Daniel Cousin (born February 2, 1977 in Libreville, Gabon) is a French-Gabonese football striker, he currently plays for Premier League side Hull City.

Club career

In France

The Cousin (pronounced Coo-zahn) family moved to France when Daniel was three.^[1] He played in the lower leagues in France for Martigues and Niort before moving to Le Mans Union Club 72. He later joined RC Lens in the summer of 2004.

Rangers

On August 9 2007, Cousin arrived at Murray Park in Glasgow to hold contract talks over a move and signed a three-year deal for a reported fee of £750,000.^[2] He scored his first goal for Rangers on his debut in a 2–0 home league win against St. Mirren on August 11 2007,^[3] and scored twice on his first start a week later against Falkirk.^[4]

Cousin scored on his return to France, against Lyon in the UEFA Champions League on the 2 October 2007. Rangers won the match 3–0 with Cousin scoring the second goal of the game.^[5] In November 2007 he was linked with a transfer away from Rangers, and it was reported that he had a release clause in his current contract which means he could leave in January 2008. This was denied by Rangers but the club did reveal there was a £3m release clause during the 2008 summer transfer window.^[6]

Cousin intensified speculation about his departure when he was reported as ridiculing his Rangers team mates over their drinking and dietary habits ahead of a crucial game with Lyon.^[7] This was later denied by Cousin, who said he had been misquoted.^[8]

On 21 January 2008 it was reported that Premier League side Fulham had had a £2m bid rejected by Rangers but manager Walter Smith.^[9] The next day a bid of £3m from Fulham activated a release clause^[10], however FIFA regulations meant Cousin required special dispensation to complete the move.^[11] On 29 January, the transfer was cancelled as FIFA did not grant permission^[12] but it later emerged that FIFA had not reached a decision over the transfer.^[13] A month later, 29 February, FIFA announced it would not allow the deal to be completed.^[14]

On 1 May 2008, Cousin was sent off during extra time of the Fiorentina v Rangers, UEFA Cup semi-final second leg match. Despite Cousin's sending off, Rangers progressed to win the game on penalties. On 31 August, Cousin scored the opening goal in the first Old Firm match of the season. Rangers went on to win the match 4–2 and he was later sent off for two bookable offences.^[15] This later proved to be the player's final game for Rangers.

Hull City

On 1 September 2008, Cousin signed for English Premier League side Hull City on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee, believed to be around £1.5 million.^[16] Cousin scored his first Hull goal against Arsenal at the Emirates stadium on Saturday 27 September 2008. His header was the decisive goal and helped to exalt Hull City to a historic 2–1 victory over Arsenal.

International career

Cousin made his debut for Gabon on 23 January 2000 in a 3–1 defeat to South Africa. He participated in all three of the 2000 African Cup of Nations group matches for Gabon. On 2 September 2006 he was made captain of the national team and lead them to a 4–0 win over Madagascar.

References

External links

• Yahoo Sports profile
• Daniel Cousin player information, honours, career stats and timeline

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