Willy Boly

Willy-Arnaud Zobo Boly (born 3 February 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers. Born in France, Boly represents the Ivory Coast national team.

Willy Boly
Boly playing for Braga in 2016
Personal information
Full name Willy-Arnaud Zobo Boly[1]
Date of birth (1991-02-03) 3 February 1991[2]
Place of birth Melun, France
Height 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)[3]
Position(s) Centre back
Club information
Current team
 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Number 15
Youth career
2000–2002 Rosny-sous-Bois
2002–2006 CFF Paris
2004–2007 Clairefontaine
2007–2011 Auxerre
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2014 Auxerre B 27 (2)
2011–2014 Auxerre 97 (3)
2014–2015 Braga B 16 (1)
2015–2016 Braga 25 (2)
2016–2018 Porto 10 (0)
2017–2018 → Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) 36 (3)
2018– Wolverhampton Wanderers 71 (4)
National team‡
2006 France U16 1 (0)
2007–2008 France U17 4 (0)
2010 France U19 1 (0)
2020– Ivory Coast 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 February 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17 November 2020

Club career

Auxerre

Born in Melun, Seine-et-Marne, Boly played youth football for three clubs, also having a three-year spell at the INF Clairefontaine academy.[4] He made his senior debut with AJ Auxerre's reserves and, in February 2011, he signed his first professional contract after agreeing to a three-year deal with an option for a fourth.[5]

On 16 April 2011, Boly made his Ligue 1 debut by playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 away win against Toulouse FC.[6][7] He scored his first goal in the competition the following matchday, in a 1–1 home draw to RC Lens.[8]

Boly was an undisputed starter in the 2011–12 season (33 games, one goal),[9] but the AJA were relegated to Ligue 2 after finishing last.[10]

Braga

On 1 September 2014, Boly moved to Portugal and joined S.C. Braga on a four-year deal.[11] He spent his first season with the B-team, in the Segunda Liga.[12]

Porto

On 31 August 2016, Boly signed a five-year contract with FC Porto with a €45 million buyout clause.[13] He played only eight competitive matches during his spell,[14] including the 0–1 away loss against Juventus F.C. for the last-16 stage of the UEFA Champions League where he featured the second half after coming on as a substitute for André Silva.[15]

Wolverhampton Wanderers

On 8 July 2017, Boly joined EFL Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers on a season-long loan, reuniting him with his former head coach Nuno Espírito Santo.[16] He made his competitive debut for Wolverhampton on the opening day of the 2017–18 season in a 1–0 home win against Middlesbrough,[17] and scored his first goal with them on 31 October to help Wolves win 2–0 away against Norwich City.[18]

After making 37 official appearances and helping them achieve promotion, Boly signed a permanent contract with Wolves.[19] He made his Premier League debut on 11 August 2018, in a 2–2 home draw against Everton.[20] He scored his first goal in the competition two weeks later in a 1–1 home draw to Manchester City,[21] but the goal proved controversial as television replays showed the ball was deflected into the goal by his forearm after glancing off his head.[22]

Boly scored his first ever goal in UEFA European competition in Wolves's 2019–20 UEFA Europa League Group Stage game against Beşiktaş in Istanbul on 3 October 2019, a game that Wolves won 1–0.[23]

Boly fractured his left fibula in training on 26 October 2019, necessitating surgery to insert a plate and screws on 30 October 2019.[24] Boly returned from this injury in Wolves's 0–0 draw away to Manchester United on 1 February 2020,[25] although he had been an unused substitute in Wolves's previous Premier League fixture at home to Liverpool on 23 January 2020.[26]

Boly scored his first goal of the 2020–21 season, and his first Premier League goal since the 2018–19 season, on 16 January 2021 against West Bromwich Albion in the Black Country derby.[27]

International career

Born to Ivorian parents, Boly represented France at under-16, under-17 and under-19 levels.[28]

Boly switched to represent the Ivory Coast national team in 2020. He debuted for the Ivory Coast in a 2–1 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification win over Madagascar on 12 November 2020.[29]

Career statistics
As of match played 2 February 2021[30]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Auxerre 2010–11 Ligue 1 810000——81
2011–12 3312020——371
2012–13 Ligue 2 2510020——271
2013–14 Ligue 2 3004140——381
2014–15 Ligue 2 100020——30
Total 97361100——1134
Braga 2014–15 Primeira Liga 00001000—10
2015–16 222401012[lower-alpha 1]0—392
2016–17 300000001[lower-alpha 2]040
Total 252402012010442
Porto 2016–17 Primeira Liga 4000201[lower-alpha 3]0—70
Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) 2017–18[31] Championship 3630010——373
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2018–19[32] Premier League 3645000——414
2019–20[33] 220000013[lower-alpha 1]1—351
2020–21 1611010——181
Wolves total 11086020131—1319
Career total 236131611602611029515
  1. Appearance(s) in the UEFA Europa League
  2. Appearance in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
  3. Appearance(s) in the UEFA Champions League

Honours

Braga

Wolverhampton Wanderers

France U17

Individual

References
  1. "2018/19 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  2. "Willy Boly: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  3. "Willy Boly". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  4. "Willy Boly: "Je me sens prêt"" [Willy Boly: "I feel ready"] (in French). AJA Mag. 16 April 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
  5. "W. Boly passe pro" [W. Boly turns pro] (in French). Mercato 365. 19 February 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
  6. "Toulouse FC 0–1 AJ Auxerre" (in French). Eurosport. 16 April 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  7. "TFC 0–1 Auxerre: Un hold-up qui fait très mal" [TFC 0–1 Auxerre: Quite harmful hold-up] (in French). Les Violets. 17 April 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  8. "Auxerre-Lens: Score final (1–1)" [Auxerre-Lens: Final score (1–1)] (in French). RC Lensois. 24 April 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  9. "Auxerre s'écroule en fin de match" [Auxerre collapse towards the end of the match]. Le Figaro (in French). 11 February 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  10. "Auxerre: Boly vers la Roma?" [Auxerre: Boly to Roma?] (in French). Les Transferts. 22 April 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  11. "Boly à Braga" [Boly to Braga]. L'Équipe (in French). 1 September 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  12. "Boly (Sp. Braga): "Estamos a caminhar para o que Fonseca quer"" [Boly (Sp. Braga): "We are going in the direction of Fonseca's wishes"] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 9 September 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  13. "Oficial: Willy Boly é reforço dos dragões" [Official: Willy Boly bolsters dragons]. Record (in Portuguese). 31 August 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  14. Gouveia, Carlos (27 December 2017). "Boly: um caso de sucesso que pode ser jackpot de verão" [Boly: a case of success who might be a summer jackpot]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  15. Murray, Scott (14 March 2017). "Juventus 1–0 Porto (agg 3–0): Champions League last 16, second leg – as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  16. "Willy Boly!". Wolverhampton Wanderers. 8 July 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  17. "Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–0 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 5 August 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  18. "Norwich City 0–2 Wolverhampton Wanderers". BBC Sport. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  19. "Benik Afobe and Willy Boly join Premier League new boys on permanent deals". Talksport. 1 June 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  20. Hafez, Shamoon (11 August 2018). "Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–2 Everton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  21. James, Stuart (25 August 2018). "Manchester City rely on Aymeric Laporte to share spoils with Wolves". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  22. Watson, Jack (26 August 2018). "Pep Guardiola refuses to criticise referee after Willy Boly's handball in Manchester City draw". The Independent. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  23. "Beşiktaş 0–1 Wolverhampton: Willy Boly stikes late to give Wolves victory". BBC Sport. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  24. Edwards, Joe (30 October 2019). "Wolves defender Willy Boly out for months after operation". Express & Star. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  25. Stone, Simon (1 February 2020). "Manchester United 0–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  26. McNulty, Phil (23 January 2020). "Wolves 1–2 Liverpool: Robert Firmino scores late winner for leaders". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  27. Stone, Simon (16 January 2021). "Wolves 2–3 West Brom: Matheus Pereira's double secures Baggies win in Black Country derby". BBC Sport.
  28. "Football / Willy Boly (International Franco-ivoirien de l'AJ Auxerre en France) Tout sur ce défenseur central qui peut aider les Eléphants!" [Football / Willy Boly (French-Ivorian international of France's AJ Auxerre) Everything about this central defender who might help the Elephants!] (in French). News Abidjan. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  29. "Haller fait souffler la Côte d'Ivoire pour sa première". SOFOOT.com.
  30. Willy Boly at Soccerway. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  31. "Games played by Willy Boly in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  32. "Games played by Willy Boly in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  33. "Games played by Willy Boly in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  34. Anderson, John, ed. (2018). Football Yearbook 2018–2019. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 386–387. ISBN 978-1-4722-6106-9.
  35. "Santisteban's Spain succeed in style | Under-17". UEFA.com. 3 June 2008.
  36. "PFA Championship Team of the Year: Wolves & Fulham trios named in line-up". BBC Sport. 18 April 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
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