Ibrahima Bakayoko

Ibrahima Bakayoko (born 31 December 1976)[1] is a retired Ivorian footballer who played as a striker.

Ibrahima Bakayoko
Personal information
Full name Ibrahima Bakayoko Sela
Date of birth (1976-12-31) 31 December 1976
Place of birth Séguéla, Ivory Coast
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1991–1993 Yani Sports
1993–1994 Alliance Renaissance
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1996 Stade d'Abidjan 64 (12)
1996–1998 Montpellier 76 (25)
1998–1999 Everton 23 (4)
1999–2003 Marseille 115 (34)
2003–2004 Osasuna 26 (4)
2004–2005 Istres 15 (4)
2005–2007 Livorno 37 (5)
2007 Messina 6 (1)
2007–2008 AEL 30 (4)
2008–2009 PAOK 30 (8)
2009–2012 PAS Giannina 84 (33)
2012–2013 Olympiacos Volou 12 (0)
2014 Stade Bordelais 4 (0)
Total 522 (134)
National team
1996–2002 Ivory Coast 40 (22)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Playing in France with Montpellier, Bakayoko was rated highly enough by Everton manager Walter Smith that Smith was willing to pay £4.5 million for Bakayoko's services in October 1998. However, he failed to impress in the 23 games he played, only finding the net four times in the league (seven times in all competitions).[2] A brief highlight was scoring twice as Everton beat Blackburn Rovers 2–1 at Ewood Park.[3] He was sold for £4 million in June 1999 to Marseille.

A spell in Spain with Osasuna followed, before Bakayoko returned for a third spell in France, this time representing Istres, before he moved over the Alps to Italy, first with Livorno[4] and then with Messina. On 28 January 2007, he played his first Serie A match for Messina against Ascoli.

In the summer of 2007, he joined Greek SuperLeague outfit AE Larissa. On 20 September 2007, he scored from 30 yards for his new side in the UEFA Cup first round first leg against English Premier League side Blackburn. On 19 June 2008, he joined PAOK for a year.

After his contract expired, Bakayoko signed a two-year contract for newly promoted PAS Giannina on 27 July 2009.[5]

International career

Bakayoko is a former international for Ivory Coast. He made his first appearance for The Elephants in 1995.

Honours
PAS Giannina
Individual

References
  1. Soccerway profile
  2. "Games played by Ibrahim Bakayoko in 1998/1999". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  3. "Blackburn 1 Everton 2". Sporting Life. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  4. "Livorno to bank on Bakayoko". UEFA.com. 18 August 2005. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  5. ΠΑΣ Γιάννενα: Ανακοίνωσε Μπακαγιόκο και Μπαλάφα [PAS Giannina announced Bakayoko and Balafas] (in Greek). sport-fm.gr. 28 July 2009. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
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