Timothée Atouba (born February 17, 1982 in Douala) is a Cameroonian football player who currently plays as a left back for Hamburger SV.
He was part of the Cameroonian 2004 African Nations Cup team, who finished top of their group in the first round of competition, before failing to secure qualification for the semi-finals. Known for making things unreasonably complicated, Atouba signed for Tottenham Hotspur in June 2004 but although he played some promising games on the wing in his first few months at the club, scoring the only goal in a win at Newcastle United, he finished the season as an occasional left-back and was deemed surplus to requirements after only 1 year in London. Atouba's flamboyance and ball skill were recognized by Hamburg and he joined in July 2005.[1]
Atouba caused controversy after several rash challenges led to goals against his German club in the Champions League. After receiving some jeering from a disgruntled crowd he reacted by raising his middle finger to them, and asking to be substituted, having been substituted he repeated his actions and then received a red card.[2]