Gervinho

Early career

Gervinho was born in Anyama, Ivory Coast. He began his career in the famed ASEC Abidjan youth academy, where he spent five years. At ASEC Abidjan, he was given the Brazilian Portuguese style nickname "Gervinho", derived from his first name Gervais, by the Brazilian coach who trained ASEC Abidjan. The suffix "-inho", in Portuguese, denotes smallness and/or affection, in this case, effectively meaning "Little Gervais". Following this, he moved to Ivorian Deuxieme Division Zone Four side Toumodi F.C., where he turned professional.

Beveren

Gervinho played for two seasons at Belgian side K.S.K. Beveren, where he made 61 appearances for the club and scored 14 goals.

Le Mans

At the end of the 2006–07 season Gervinho moved to Ligue 1 side Le Mans, where he played alongside Ivorian international midfielder Romaric. He scored two goals in his debut season in Ligue 1, with one of them coming against AS Nancy. Gervinho scored 9 times in 59 Ligue 1 appearances over 2 seasons with the French side.

Lille

On 21 July 2009, Gervinho joined Lille for a reported fee of about €6 million (US$8.5 million) on a three-year contract. Gervinho scored 13 times in 32 appearances in his debut season for the club. His first goal for Lille came in a 3–2 victory away to US Boulogne on 4 October 2009. Gervinho had an even more successful second season with Lille. He scored 18 goals in all competitions, 15 in Ligue 1, to help Lille win the Ligue 1 for the…

Gervinho captained Ivory Coast at U23 level. He was named in the Ivorian senior squad for the first time for the friendlies against Angola and Qatar in November 2007, and was picked for the Ivorian squad for their 2008 African Cup of Nations campaign in Ghana where he was given the number 10 shirt. He made his competitive debut for the Ivorian club during the 2008 Nations Cup where he made two substitute appearances. He represented his country at the 2008 Olympic tournament where he was captain. After Ivory Coast lost to Argentina in the first match, Gervinho scored one goal and set up two others in a 4–2 victory over Serbia.

Africa Cup of Nations

2010

On 15 January 2010, Gervinho scored his third international goal in the African Nations Cup group stage game against Ghana. He made a total of three appearances in the tournament, scoring once.

2012

Gervinho missed 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.

2015

In the Ivory Coast's opening match at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea, Gervinho was sent off for striking Guinea's Naby Keïta during a 1–1 draw at the Estadio de Malabo. He was given a two-match ban for the incident. Gervinho returned for the Ivory Coast's quarter-final against Algeria, scoring the last goal of a 3–1 win, and also netted in a semi-final victory of the same score against the DR…

Gervinho is generally deployed as a forward, more often on the wing, and takes a more attacking role than a typical midfielder. A quick, powerful, energetic, and agile player, he possesses good ball control and dribbling skills, which, coupled with his short, fast bursts of pace and sudden changes of direction, lead him to be considered a very direct player. Playing from the left allows him to cut in onto his favoured right foot to shoot. Although in a 4–4–2 formation, Gervinho can take on a more central role, but for both club and country is often utilized on either wing in a 4–3–3 formation. Rudi Garcia, who managed Gervinho at Lille and Roma, has described him as a player who needs confidence and who makes opportunities for his teammates.

Club

International

Scores and results list Ivory Coast goal tally first.