Bamba with the Ivory Coast in 2012 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Souleymane Bamba[1] | ||
Date of birth | [2] | 13 January 1985||
Place of birth | Ivry-sur-Seine, France | ||
Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
Youth career | |||
1996–2004 | Paris Saint-Germain | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2004–2006 | Paris Saint-Germain | 1 | (0) |
2006–2008 | Dunfermline Athletic | 39 | (0) |
2008–2011 | Hibernian | 75 | (4) |
2011–2012 | Leicester City | 52 | (3) |
2012–2014 | Trabzonspor | 27 | (0) |
2014–2015 | Palermo | 1 | (0) |
2015 | → Leeds United (loan) | 19 | (1) |
2015–2016 | Leeds United | 32 | (4) |
2016–2021 | Cardiff City | 112 | (10) |
2021–2022 | Middlesbrough | 24 | (0) |
Total | 382 | (22) | |
International career | |||
2003–2005 | Ivory Coast U20 | ||
2008 | Ivory Coast U23 | 2 | (0) |
2008–2014 | Ivory Coast | 46 | (1) |
Managerial career | |||
2023 | Cardiff City (assistant) | ||
2024– | Adanaspor | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Souleymane Bamba (born 13 January 1985) is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He was most recently the first team coach/assistant manager at Cardiff City.
Bamba started his career in his native France with Paris Saint-Germain, but failed to establish himself in their first team. He moved to Scotland to join Dunfermline Athletic in 2006, helping the club reach the final of the Scottish Cup in his first season. Two years later, he was transferred to Hibernian, before joining English side Leicester City in January 2011.
He was sold to Turkish club Trabzonspor in 2012 for £750,000 before joining Palermo. However, he was loaned to Leeds United after making only one appearance in six months. He eventually joined Leeds on a permanent deal and was appointed club captain, spending a further year with the club before being released and subsequently joining Cardiff City. In his first full season with Cardiff, he helped the side win promotion to the Premier League.
Born in France to Ivorian parents, Bamba represented Ivory Coast in the 2008 Olympic Games and became a regular for the senior national side until his most recent cap in 2014.[3] In 2012, he was part of the side that reached the final of the Africa Cup of Nations.