Bakary Sako
Personal information
Full name	Bakary Sako
Date of birth	April 26, 1988 (1988-04-26) (age 21)
Place of birth	Ivry-sur-Seine, France
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Playing position	Midfielder and Striker
Club information
Current club	AS Saint-Étienne
Number	11
Youth career
2001–2006	Châteauroux
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2005–2009 2009–	Châteauroux AS Saint-Étienne	68 (9) 5 (0)
National team2
2009–	France U21	7 (1)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11 June 2009. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 11 June 2009. * Appearances (Goals)

Bakary Sako (born 26 April 1988 in Ivry-sur-Seine, Paris) is a French footballer of Malian descent who currently plays for Ligue 1 club AS Saint-Étienne. He can play as a midfielder, but can be also utilized as a striker.

Contents 1 Football career 2 International career 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Football career

Bakary has been with LB Châteauroux since 2001, joining the club as an academy player. He made his league debut on the final match day of the Ligue 2 2005–06 season coming on as a half-time substitute in a 4–1 victory over SC Bastia.^[1] Following the season, he signed his first professional contract agreeing to a three-year deal.^[2] He was promoted to the senior squad and assigned the number 26 shirt.

The next two seasons, Bakary was limited to mostly substitute appearances. He did score his first league goal, during the 2007–08 season, in a 1–2 defeat against Brest.^[3] The 2008–09 season was Bakary's best season so far. He was, by far, one of Châteauroux's best players appearing in 41 total matches and scoring 9 goals, second-best on the team. He formed solid partnerships with fellow Frenchman Mathieu Scarpelli and the Zambian Jacob Mulenga. However, despite the three playing well, Châteauroux finished 15^th with their faith in the league being decided on the last day. On 9 July 2009, Sako departed Châteauroux and signed a four-year deal with Ligue 1 club AS Saint-Étienne with the transfer fee being undisclosed.^[4]

[edit] International career

Bakary played with the Malian U-17 team in one friendly match in 2005, while the team was preparing for the 2005 African Under-17 Championship. The following year, he returned to the French team playing with the under-18 squad. He was a member of the French squad that participated in the 2007 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship reaching the semi-finals before being eliminated by Spain. He made his France under-21 debut on 11 February 2009 in a friendly match against Tunisia. He scored his first under-21 goal in the 2009 Toulon Tournament against Qatar.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• LFP Profile

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