From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Khalilou Fadiga (born December 30, 1974 in Dakar) is a Senegalese football (soccer) player who plays in midfield for Coventry City. He also holds a Belgian passport.

Fadiga began his career at Paris Saint-Germain in France, but failed to make an impression, and so was transferred to fellow Parisian club, Red Star 93, before moving to Belgian club FC Liège.

It was in Belgium that he found the profile that was to launch his international career. After one season he moved from FC Liège to Lommel, which is now KVSK United. He played 2 seasons at Lommel before he was spotted by Club Brugge. Fadiga quickly became a fan-favorite with his dribbles and beautiful goals. He scored 9 goals in 67 appearances and it was his final season at the club that Fadiga earned his first caps for the Senegal national side. It was a difficult decision because Fadiga is also the holder of a Belgian passport due to his marriage.

In September 2000, the midfielder returned to France when he signed for AJ Auxerre. In all, he played in 82 league games for the French club, scoring 10 goals as well as appearing in the Champions League & UEFA Cup during season 2002-03.

Fadiga ran into a rich vein of form in 2001-02 to emerge as one of the key hopes for Senegal during the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He was an integral member of the Senegal side, winning 21 caps and scoring 3 goals.

Fadiga moved to Inter Milan in the summer of 2003, but failed to feature in a single game for the team. This, coupled with the discovery of heart problems meant he was released from the San Siro after just one season.

English club Bolton Wanderers signed Fadiga for the 2004-05 season, after he passed a medical. However before he made an appearance for Bolton, he collapsed prior to a match in October, and had to be fitted with a defibrillator due to an irregular heartbeat. Despite stating his desire to return to the game, medical specialists urged him to retire, warning that if during a game his chest was knocked the defibrillator could fail, leading to instant death.

However, following a period of rest and passing a medical, Fadiga returned to the Bolton squad in early 2005 and played in 5 games. At the start of the 2005-06 campaign Fadiga was loaned to Derby County of the Football League Championship, making 4 appearances. On his return to the Reebok Stadium he took part in 10 games, 2 of them in the UEFA Cup, before eventually being released in May 2006.

Without a club at the start of the 2006-07 season, he has gone on trial with Portsmouth F.C. and has played for their reserve team. He also had trials at Watford and Hull City before eventually signing a four-month contract with Coventry City on February 23, 2007.

• BBC profile
• Khalilou Fadiga career stats at Soccerbase

	Senegal squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup Quarter-finalists
1 Sylva | 2 Daf | 3 Sarr | 4 Malick Diop | 5 N'Dour | 6 Cissé | 7 H. Camara | 8 Traoré | 9 S. Camara | 10 Fadiga | 11 Diouf | 12 Faye | 13 Diatta | 14 Moussa N'Diaye | 15 Diao | 16 Diallo | 17 Coly | 18 Thiaw | 19 Bouba Diop | 20 S. N'Diaye | 21 Beye | 22 Cissokho | 23 Makhtar N'Diaye | Coach: Metsu