Daniel Cousin

Daniel Cousin

Cousin playing for Hull City in 2009
Personal information
Full name	Daniel Michel Cousin
Date of birth	(1977-02-02) 2 February 1977
Place of birth	Libreville, Gabon
Height
Position(s)	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1997–1998	Martigues	36	(5)
1998–2000	Chamois Niortais	46	(5)
2000–2004	Le Mans	129	(44)
2004–2007	RC Lens	101	(26)
2007–2008	Rangers	28	(11)
2008–2010	Hull City	31	(4)
2010	→ Larissa (loan)	9	(2)
2010–2011	Larissa	27	(6)
2011–2012	Sapins	13	(11)
Total		420	(114)
International career‡
2000–2010	Gabon	52	(11)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10 January 2012 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 May 2014

Daniel Michel Cousin (born 2 February 1977 in Libreville) is a retired Gabonese footballer who played as a striker. He played for Martigues, Chamois Niortais, Le Mans Union Club 72, RC Lens, Rangers, Hull City, Larissa and Sapins, as well as the Gabon national team.

Early life

Born in Libreville, Estuaire Province, Cousin (pronounced: [kuzɛ̃]) moved to France when he was three.

Club career

France

Cousin played in the lower leagues in France for Martigues and Niort before moving to Le Mans Union Club 72.

He joined RC Lens in the summer of 2004. Whilst at RC Lens he appeared in the UEFA Cup in both 05/06 and 06/07 starting 13 games with 2 appearances as a sub netting 8 goals in the process. RC Lens qualified for the 05/06 tournament after triumphing in the Intertoto Cup competition with Cousin starting in 5 games, making 3 sub appearances and scoring 3 goals including one in the final itself versus CFR Cluj of Romania.

Rangers

On 9 August 2007, Cousin arrived at Murray Park in Glasgow to hold contract talks over a move and signed a three-year deal for a reported fee of £750,000. He scored his first goal for Rangers on his debut in a 2–0 home league win against St. Mirren on 11 August 2007, and scored twice on his first start a week later against Falkirk.

Cousin played at Ibrox, against Lyon in the UEFA Champions League on 12 December 2007. Rangers lost 3–0 with Cousin playing the first half before getting substituted for Steven Naismith in that game. In November 2007 he was linked with a transfer away from Rangers, and it was reported that he had a release clause in his current contract which means he could leave in January 2008. This was denied by Rangers but the club did reveal there was a £3 million release clause during the 2008 summer transfer window.

Cousin intensified speculation about his departure when he was reported as ridiculing his Rangers team mates over their drinking and dietary habits ahead of a crucial game with Lyon. This was later denied by Cousin, who said he had been misquoted.

On 21 January 2008 it was reported that Premier League side Fulham had had a £2 million bid rejected by Rangers manager Walter Smith. The next day a bid of £3 million from Fulham activated a release clause, however FIFA regulations meant Cousin required special dispensation to complete the move. On 29 January, the transfer was cancelled as FIFA did not grant permission but it later emerged that FIFA had not reached a decision over the transfer. On 29 February, FIFA announced it would not allow the deal to be completed.

On 1 May 2008, Cousin was sent off during extra time of the Fiorentina v Rangers UEFA Cup semi-final second leg match for a headbutt. Despite Cousin's sending off, Rangers progressed to win the game on penalties. A matter of days later, he did the same to Dundee United defender Lee Wilkie, in a 3–1 win mired in refereeing controversy. Although he was not sent off, Cousin was widely criticised for his stupidity. On 31 August, Cousin scored the opening goal in the first Old Firm match of the season. Rangers went on to win the match 4–2 and he was later sent off for two bookable offences. This was the player's final game for Rangers.

Hull City

Cousin playing for Hull City in 2009

On 1 September 2008, Cousin signed for English Premier League side Hull City on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee. Cousin scored his first Hull goal against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on 27 September 2008. His header was the decisive goal and helped to exalt Hull City to a historic 2–1 victory over Arsenal. He scored against Manchester United at Old Trafford before scoring again at home to Manchester City. On 1 September 2009, a loan deal to Premier League rivals Burnley fell through. In total, Cousin scored five goals in 33 matches for the Tigers.

Larissa

Cousin joined the Greek side Larissa on loan for the second half of the 2009–10 season. He was the second player from Gabon to play for Larissa after Henry Antchouet. The transfer was made permanent on 18 August 2010. Despite a good performance the following season, Larissa were relegated from the top tier, and he left the club.

Sapins

On 13 October 2011, Cousin returned home to Gabon to play for local team Sapins FC in an attempt to boost his chances of playing at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. The deal with Sapins allowed the striker to leave without any conditions if he received an offer from a club in Europe. Cousin was released by Sapins on 31 January 2012. Cousin agreed personal terms to rejoin Rangers until the end of the season, but Rangers entered administration and had a transfer embargo applied by the Scottish Premier League. When Rangers attempted to register Cousin with the league, their application was rejected.

International career

Cousin made his debut for Gabon on 23 January 2000 in a 3–1 defeat to South Africa. He participated in all three of Gabon's matches at the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations. On 2 September 2006 he was made captain of the national team and led them to a 4–0 win over Madagascar. He scored the only goal in a 1–0 win at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations over Cameroon.

On 4 September 2014 Cousin has been named general manager of Gabon.

External links

• Daniel Cousin career statistics at Soccerbase
• Cousin.html Daniel Cousin at National-Football-Teams.com
• Daniel Cousin FootballDatabase.com – Player information, honours, career stats and timeline