 4 January 2007, inking a three-year deal with the club.[2] He has since added another year to the contract, which ties him to Monaco until 2011.[3] Over the next three seasons, his playing time dramatically increased making 76 appearances and scoring 11 goals. His performances have caught the attention of several prominent European clubs such as English sides Sheffield Wednesday, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, and Spanish club Barcelona.[4]

Gakpé signed for Ligue 2 club FC Nantes on 28 January 2011. At the end of January 2012, it was announced that Gakpé had signed for Belgian club Standard Liège on a season-long loan. On 30 August 2014, he scored the only goal in the match, in the form of a penalty against Montpellier HSC.[5]

International career

Even though Gakpé was born in France, he chose to play for the Togolese national team, and was called up for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Morocco on 6 September 2009.[6]

International goals
Scores and results list Togo's goal tally first.[7]
NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.4 September 2010Botswana National Stadium, Gaborone, Botswana Botswana1–11–22012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
2.11 November 2011Estádio Lino Correia, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau1–01–12014 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.17 June 2012Stade de Kégué, Lomé, Togo Kenya1–01–02013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
4.30 January 2013Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit, South Africa Tunisia1–01–12013 Africa Cup of Nations

References
  1. Lens v. Monaco Match Report Archived 2009-09-03 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Premier contrat Pro pour Serge Gakpé Archived 2012-02-12 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Mettre hors jeu les ennemis du football togolais
  4. Serge Gakpé, la dernière rumeur au Barça 7 May 1987
  5. Christopher Dodd (30 August 2014). "Result: Serge Gakpe gives Nantes narrow 1-0 home win over Montpellier HSC". Sports Mole. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  6. (in French) Togo Football News – Gakpé choisit le Togo Retrieved 27 August 2009.
  7. "Gakpé, Serge". National Football Teams. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
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