Charles Itandje, born on November 2, 1982, is a French football goalkeeper. He is originally from Bobigny, which is located in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France, and his parents are from Cameroon.
Charles Itandje was selected to play for the equipe de France espoirs, which is France’s Under-21 team and became a noted figure in the field for his dance to destabilize opponents during the penalty shoot. He has made 25 appearances for the France national team. In 2006, he participated in the French A-squad pre-selection for the first time.
As a teenager, Charles Itandje had undergone a rough patch with respect to his football career, when his teammate’s father had almost ended his career before it even began. While playing in a match for a local club, Lilas, he was criticized harshly and though it never turned into a physical assault, he was shocked by the outburst. Charles Itandje gave up the game after that incident and took up kick boxing on the influence of his friend.
Charles Itandje ended his exile from football after he took up a trial for the goalkeeping position with the Parisian club Red Star and he never looked back. He started his football career professionally by playing for the club’s youth team, and with his impressive performance in the second team, Charles Itandje made Europe’s top talent scouts sit up and take notice of him. He played in this team for four years starting from 1997 till 2001. He got offers from the country’s top clubs and also from clubs abroad, from which he was signed to play for RC Lens after they won the bid over Liverpool and Fulham. Charles Itandje further enriched his knowledge of the game by working along with the club’s then goalkeeper Guillaume Warmuz. He played for RC Lens till 2007 and made 170 appearances for the club.
Charles Itandje was signed by Liverpool in the season that followed and made his first team debut for this club on September 25 in a Carling Cup match against Reading. His second appearance for Liverpool happened in the Football League Cup tie against Cardiff and played his next game against Chelsea in the quarter finals of the Carling Cup at Stamford Bridge.
Charles Itandje made his first FA Cup appearance in the third round of the competition against Luton Town at Kenilworth Road and the match ended in a tie. Liverpool and Luton Town played a third round replay match during the FA Cup and Charles Itandje got the opportunity to start again for his team and helped Liverpool register a 5-0 win.
