Mohammed Sylla

Mohammed Sylla (born 13 March 1977),[2] also known as Momo Sylla, is a Guinean former professional footballer who played as a winger.

For people with similar names, see Mohamed Sylla.

Momo Sylla
Sylla in November 2006
Personal information
Full name Mohammed Sylla[1]
Date of birth (1977-03-13) 13 March 1977
Place of birth Bouaké, Ivory Coast
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Position(s) Winger
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1996 Créteil 42 (7)
1996–1999 Le Havre 66 (11)
1997–1998 Noisy-le-Sec (loan) 47 (16)
1999–2000 Le Mans 36 (14)
2000–2001 St Johnstone 35 (5)
2001–2005 Celtic 47 (3)
2005–2007 Leicester City 34 (0)
2007 Kilmarnock 11 (0)
Total 318 (56)
National team
1999–2007 Guinea 56 (22)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Sylla started his football career at French Second Division club Créteil, on the outskirts of Paris, before moving on to Le Havre when he was 18.[3] He also played for Le Mans,[4][5] before moving to Scotland to sign for St Johnstone, where he was considered to be a fan's favourite.[6] Sylla was also considered to be quite an aggressive player during his time at St. Johnstone, as he picked up 16 yellow cards.[3]

Celtic's manager signed him for £650,000 in August 2001.[7] Sylla played in a variety of different positions while at Celtic, but was never a first-team regular.[8] Celtic won the league twice during Sylla's time at the club in 2001-02 and 2003-04.[9][10] Sylla contributed nine league appearances to the first of these titles and fourteen to the second.[11][12]

Celtic released Sylla in 2005 and he then signed for Leicester City at the beginning of the 2005–06 season.[13] He then had a short stint with Scottish Premier League club Kilmarnock in early 2007[14] and a trial with Nottingham Forest, before retiring.[15]

International career

Despite being born in the Ivory Coast, Sylla is a Guinean international. He played 56 matches for Guinea between 1999 and 2007.[2]

Personal life

Sylla is the youngest of six children. He has two brothers and three sisters. From age 10, he was brought up by his sisters in Paris, as his mother, Massiami Bamba, and father believed that opportunities would be better for him than they were in Africa.[3]

He is one of at least two Guinean football players commonly known as Mohammed Sylla. Another, Mohamed Lamine Sylla, played with Willem II, FC Martigues and Ayr United amongst others.[16] The overlapping nature of the two players' careers has led to a degree of media confusion regarding the details of their transfers.

Honours

Celtic

Individual

  • St Johnstone's Player of the Year: 2000–01

References
  1. "Mohammed Sylla". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  2. "Mohammed Sylla". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  3. Sylla listens without prejudice, Scotland on Sunday, 20 October 2002.
  4. Profile Archived 8 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine at britishantasyfootball.com
  5. Profile Archived 18 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine at lequipe.fr
  6. "Fans cleared of Sylla race abuse charge; Celtic star Momo asks sheriff to free pair". Evening Times. 31 December 2002. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  7. "Celtic sign trio on deadline day". BBC Sport. 2 August 2001. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  8. "English duo are waiting on Sylla". BBC Sport. 2 March 2005. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  9. "Five-star Celtic claim title". BBC. 6 April 2002. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  10. "Celtic win Scottish title". BBC. 18 April 2004. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  11. "Games played by Momo Sylla in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  12. "Games played by Momo Sylla in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  13. "Sylla makes switch to Leicester". BBC. 1 June 2005. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  14. "Kilmarnock sign Leicester's Sylla". BBC. 11 January 2007. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  15. "Forest look at Sylla". Sky Sports Football News.
  16. Ayr United Match reports 1997-98 Archived 19 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Hand of David Ayr United Fans Site.
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