Mohamed Kallon

Mohamed Kallon
Personal information
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Al-Shabab
	‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:40, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

Mohamed Kallon (born October 6, 1979 in Kenema, Sierra Leone) is a Sierra Leonean professional footballer, and is the captain for the Leone Stars, Sierra Leone national football team, and the most famous Sierra Leonean footballer. He is the younger brother of fellow Sierra Leonean international Kemokai Kallon, and former Sierra Leonean international Musa Kallon. When he first made his international debut for his country, Kallon was given the nickname Small Kallon by Sierra Leonean football fans because he was the youngest of the three Kallon brothers in the national team.

Biography

Mohamed Kallon was born on October 6, 1979 in Kenema, Sierra Leone to Mende parents. He attanded primary school in Kenema and completed his secondary education at St. Edwards Secondary School in Freetown. After graduating from St. Edwards Secondary School, Kallon signed with local club, Old Edwardians of the Sierra Leone National Premier League in 1994 as a 14 year old. During the 1994-1995 season, he struck fifteen goals in 24 league games for Old Edwardians and became the youngest player to ever play and score in Sierra Leone National Premier League.

Kallon became the youngest player to ever play for the Leone Stars when he made his senior international debut for Sierra Leone at the age of fifteen in April 1995 against Congo in the 1996 African Cup of Nations qualifier in Freetown, in which he scored the winner. At the age of 16, Kallon was the youngest player at the 1996 African Nations cup in South Africa. He scored one of his country two goals as Sierra Leone defeated Burkina Faso 2 - 1 in their opening group match at the 1996 African Nations Cup played at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, South Africa.

Football career

After the 1994-1995 season, Kallon left Old Edwardians and signed for Lebanese club Tadamon Sour. He spent one season with Tadamon Sour before moving to Swiss club AC Lugano. After a successful career in Lebanon, Italian Serie A club Bologna signed him in 1997.

Kallon moved to Italian giant Inter Milan before the start of the 2000-2001 season, but he struggled to get into the starting eleven. In order to get more playing time, Inter Milan loan him to Cagliari, and Reggina for the past two seasons. He was given more playing time during the 2001-2002 season when star striker Ronaldo suffered an injury. Kallon tested positive for the banned substance nandrolone after the Serie A match against Udinese Calcio on 27 September 2003 and was banned from football for eight months. Kallon again struggle to get in the starting eleven when he return during 2003-2004 season, primarily due to the rise of young Nigerian striker Obafemi Martins.

He signed for French club AS Monaco from Inter Milan before the start of the 2004-2005 season. He was impressive during his first season at Monaco, but quickly fell out with manager Didier Deschamps, and was relegated to the bench. He went on loan to Saudi club Al Ittihad during the start of the 2005-2006 season, and helped the team win the AFC Champions League 2005 where he was top scorer in the competition before returning back to AS Monaco.

On November 19, 2007, Kallon rejected a one-and-a-half-year deal worth $10 million from Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal and raised a lawsuit against them due to the hostage situation that he was exposed to when he was leaving via Jeddah Airport.

Kallon joined Greek team AEK Athens on January 28 2008, but he did not manage to convince the club to further keep him. He was released on May 19 of the same year.

Club owner

Kallon is the founder and owner of the Sierra Leonean football club Kallon F.C., currently playing in the Sierra Leone National Premier League. Kallon is one of the top clubs in the Sierra Leone National Premier League and play their home games at the National Stadium in Freetown. Previously known as Sierra Fisheries, Kallon acquired the club in 2002 for USD 30,000.^{[citation needed]}

Kallon FC won the Sierra Leonean FA Cup, and the Sierra Leone League title in 2006, and qualifying for the African Champions League.

References

External links