Sol Bamba

football player and manager (1985–2024)

Souleymane Bamba (13 January 1985 – 31 August 2024), known as Sol Bamba, was an Ivorian-French professional football player and manager. He played as a centre-back. Bamba was born in Ivry-sur-Seine, France. Bamba played for the Ivory Coast national team from 2008 to 2014. He also played for Paris Saint-Germain F.C. from 1996 to 2004.

Sol Bamba
Bamba with the Ivory Coast in 2012
Personal information
Full name Souleymane Bamba[1]
Date of birth (1985-01-13)13 January 1985
Place of birth Ivry-sur-Seine, France
Date of death 31 August 2024(2024-08-31) (aged 39)
Place of death Manisa, Turkey
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)
2015Leeds United (loan) 19 (1)
2015–2016 Leeds United 32 (4)
2016–2021 Cardiff City 112 (10)
2021–2022 Middlesbrough 24 (0)
Total 382 (22)
National team
2003–2005 Ivory Coast U20
2008 Ivory Coast U23 2 (0)
2008–2014 Ivory Coast 46 (1)
Teams managed
2024 Adanaspor
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

In 2021, he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and began undergoing chemotherapy treatment.[3] On 30 August 2024, Bamba was hospitalized in Manisa, Turkey. He died at the age of 39 the following day.[4][5]

Career statistics

change
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[6]
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Paris Saint-Germain 2004–05[7][8] Ligue 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2005–06[7][8] Ligue 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Dunfermline Athletic 2006–07[9] Scottish Premier League 23 0 5 0 2 0 30 0
2007–08[10] Scottish First Division 15 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 2[c] 0 20 0
2008–09[11] Scottish First Division 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Total 39 0 5 0 3 0 2 0 2 0 51 0
Hibernian 2008–09 Scottish Premier League 29 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 30 0
2009–10 Scottish Premier League 30 2 1 0 1 0 32 2
2010–11 Scottish Premier League 16 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 18 2
Total 75 4 2 0 2 0 1 0 80 4
Leicester City 2010–11 Championship 16 2 2 1 0 0 18 3
2011–12 Championship 36 1 1 0 0 0 37 1
Total 52 3 3 1 0 0 55 4
Trabzonspor 2012–13 Süper Lig 18 0 0 0 2 0 20 0
2013–14 Süper Lig 9 0 1 0 5 0 15 0
Total 27 0 1 0 7 0 35 0
Palermo 2014–15 Serie A 1 0 0 0 1 0
Leeds United 2014–15[d] Championship 19 1 0 0 0 0 19 1
2015–16 Championship 30 4 3 0 0 0 33 4
2016–17 Championship 2 0 0 0 2 0 4 0
Total 51 5 3 0 2 0 56 5
Cardiff City 2016–17 Championship 26 2 1 0 0 0 27 2
2017–18 Championship 46 4 0 0 0 0 46 4
2018–19 Premier League 28 4 0 0 0 0 28 4
2019–20 Championship 6 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 10 0
2020–21 Championship 6 0 0 0 1 0 7 0
Total 112 10 5 0 1 0 0 0 118 10
Middlesbrough 2021–22 Championship 24 0 4 0 1 0 29 0
Career total 382 22 23 1 9 0 10 0 2 0 426 23
  1. Includes Scottish Cup, FA Cup, Turkish Cup
  2. Includes Scottish League Cup, EFL Cup
  3. Appearance(s) in Scottish Challenge Cup
  4. This season was spent on loan from Palermo

International

change
Appearances and goals by national team and year[12]
National team Year Apps Goals
Ivory Coast 2008 1 0
2009 8 0
2010 6 1
2011 1 0
2012 13 0
2013 10 0
2014 7 0
Total 46 1

Managerial

change
As of 31 August 2024[13][14][15][16]
Team From To Record
P W D L GF GA GD W%
Adanaspor 25 July 2024 31 August 2024 4 1 1 2 6 11 −5 025.0
Total 4 1 1 2 6 11 −5 025.0

Honours

change

Dunfermline Athletic

Cardiff City

Ivory Coast

Individual

References

change
  1. "Premier League clubs publish retained lists". Premier League. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  2. "Sol Bamba: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  3. "Sol Bamba: Cardiff City defender being treated for cancer". BBC Sport. 11 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  4. "Sol Bamba: Ex-Cardiff, Leeds, Hibernian and Middlesbrough defender dies". BBC Sport. 31 August 2024. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  5. "Former Ivory Coast defender Sol Bamba dies aged 39". Reuters. 1 September 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Sol Bamba at Soccerway. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  7. 7.0 7.1 "Souleymane BAMBA". Histoire du PSG (in French). 25 May 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  8. 8.0 8.1 "Souleymane BAMBA". PSG70 (in French). Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  9. "Souleymane Bamba | Football Stats | Season 2006/2007 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  10. "Souleymane Bamba | Football Stats | Season 2007/2008 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  11. "Souleymane Bamba | Football Stats | Season 2008/2009 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  12. Sol Bamba at National-Football-Teams.com
  13. "Adanaspor vs. Esenler Erokspor 2 – 1". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  14. "Iğdır FK vs. Adanaspor 6 – 1". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  15. "Adanaspor vs. Pendikspor 3 – 4". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  16. "Manisa FK vs. Adanaspor 0 – 0". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  17. Anderson, John, ed. (2018). Football Yearbook 2018–2019. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 106–107. ISBN 978-1-4722-6106-9.
  18. "PFA Championship Team of the Year: Wolves & Fulham trios named in line-up". BBC Sport. 18 April 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  19. "Sol Tops Player Of The Month Vote". Leeds United F.C. 3 September 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2018.