Souleymane "Sol" Bamba (born 13 January 1985) is a French-Ivorian professional association football player who is plays for Scottish Premier League club Hibernian. Bamba represented the Ivory Coast in the 2008 Olympic Games and has since played for the full national side.

[edit] Career

[edit] Domestic

[edit] Early career

Nicknamed Sol, Bamba began his career with Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain at the age of 14. Despite impressing for PSG's youth and B teams, he only played in two first team games, in his final year at the club.^[1] A dispute with the PSG manager, Vahid Halilhodžić, caused Bamba to leave the club.^[1] After an initial trial period, Bamba signed for Scottish Premier League side Dunfermline Athletic in July 2006.^[2] During his short trial he came on as a substitute in a pre season friendly against the La Liga side Osasuna and made an instant impact, his enthusiasm and passion for the game shining through. After an array of fully committed challenges, and a narrowly-missed thundering 30 yard strike, he became an instant hit with the East End crowd and cemented his move to the club.

[edit] Dunfermline Athletic

Throughout the course of the 2006–07 season Bamba continued to impress with his no-nonsense, fully-committed defending style and enthusiastic approach to every game. Bamba was part of the squad that reached the 2007 Scottish Cup Final, but were also relegated from the Scottish Premier League. Bamba signed a two-year contract extension at the start of the 2007-08 season.^[3] His performances were less impressive in his second season.^[4]

In July 2008, Bamba was allowed to go on trial with English Championship side Watford,^[5] appearing in a friendly for them against Boreham Wood.^[6] At the end of July, manager Jim McIntyre said he expected a fee to be agreed between Dunfermline and Watford, and for Bamba to move to the Championship side soon.^[7] Although the deal was thought to be almost complete, Watford pulled out in mid-August for unknown reasons.^[8] On transfer deadline day 2008, it was reported that Dunfermline had accepted an offer of £50,000 from Scottish Premier League sides Hibernian and Motherwell.^[9]

[edit] Hibernian

Bamba returned to the Scottish Premier League on 1 September 2008 with Hibernian. The deal with Dunfermline was thought to be around £50,000, while Hibs also agreed to play a friendly match against Dunfermline the following year.^[10] The player himself signed a three-year deal with Hibs.^[10] He was sent off on his debut for a second bookable offfence against Dundee United, but Bamba has since established himself in the Hibs first team. Despite being a natural centre back, Manager Mixu Paatelainen praised Bamba's contribution as a defensive midfielder in the 2–0 win against Celtic in December 2008.^[11] Paatelainen commented further that he believed Bamba had improved as a player since his spell at Dunfermline, due to not going to ground when making a challenge.^[12] Bamba quickly became a popular player with the Hibs support due to his tough and committed tackling in his new defensive midfield role.^[12]

New manager John Hughes moved Bamba back to a central back role after the sale of Rob Jones in the 2009 close season. In his second match in this position, Bamba scored his first ever professional goal, against Falkirk on 22 August.

[edit] International

Bamba made his mark on the international stage, featuring in the 2005 African Youth Championship for his parent’s home land Côte d'Ivoire. He also played for his country alongside PSV Eindhoven striker, and 2006 World Cup player Arouna Koné at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship.^[13] In May 2008, Bamba played in the 36th edition of the Toulon Tournament for his country. Bamba was part of the Côte d'Ivoire squad that reached the quarter-finals of the 2008 Olympics.^[14]

Bamba then won his first cap at full international level in a 2008 friendly match against Israel.^[14][15] He won his second cap as a late substitute in a friendly against Turkey.^[16] Bamba made his competitive debut for Ivory Coast in a 5–0 win against Malawi in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match, again as a late substitute.^[17] This match was played in the aftermath of the Houphouët-Boigny Arena stampede, which killed dozens of Ivorian spectators.^[18]

[edit] See also

• Dunfermline Athletic F.C. season 2007-08 | 2008-09
• Hibernian F.C. season 2008-09

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Souleymane Bamba career stats at Soccerbase
• National Football Teams profile
• FIFA profile
• Dunfermline Athletic F.C. profile

v • d • e Côte d'Ivoire squad – 2008 Summer Olympics 1 Angban • 2 Wawa • 3 Viera • 4 Bamba • 5 Angoua • 6 Kambou • 7 Coulibaly • 8 S.Kalou • 9 Dja Djedje • 10 Koné • 11 Komenan • 12 Bagayoko • 13 Abraham • 14 Gervinho • 15 Tamla • 16 Okoua • 17 N'Gossan • 18 Cissé • Coach: Gili