Kouakou Odilon Dorgeless Kossounou

Kouakou Odilon Dorgeless Kossounou is an Ivorian centre-back born in Abidjan on 4 January 2001. He developed at ASEC Mimosas before moving to Hammarby IF, where he began his senior career in 2019. After a short spell in Sweden, Kossounou joined Club Brugge and established himself in Belgian football, helping the club win two Belgian Pro League titles and making his UEFA Champions League debut. In 2021, he transferred to Bayer Leverkusen, continuing his development as a composed defender comfortable carrying the ball from the back. During the 2023–24 season, he was part of Leverkusen’s Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal-winning team. Kossounou later moved to Atalanta, initially on loan before joining the Italian club permanently, and remains part of its squad. Internationally, he represents Côte d’Ivoire and started the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations final, in which the Elephants defeated Nigeria 2–1.