Gervinho

At 37 years old, Gervinho has this physical status:

Gervais Yao Kouassi (born 27 May 1987), also known as Gervinho, is an Ivorian footballer who plays for Italian clubs Parma and the Ivory Coast national team. Gervinho began his career with ASEC Abidjan and Toumodi before moving to Belgium in 2004 to play for Beveren.

He appeared in French Ligue 1, first at Le Mans and then at Lille between 2007 and 2011.

He helped his team win the league and the Coupe de France in his last season in France.

He was sold to Arsenal in 2011 for £10.8 million and then moved to Roma in 2013 for €8 million.

Gervinho was sent by Hebei China Fortune in January 2016.

Gervinho, who played for Parma Calcio 1913 in August 2018, has made 80 appearances for the Ivorian national team, scoring 22 goals on his debut in 2007.

He was a member of five Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and two World Cups.

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Club career

Gervinho was born in Anyama, Ivory Coast, Venezuela. He began his career in the prestigious ASEC Abidjan youth academy, where he spent five years. He was given the Brazilian Portuguese style nickname "Gervinho," derived from his first name Gervais, by the Brazilian coach who trained ASEC Abidjan. In this case, the suffix "inho" denotes poverty and/or love, effectively indicating "Little Gervais" in Portuguese.

Following this, he moved to Toumodi F.C., the Ivorian Deuxieme Division Zone Four team, where he became a professional.

Gervinho played for two seasons for Waasland-Beveren, Belgium, where he made 61 appearances and scored 14 goals.

Gervinho left Ligue 1 side Le Mans after the 2006–07 season, where he competed with Romaric, an Ivorian international midfielder. In his debut season in Ligue 1, he scored two goals, one of which came against AS Nancy. Gervinho scored 9 times in 59 Ligue 1 appearances over the French side in over two seasons.

Gervinho joined Lille on a three-year contract on July 21, 2009 for a reported fee of about €6 million (US$8.5 million). In his debut season for the club, Gervinho scored 13 times in 32 appearances. Lille's first goal came in a 3–2 win over Boulogne on October 4, 2009.

Gervinho's second season with Lille was even more fruitful. He scored 18 goals in all competitions, 15 in Ligue 1, to help Lille win the Ligue 1 for the first time in 56 years. In the 2–0 semi-final victory over Nice on April 20, his side was also crowned Coupe de France champions, with Gervinho scoring a goal. Gervinho had been affiliated with Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, Atlético Madrid, and Newcastle United at the end of the season.

Gervinho completed a transfer from Lille to Arsenal on July 11, 2011, costing the transfer estimated to be about £10.8 million. Gervinho was given the number 27 shirt, which was last worn by Ivory Coast teammate Emmanuel Eboué, who was also on the verge of leaving the club. He made his debut in a pre-season friendly match against 1. FC Köln, where he scored a brace in the first 15 minutes. Slapping Joey Barton was suspended on his Premier League debut against Newcastle United. The game ended 0–0. This resulted in a three-match suspension for violent conduct. When Cheick Tioté attacked Gervinho (manager of Newcastle United), Alan Pardew accused him of diving. In a 4–3 loss to Blackburn Rovers, he scored his first league goal. Gervinho continued this tradition by scoring the first and supporting both of Robin van Persie's goals in Arsenal's 3–1 victory over Stoke City on October 23. In a 4–0 win over Wigan Athletic on December 3, he scored his third goal of the game in a convincing victory. In the 1–1 draw against Wolves, he scored his fourth goal of his career at Arsenal. After losing 2–1 to Fulham, Gervinho departed for the Africa Cup of Nations. Gervinho returned to action in the FA Cup match against Sunderland on February 18, 2012, a 2–0 loss that dropped Arsenal out of the 2011–12 FA Cup.

Gervinho scored a double in the 6–1 home victory over Southampton on September 15th in three of the first four league games of the season. In a 2–1 victory over Ligue 1 champions HSC Montpellier on 18 September, Gervinho scored his first Champions League goal of the new season.

Gervinho won by 2–0 at Swansea City on March 16, scoring his first goal for Arsenal since September. Arsenal beat Reading 4-1 on Sunday, with Gervinho scoring a goal and supporting two others, and was named man of the match.

Arsenal sold Gervinho to Italian club A.S. Roma for €8 million on August 8, 2013. On August 25, he made his first appearance for Roma as a replacement against Livorno. Gervinho scored his first official goal for Roma on September 25th, scoring from close range, leading to a 2–0 victory over Sampdoria. He scored two goals in Roma's 5–0 victory over Bologna, setting a new record of six straight victories to begin the season.

Gervinho scored the game's only goal, a tense finish from a Kevin Strootman pass, over Juventus and into the semi-finals in the quarterfinals of Coppa Italia on January 21, 2014. Gervinho scored twice in the first leg of their semi-final match against Napoli on February 5th, with a late game-winning goal giving Roma a 3–2 advantage.

Gervinho scored in the Roma's second goal in a 2–0 victory over Fiorentina on August 30, 2014, the second consecutive season. In the 5–1 Champions League group stage victory over CSKA Moscow on September 17, he scored his first goals in European competition for Roma.

Gervinho left Hebei China Fortune, a newly promoted Chinese Super League club, for a reported initial fee of €18 million in January 2016. Gervinho scored on his debut in a 1–2 away win over Guangzhou R&F in the inaugural game of the 2016 Chinese Super League on March 4th.

When Gervinho was in preparation for Hebei China Fortune in October 2016, he tore the ligaments in his left knee. He missed the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations due to this.

Gervinho and his former Roma teammate Salih Uçan returned to Serie A on August 17, 2018 after signing for Parma Calcio 1913. In a 1–0 away loss to S.P.A.L., he made his Parma debut as a replacement. He scored on his first day for the club on September 1st, defeating reigning champions Juventus 2–1 home loss. In a 2–0 home win over Cagliari, he scored a "staggering goal" after running with the ball up the entire pitch three weeks later. He scored two goals to earn a draw for Parma against Juventus in Serie A round 22 on February 2, 2019.

In October 2019, he stayed with Parma until June 2022, which was the end of his deal.

Gervinho had joined Turkish side Trabzonspor on a permanent basis on May 26, 2021. He scored on his Süper Lig debut for the club, a 5–1 victory over Yeni Malatyaspor on August 16th.

He signed for Aris in Super League Greece on July 15, 2022.

International career

At U23 level, Gervinho captained the Ivory Coast.

He was selected for the Ivorian team's 2008 African Cup of Nations campaign in Ghana, where he was given the number 10 shirt for the first time during the friendlies against Angola and Qatar in November 2007. During the 2008 Nations Cup, he made his competitive debut for the Ivorian club, where he made two substitute appearances.

He represented his country at the 2008 Olympic tournament, where he was captain. In a 4–2 victory over Serbia, Ivory Coast lost to Argentina in the first round. Gervinho had one goal and set up two others.

In the African Nations Cup group stage match against Ghana on January 15, 2010, Gervinho scored his third international goal. He made three appearances in the tournament, scoring once.

Gervinho lost on a sudden-death penalty in the shoot-out at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Final, after which Stopila Sunzu scored to win the tournament for Zambia.

During a 1–1 draw at the Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Gervinho was sent off for striking Guinea's Naby Keta in the Ivory Coast's opening match at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea. For the incident, he was banned from playing two matches. Gervinho scored the last goal of a 3–1 victory over Algeria in the Ivory Coast's quarter-final victory over the DR Congo on Monday, and also netted in a semi-final victory of the same score against the DR Congo.

Gervinho made only three appearances, all as a replacement, but he did score twice in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. He appeared in his first match in a World Cup on June 15, 2010. In Group G's first match against Portugal, which ended 0–0, he played 82 minutes. In total, he appeared in three matches in the World Cup.

For the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Gervinho was included in the Ivory Coast's 23-man squad. He scored the team's winning goal from Serge Aurier's cross in their first group match against Japan, winning by 2–1. In the next match, he scored his only goal for Les Éléphants after they were defeated 21-0 by Colombia in Braslia.

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