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Aruna Dindane is an Ivorian footballer who plays for Portsmouth as a striker, on loan from RC Lens. Born in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, Dindane transferred from Ivorian club ASEC Mimosas to RSC Anderlecht in summer 2000 and helped the team to win the Belgian Jupiler League Championship in 2001 and 2004, as well as the Belgian Supercup in 2000 and 2001. In 2003, Dindane won both the Ebony Shoe as best player of African origin in the Belgian League and the Golden Shoe as the best player in the Belgian League. In November 2004, he was given a Swan D'Or Award for a spell of back-to-back hat-tricks.
In June 2005, Dindane signed for French Ligue 1 club Lens. In August 2009, he joined Premier League team Portsmouth on a one-year loan deal, with the option to sign him at the end of his loan spell. He scored his first goal for Portsmouth in a 3-1 League Cup win over Carlisle on September 22, 2009 and his first Premier League goal as part of a hat-trick in the 4-0 win over Wigan Athletic on October 31. On 5 December 2009, he scored against Burnley with a header after missing a penalty earlier in the game. On 9 February 2010, Dindane scored a 95th minute equaliser in the 1–1 draw with Sunderland at Fratton Park.
On the 21st March 2010, it was revealed he was left out of Portsmouth's match squad the previous day as if he played one more game the club would have to pay a £4 million fee to his parent club Lens. With Portsmouth inadministration they cannot afford to pay this fee meaning he was dropped. It now appears likely that Dindane will return to Lens as Portsmouth are unlikely to play him again.
On 4th April 2010 it was revealed that Blackburn Rovers were preparing to bid for the £4 million striker in time for the 2010/11 season. But some days later it was reported that Rovers' interest in him had cooled off and that they were looking for other targets instead.
Dindane made his debut for Côte d'Ivoire on 9 April 2000 against Rwanda. He participated in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, where he scored twice in a memorable comeback in their last group match against Serbia and Montenegro. However, the team failed to reach the second round due to previous defeats against Argentina and the Netherlands.
Dindane represented his country at the 2006 African Cup of Nations, but left the tournament on 22 January 2006 following the death of one of his twin daughters. He was also selected in the Ivorian squad for the 2008 African Cup of Nations in Ghana. He currently has 54 international caps for his country.
Source: wikipaedia
