Chelsea's Ivorian striker Salomon Kalou celebrates after Chelsea won the title with a 8-0 victory over Wigan Athletic in the English Premier League football match in London on May 9, 2010. (ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images) Salomon Kalou
Born: Aug. 5, 1985, in Oumé, Ivory Coast
Position: Striker/midfielder
Nickname: Salou
Clubs played for: Kalou started his career with Ivorian side ASEC Mimosas and quickly caught the attention of several European teams — Feyenoord brought him to Europe in 2003. The Rotterdam team sent Kalou on loan to the Eerste Divisie and Excelsior Rotterdamn where he blossomed. In 2004-2005, the young forward spent a full season at De Kuip (the Tub) and scored 24 goals in 38 games. That season, he won Dutch Football Talent of the Year. The following season, he scored only 15 goals in 36 appearances, but had distinguished himself as an attacker who was still developing his predatory skills. Chelsea paid $13.5 million in 2006 to bring the Ivory Coast international to Stamford Bridge. He has yet to distinguish himself as a consistent, potent force, but Kalou has scored an average of 10 goals a year and has won three FA Cups, a Premiership title and a League Cup in four seasons.
International career: The formative years Kalou spent in the Netherlands made him think he would be best suited to play for the Netherlands, and then national manager Marco Van Basten agreed. Government officials refused to expedite the process and Kalou decided to play for his home country. Since 2007, Salou has played 27 times for the Ivory Coast and scored 11 goals.
Why is he so special? Kalou is lightning quick off the ball and although he is often caught offside, he is tough to mark. What's more, since the striker is only 24 years old, he has much time to develop his powerful shots and piercing headers.
His most famous moment: Kalou scored two goals in a 5-0 drubbing of Guinea in the quarter-final of the 2008 African Cup of Nations, which sent the Ivory Coast to its first semi-final appearance since it won the continental title in 1991.
He said it: “I get better every season and I want to get better every season. I can learn a lot…. I think that hard work is paying off and every year I can develop myself as a player and one day become that player people expect me to be at Chelsea.”
What they are saying about him: "Kalou is an important player for us because, when we are without (Didier) Drogba, he can play and play well." — Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea manager
Here is an interesting fact: The two players Kalou idolizes the most are Didier Drogba and Thierry Henry. On Drogba, Kalou calls, "like a big brother to me,” and when he speaks of Henry, he calls the Arsenal striker "my favourite player."