An Ivorian Shooting Star
Gervinho on the run in a game between Hebei CFFC and Changchun Yatai on April 7 Gervinho, the star forward of Hebei China Fortune Football Club (CFFC), has again become the talk of the town in European football circles. After playing in Le Mans, Lille, Rome and now Hebei of China, persistent rumors link him to French club Olympique de Marseille. When asked by media about his potential return to Europe, Gervinho appeared to dispel such rumors, “I do not think it’s time to leave China, as I’ve just arrived here. It’s too early to talk about my departure. I am currently a player of Hebei CFFC. If they [Olympique de Marseille] want me elsewhere, they can discuss with Hebei CFFC.”
Gervinho said he feels good to be part of Hebei CFFC and he is keen to advance and promote Chinese football. “It’s a very exciting challenge,” said the 31-year-old.
Surely, financial gains have played their part in his decision to move to China. In January 2016, Hebei CFFC payed 18 million euros ($21.27 million) for Gervinho from Italian club A.S. Roma. The Ivorian forward now earns an estimated salary of 10 million ($11.82 million) euros a year, or 200,000 euros ($236,400) per week. As a bonus, he collects more than 150,000 euros ($117,300) for each goal he scores, and 58,000 euros ($68,556) extra for every game he plays. For his first season (2016), Gervinho played 18 games and scored three goals.
Talented team
Founded on January 27, 2015, Hebei CFFC has sky-high ambitions. Besides Gervinho, the club has recruited a slew of star players from the European championship. These include Stephane Mbia, former captain of Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions, Brazil’s Anderson Hernanes, from Turin’s Juventus FC, and Argentinean Ezequiel Lavezzi and Javier Mascherano, respectively from Paris Saint-Germain and FC Barcelona. With a team of 39 players, Hebei CFFC is in the hunt for glory. However, in the season’s first 10 matches, Gervinho and his colleagues ranked ninth with 12 points - eight places below top-ranked Shanghai SIPG FC. In view of this gap, CFFC may need to lower its expectations. Of the 14 goals scored by his club, Gervinho delivered four assists and scored one, but despite this apparently mediocre performance by his standards, he remains optimistic about the future.
The journey to China
Gervinho, whose real name is Gervais Yao Kouassi, is seen as an offensive, agile and fast player, with very good ball control and shooting skill in front of the net. Thanks to his undeniable talent, the native of Anyama, in southeast Côte d’Ivoire, managed to break into international football.
Gervinho began his career in Abidjan, as part of ASEC Mimosas Youth Academy, under the leadership of Frenchman Jean Marc Guillou. Because of his average height, he was nicknamed Gervinho, which stuck with him until today. After a few impressive seasons, he moved to Belgium where he joined the Beveren FC, the then partner of ASEC Mimosas. There, he played alongside a number of his African compatriots like Boubacar Barry Copa and Romaric N’dri Koffi. But results were disappointing: his club finished last in the Belgian championship and was relegated to the Belgian Second Division.
Following his ambitions, Gervinho left Beveren for Le Mans, in France, in the summer of 2007, where he picked up the pace and rapidly became one of the revelations of the French Ligue 1. His performances were noticed by Lille Olympic Sporting Club, where he signed a three-year contract on July 20, 2009, under the direction of coach Rudi Garcia for 6.5 million euros ($7.68 million).
Thanks to his technical skills, speed and ball control, Gervinho quickly became one of the pillars of his team, which won both the Ligue 1 Championship and French Cup in the 2010-11 season. Gervinho rose to seventh place in the scoring charts with 15 goals.
His excellent performances at Lille opened the doors of the English Premiership. On July 18, 2011, he was bought by Arsenal FC. But due to a bitter disagreement with coach Arsène Wenger, he left the club on August 8, 2013 to join A.S. Roma FC, where he teamed up again with his former Lille coach Rudi Garcia. Once again, he revealed the full extent of his talent. Thanks to his constant efforts, his club rose to the second place at the end of the season. He finally left Italy for the Chinese Super League on January 26, 2016.
In Africa, his outstanding skills brought a second victory to his home country Côte d’Ivoire at the Africa Cup of Nations on January 31, 2015 in Equatorial Guinea.
Gervinho celebrates after he scores a goal in a match in the Chinese Super League In December 2017, Gervinho told Paris Match about his future plans, including the construction of a football training center for the Abobo’s club, La Colombe, which he has bought, in the area where he grew up.
“Having a club and a training center was my dream and I realized it,” he said. He wants to devote himself to another of his passions: passing on the knowledge and skills he has accumulated. This is also why he systematically spends his holidays in his home country of Côte d’Ivoire, while his teammates prefer Miami, Sardinia and Saint-Tropez.
“I love everything about my country. I will go back to where I grew up to be with the people I love. I’m from there, and there is no place where I feel better,” he said.
Reporting from Cameroon
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DATAGervais Yao Kouassi (Gervinho) Bio
Born on May 27, 1987, in Anyama (Côte d’Ivoire)
Height:
1.79 meters
Weight: 68 kg
Current Team:
Hebei China Fortune Football Club, Chinese Super League
Position: Forward