Salomon Kalou is a professional football player, born on August 5, 1985 in Oume, Ivory Coast. He has two brothers and eight sisters among whom Bonaventure Kalou is a professional footballer and plays for Dutch team SC Heerenveen as of 2008. Salomon Kalou attended high school at the New English School in Kuwait.
Salomon Kalou represents Côte d'Ivoire at the international level. On March 21, 2007, he scored his first international goal for his national side in a friendly game against Mauritius. He was also a member of the squad that represented Côte d'Ivoire in the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations. On January 21, 2008, Salomon Kalou scored the winning goal, which gave Ivory Coast a 1-0 victory over Nigeria at Sekondi Stadium in the opening game of Group B. In this tournament, he scored three goals for his country.
He began his professional football career by signing with Excelsior Rotterdam, which is a 'satellite club' of Feyenoord Rotterdam. Salomon Kalou had a spectacular 2002–03 season, in which he scored fifteen goals from his eleven appearances for the club. With this impressive performance, he was graduated to Feyenoord Rotterdam. During his stint at the club from 2003 to 2006, he played in the Dutch top flight for three seasons. In 2005, Salomon Kalou was named as the Dutch Football Talent of the Year.
On May 30, 2006, Salomon Kalou signed a contract with Chelsea for an undisclosed fee that keeps him in the club till 2009. His debut goal for the club came as a part of a hat-trick that he scored in the reserve game against Portsmouth, where Chelsea won 5-0. He was member of the squad that finished runner-up in the community shield campaign. Salomon Kalou scored his first senior goal for the club in their two goal win over Blackburn Rovers in the third round of the Carling Cup. During the quarter finals of the Football Association (FA) Cup, he scored a volleyed goal from 12 yards against Tottenham Hotspur. He was a part of the team that won the 2007 FA Cup by defeating Manchester united. In the same year, Salomon Kalou was in the squad that won Football League Cup and Community Shield. He helped his team finish as runner-up in the 2007-08 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League.
During his childhood, he grew up watching his brother play football, which inspired him to take up the sport. Later, as he grew up he took up French forward Thierry Henry as his idol. When Salomon Kalou was asked on which other player he admires in the tournament, he commented that he likes Messi because of his ability to strike a balance between his club and his international career.
During his spare time, Salomon Kalou enjoys watching sports in particular athletics and basketball.
