Latest news with #DangoOuattara
BBC News
28-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Our review of the season part three: The goals
Then there were the hat-tricks. Makeshift striker Dango Ouattara starred in a 5-0 rout of Nottingham Forest, which ultimately improved the goal difference enough to pip Brentford to ninth place. And Justin Kluivert hit two trebles on the road, with a historic hat-trick of penalties at Wolves, before gunning down Newcastle to score more league goals at St James' Park in one game than his father Patrick managed in an entire season on context, that 4-1 win at Newcastle on 18 January was the champagne moment of an unforgettable season. The Magpies went into that game on a run of nine successive wins, being talked about as title contenders, with Alexander Isak on a red-hot streak of 11 goals in his past eight league could only name a patched-up XI with players out of position and a threadbare bench of development squad players, the six outfield subs boasting only four substitute league appearances for the Cherries between them. The omens were not good for the fans who had left their homes in the early hours to make the longest journey of the season for a Saturday lunchtime those fans were treated to a breathtaking performance to live long in the memory. Isak did not get a kick. Even some Newcastle diehards I spoke to after the game hailed it as the best away performance they had seen at St James' Park in the field, the Cherries have a new state-of-the-art training ground – and owner Bill Foley chose its opening ceremony to announce that a deal had been reached to buy back Vitality Stadium, which had been sold and leased back two decades earlier when the financial wolves were years ago, Foley promised European football within five years. While a top-seven place was tantalisingly out of reach in 2024-25, this Bournemouth team have made a habit of shattering glass ceilings - and they are not done just yet.
BBC News
09-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Iraola on Outarra's injury, captain Smith and the importance of data
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Aston Villa (kick-off 17:30 BST).Here are the key lines from his news conference:Iraola says that Dango Ouattara is unlikely to feature again this season because of an adductor injury. Ryan Christie, Enes Unal and Luis Sinisterra are still not ready to return to of what happens in the last three games, he classes this as a special season for the club: "We have been really good this season, offensively and defensively we are up there with teams who are better than us - it is something to be proud of. Now we have to give the last push to get something tangible. To get big rewards you have to do big things."On Saturday's opponents: "If we want to make them suffer, we have to play like the big teams do at home [against them] and this is not easy. They have been a little bit better than us [in previous matches against them] but we have been quite competitive. We need to change some things to close the gap."He spoke highly of club captain Adam Smith, whose next game will be his 400th for the Cherries: "You have to be consistently performing very well [to reach 400 matches] and fighting against your team-mates for your position. He wants to train well every day and is someone who is very reliable. He understands his strengths and weaknesses. I think he can still add more games to that amount."On the importance of data in his success on the south coast: "Data is very valuable for me - now we maybe have too much! I like to analyse, we have data from past games and seasons, there are patterns and you see there are reasons behind things. You can't only focus on data but for the scouting department and us analysing our performance, it is a big help for us."Listen to live commentary of the match on BBC Radio 5 LiveFollow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ouattara offers Bournemouth's 'secret'
Dango Ouattara says the "secret" to Bournemouth's success is a continuity from last season through to the current campaign. The Cherries - chasing a place in Europe and the FA Cup in the late stages of the season - have surpassed expectations, with a free-flowing brand of football on show and countless eye-catching results. "The secret this year is that we've had the same squad since last year, virtually the same players," Ouattara told the BBC. "And the same coach. It's important to have a group that continues to develop together and to have the same coach who knows the players and knows how to get them to play together. That's the secret. "As for the players, we're going to do everything we can to go further. We're going to try to keep up the momentum, win games and try to lose fewer, so we'll see where we stand."
BBC News
25-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Ouattara offers Bournemouth's 'secret'
Dango Ouattara says the "secret" to Bournemouth's success is a continuity from last season through to the current Cherries - chasing a place in Europe and the FA Cup in the late stages of the season - have surpassed expectations, with a free-flowing brand of football on show and countless eye-catching results."The secret this year is that we've had the same squad since last year, virtually the same players," Ouattara told the BBC."And the same coach. It's important to have a group that continues to develop together and to have the same coach who knows the players and knows how to get them to play together. That's the secret."As for the players, we're going to do everything we can to go further. We're going to try to keep up the momentum, win games and try to lose fewer, so we'll see where we stand."
BBC News
24-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'Faith comes before football'
"For me, faith comes first. It comes before football."As Ramadan draws to a close, Bournemouth's Dango Ouattara is clear where his priorities forward from Burkina Faso is a devout Muslim who prays five times a day, as well as before and after each game he plays, saying it helps him to "stay humble"."It allows us to refocus on ourselves, to see what we've done well and what we haven't been able to do well," the 23-year-old tells BBC Sport Africa when we meet at his local mosque in Poole."It also allows us to correct ourselves in society too. It allows us to stay on the right path."During our conversation, Ouattara regularly uses words such as "calm" and "stable" to describe the benefits of Islam.A quiet and thoughtful character, verging on shy, there is nothing bling about him. He arrives early for our interview, dressed head-to-toe in white, asking to pray before we settle down to chat."Faith allows me to overcome many challenges, to respect others, to respect choices and religions too," he explains."Whether it's on the pitch, off it with friends or even with my family, it allows me to be calm in my daily life."You have to believe before you can do something." 'The community shows that you're not alone' This season, Ouattara seems full of belief in his own not being a consistent starter, he has nine goals in 30 appearances in all competitions for the Cherries, including a hat-trick against Nottingham Forest in numbers are a vast improvement on last season, when he only scored Andoni Iraola's side competing for European football, Ouattara says the team is "great fun" to play in."The secret this year is that we've had the same squad, virtually the same players and the same coach. It's important to have a group that continues to develop together," he added."You can see every time that the players enjoy it."We're going to do everything we can to go further."Born in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital, Ouattara himself has been on a journey, having arrived on England's south coast via French side for £20m ($26m), when he made his debut in January 2023 he became just the second Burkinabe to appear in the Premier League, following on from his national team captain and former Aston Villa forward Bertrand uncomfortable speaking in English for prolonged periods, he confirms language was the main problem when he arrived, but says religion played its part there too."My agent and I were able to find the mosque, so I started to get back into my routine," he explains."And as I came to the mosque, everything went well for me with the football. So I found myself back in the environment I'd left behind in Lorient."It helps because when you find yourself in another town, having the community shows that you're not alone. You have the opportunity to pray with other people, to meet new people."It keeps us focused on religion." The club chef, getting up early and napping This year, Ramadan began on Friday 28 February and will finish on Sunday 30 month is considered holy as Muslims believe it marks when the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet adherents, fasting plays a key role, foregoing food and drink between sunrise and sunset."I wouldn't say that Ramadan is difficult, it's more mental, because personally I'm used to doing it," says Ouattara."It's more the lack of water. And given that you have to wake up at unusual times to eat, that's more tiring."But he has a cunning plan to combat the fatigue: naps."I wake up at 4.30am, I do my ablutions and I've already got the food which has already been prepared by the club chef."I eat, and after prayers I have time to go back to bed for an hour or so before training."Then after the sessions I say my prayers and sleep for another hour. So the fact that I rest each time means I recover better." Despite his fast, and when he's not napping, Ouattara's training plan remains pretty much the same."It's even easier when you have the support of the whole team, whether it's the players or the staff."Everyone asks me 'How are you feeling? Is it going well? Is it not too difficult?"They understand me and they encourage me."Although he is the only Muslim in Bournemouth's squad, Ouattara is far from alone as a Premier League player fasting during the month has become so high profile that in 2021 the league introduced a new agreement that allows officials to call a halt to games in progress at sunset to allow players to break their is something Ouattara is grateful for."The initiative of the Premier League is to be congratulated because it's not easy to play while fasting."We hope that it will continue."Dango Ouattara is someone who hears the call to prayer strongly, something that has helped turn him into a player Bournemouth fans can have faith in.
