Players - Charles Itandje

Charles Itandje
Birthdate: 2 November 1982
Birthplace: Bobigny, France
Other clubs: Red Star 93 (1997-2001), Lens (2001-07), Kavala (loan 2009-10), Atromitos (2011-13), PAOK Salonika (2013-15), Torku Konyaspor (loan 2013-14), Caykur Rizespor (2015-16), Gazientepspor (2016-17), Adanaspor (2017)
Signed from: Lens
Signed for LFC: 09.08.2007
International debut: 23.03.2013 vs. Togo
International caps: Cameroon 12/0 - 23.06.2014
Liverpool debut: 25.09.2007
Last appearance: 16.02.2008
Contract expiry: 08.12.2010
Win ratio: 57.14% W:4 D:1 L:2
League games / goals / assists: 0 / 0 / 0
Total games / goals / assists: 7 / 0 / 0
League clean sheets: 0
Total clean sheets: 1

Player Profile

Itandje is born in France but his parents are from Cameroon. He was Lens' main goalkeeper from 2003-2007 and played 170 matches in the french first division. He featured three times for the French u-21 team and was known for his dance steps to put opponents off in penalties. Although he arrived at Anfield with a good reputation in France, Itandje knew when he signed a contract that his chances of first-team football would be very limited as understudy to Reina after Jerzy Dudek joined Real Madrid and Scott Carson went out on loan to Aston Villa. Perhaps there was a clause in his contract guaranteeing that he would play in certain cup matches as Liverpool played in seven FA Cup and League Cup ties during the 2007/08 season and Itandje was in goal for all of them. He conceded eight goals in those seven games and never seemed to instill a lot of confidence in the defenders in front of him. Certainly Reina might have been expected to do better with the two goals that went past Itandje as Liverpool were humbled by championship side Barnsley in the FA Cup.

Itandje was made available for transfer after Liverpool signed Diego Cavalieri in the summer of 2008 but he turned down a move to Turkish club Galatasaray. He didn't appear in Liverpool's first team at all in 2008/09 but he did manage to attract the wrong sort of attention by snickering and bothering Damien Plessis, who sat next to him, during the twentieth anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster service at Anfield in April 2009. He was disciplined by the club for this incident and it was clear that his future lay elsewhere. In December 2010 Itandje joined Greek club Atromitos on a free transfer.

Itandje made twenty-one first-team appearances for Atromitos in 2012/13, including playing twice against Newcastle United in the play-off round of the Europa League. He moved on to PAOK Salonika at the end of January 2013; and PAOK then loaned him to Turkish club Torku Konyaspor shortly before the start of the 2013/14 season. He only missed one of Konyaspor's 34 Süper Lig matches in the 2013-14 season as his loan-club finished the season in 11th place comfortably clear of the relegation places. In 2014/15 Itandje was back at PAOK and became their first-choice keeper for the second half of the season, but in the summer he headed back to Turkey, joining Caykur Rizespor. After a season there Itandje spent half of 2016/17 with Gaziantepspor and the second half with Adanaspor, before retiring from the game. 

Internationally, Itandje featured in three U-21 appearances for France, but applied to play for Cameroon and made his international debut for his parents' homeland in March 2013. He grabbed this chance with both hands with some outstanding performances and was Lions' main 'keeper in the World Cup in Brazil where Cameroon lost all their games, conceding nine goals.
Appearances per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 0 4 3 0 0 7
2007-2008 0 4 3 0 0 7
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
Apps Minutes Opponent
2 180 Luton Town
1 90 Chelsea
1 90 Barnsley
1 90 Reading
1 90 Havant
1 90 Cardiff City
Total Started/substitutions
7 Started
47 On the bench
0 Substitute
0 Substituted
Total Venue
4 Home
3 Away
Total Competition
4 FA Cup
3 League Cup
Total W D L Win % Manager
7 4 1 2 57.1% Rafa Benítez
Clean sheets per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 0 1 0 0 0 1
2007-2008 0 1 0 0 0 1
Milestone Appearances
# Date Against Stadium Competition
1 25.09.2007 Reading Madejski Stadium League Cup
Related Articles
Daily Post match report

Match report from Liverpool 2, Cardiff City 1 in the Daily Post by Nick Smith at Anfield.

Other Clubs
Club Season Club rank League apps League goals Total apps Total goals
Red Star 93 1997-2001 France 3 9 0 9 0
Lens 2001-2002 France 1 0 0 0 0
Lens 2002-2003 France 1 22 0 26 0
Lens 2003-2004 France 1 35 0 44 0
Lens 2004-2005 France 1 38 0 41 0
Lens 2005-2006 France 1 37 0 44 0
Lens 2006-2007 France 1 38 0 46 0
Kavala 2008-2009 Greeee 2 0 0 0 0
Kavala 2009-2010 Greeee 1 19 0 19 0
Atromitos 2010-2011 Greece 1 7 0 7 0
Atromitos 2011-2012 Greece 1 31 0 36 0
Atromitos 2012-2013 Greece 1 19 0 21 0
PAOK Salonika 2012-2013 Greece 1 9 0 15 0
Konyaspor 2013-2014 Turkey 1 33 0 33 0
PAOK Salonika 2014-2015 Greece 1 19 0 26 0
Caykur Rizespor 2015-2016 Turkey 1 33 0 37 0
Gaziantepspor 2016-2017 Turkey 1 5 0 5 0
Adanaspor 2016-2017 Turkey 1 12 0 12 0
Total 366 0 421 0