Bakary Sako (born 26 April 1988) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

club

Levadiakos Levadiakos Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Λεβαδειακός) is a Greek professional football club that plays in the Super League Greece. Based in Livadeia, Greece, the club was promoted to the Alpha Ethniki, forerunner of the Super League, afte ...

. He has previously played for English League clubs

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

, and

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

. From 2014 to 2017, he played for the Mali national team.

Club career

Early years

Sako had been with

Châteauroux Châteauroux (; ; oc, Chasteurós) is the capital city of the French department of Indre, central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called ''Castelroussins'' () in French. Climate Ch ...

since 2001, joining the club as an academy player. He made his league debut on the final matchday of the 2005–06 Ligue 2 season coming on as a half-time substitute in a 4–1 victory over

Bastia Bastia (, , , ; co, Bastìa ) is a commune in the department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest population of any commune on the is ...

. Following the season, he signed his first professional contract after agreeing to a three-year deal. He was promoted to the senior squad and assigned the number 26 shirt. During the next two seasons, Sako was limited to mostly substitute appearances. He did score his first league goal, during the 2007–08 season, in a 1–2 defeat against

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

. During the 2008–09 season Sako became an integral part of the team, helping the club narrowly avoid relegation on the final day.

Saint-Étienne

On 9 July 2009, Sako departed Châteauroux for

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

club

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the t ...

, where he signed a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

On 29 August 2012, Sako signed for

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

club

on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee that was reported to be £2.2 million. He scored on his Wolves debut in a

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

tie against

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

on 30 August 2012, and again on his league debut in the following match, a 3–1 defeat at

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. The winger adapted well to English football, scoring ten times in total and contributing eleven assists. However, his season was halted early when he tore his hamstring in March 2013 in a match against

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

, which ruled him out for much of the season's final games, during which the team were relegated to League One. Sako was the subject of transfer speculation during Summer 2013 with interest from

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

in June 2013 but the London club did not meet a reported £4 million asking price. Owing to his uncertain future, the player did not play in Wolves' final match of the transfer window as he "didn't feel he was in the right frame of mind". Several reported bids from

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

were rejected by the club. In October 2013, Forest again attempted to set up a deal but Wolves pulled out of negotiations citing that "the terms surrounding the offer were unrealistic". Despite the initial speculation surrounding his future and the breakdown of his proposed move to Forest, Sako went on to have a productive season for Wolves, finishing as joint top-scorer alongside the departed

Leigh Griffiths Leigh Griffiths (born 20 August 1990) is a Scottish professional footballer who most recently played as a striker for Australian club Mandurah City. Griffiths started his career at Livingston where he made his debut as a sixteen-year-old. He ...

as Wolves won the

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

title with a record points haul for the third tier. Sako was also named in the League One

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premie ...

for the 2013–14 season alongside four of his teammates. Back at Championship level, Sako continued to score regularly for Wolves and was named in the Championship PFA Team of the Year for the 2014–15 season. He finished the season as the club's (joint) top goalscorer as the team missed out on the play-offs on goal difference. Out of contract with the club, he voiced his desire to play in the Premier League, while head coach Kenny Jackett stated that he expected Sako to depart.

Crystal Palace

On 5 August 2015, Sako joined

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

side

on a three-year contract following his release from Wolves. He scored his first goal for the club on his full debut against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

on 22 August 2015. Sako then scored again the following week away to Chelsea, in a 2–1 win, which was

José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix GOIH (; born 26 January 1963), is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Italian Serie A club Roma. Once dubbed "The Special One" by the British ...

's second ever loss at Stamford Bridge. Sako also assisted the second goal scored by Joel Ward. In the 2017–18 season, Sako's form started to pick up under the management of

Roy Hodgson Roy Hodgson (born 9 August 1947) is a former English football manager and player. He managed 22 different teams in eight countries, beginning in Sweden with Halmstads BK in the 1976 season. He later guided the Switzerland national team to th ...

scoring his first goal of the season against Huddersfield in the

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

. He later scored against

in the same competition. Sako was also back scoring in the league as well, netting against

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

and

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

. He also added a goal in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

in an away loss to

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

West Bromwich Albion

On 2 October 2018,

signed free agent Sako until the end of the season.

Return to Crystal Palace

On 27 January 2019, Sako rejoined

on a short-term contract until the end of the 2018–19 season. He was released on expiry of his contract at the end of June.

Denizlispor

On 28 July 2019,

Denizlispor Denizlispor, due to current sponsorship Altaş Denizlispor, is a Turkish sports club based in Denizli. It is known by its distinct green and black colors. The club's branches include football, volleyball, basketball, table tennis, and gymnastics. ...

announced the signing of free agent Sako via

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

. But later, the club gave up the transfer due to his ankle injury history.

Pafos

On 6 September 2019,

Pafos Paphos ( el, Πάφος ; tr, Baf) is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and New Paphos. The current city of Pap ...

announced the signing of Sako via

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

Return to Saint-Étienne

On 30 December 2021, Sako returned to his former club Saint-Étienne on a contract until the end of the 2021–22 season.

International career

Youth

Sako played for the Malian U17 team in one friendly match in 2005, while the team was preparing for the 2005 African Under-17 Championship. The following year, he returned to the French team playing with the under-18 squad. He was a member of the French squad that participated in the 2007 European Under-19 Championship reaching the semi-finals before being eliminated by

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. He made his French under-21 debut on 11 February 2009 in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. He scored his first under-21 goal in the

2009 Toulon Tournament The 2009 Toulon Tournament was the 37th edition of the Toulon Tournament, and was held from 3 June to 12 June 2009. The tournament concluded with the final between France and Chile at Stade Mayol in Toulon as Chile won their first title after the ...

against

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

Senior

Sako was called up by the Malian national team for the first time for a friendly against

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

on 5 March 2014. He scored his first international goal against

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

in a friendly match played in

Colombes Colombes () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2019, Colombes was the 53rd largest city in France. Name The name Colombes comes from Latin ''columna'' (Old French ''colombe'') ...

, France, on 25 May 2014. His first goal in competitive internationals came when he scored the opener in a 2–0 win over

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

in an

Africa Cup of Nations qualification Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

match played in

Bamako Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2022 population of 2.81 million. It is located on t ...

on 7 September 2014. In December 2014 Sako was called up to the Mali squad for the finals of the

2015 Africa Cup of Nations The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was orga ...

to be held in Equatorial Guinea in January 2015. This was to be his first taste of a senior international tournament. Sako started Mali's first two matches in group D of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. These both finished in 1–1 draws, against

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

on 20 January and against

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

on 24 January. Sako scored a left-foot half-volley against Ivory Coast that the BBC hailed as the goal of the tournament at that point. Sako was unable to start the final and decisive group game against Guinea due to an illness though he did appear from the bench for the final 15 minutes of the game. This too ended in a 1–1 stalemate, meaning that five of the six games in group D finished 1–1 and this led to the drawing of lots between Mali and Guinea to decide who qualified for the quarter finals and who went home. It was Guinea who emerged from the hat, meaning the Eagles exited the tournament unbeaten.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

:''Scores and results list Mali's goal tally first.'' , - , 1. , , 25 May 2014 , ,

Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir The Stade Yves-du-Manoir (officially Stade olympique Yves-du-Manoir, also known as the Stade olympique de Colombes, or simply Colombes to the locals) is a rugby, track and association football stadium in Colombes, near Paris, France, Paris, Fran ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, , , , align=center , 1–0 , , align=center , 1–2 , , Friendly ,

, - , 2. , , 7 September 2014 , , Stade du 26 Mars,

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

, , , , align=center , 1–0 , , align=center , 2–0 , ,

2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches determined the participating teams for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. A total of 16 teams competed in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. Prior to November 2014, it was expected that Morocco woul ...

,

, - , 3. , , 15 October 2014 , , Stade du 26 Mars, Bamako, Mali , , , , align=center , 1–0 , , align=center , 2–3 , , 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification ,

, - , 4. , , 24 January 2015 , ,

Nuevo Estadio de Malabo Estadio de Malabo is a multi-purpose stadium in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. It is currently used mostly for football matches. Overview The stadium holds 15,250 and opened in 2007. It is currently the home ground of the Equatorial Guinea nationa ...

Malabo Malabo ( , ; formerly Santa Isabel) is the capital of Equatorial Guinea and the province of Bioko Norte. It is located on the north coast of the island of Bioko, ( bvb, Etulá, and as ''Fernando Pó'' by the Europeans). In 2018, the city had a p ...

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

, , , , align=center , 1–0 , , align=center , 1–1 , ,

,

, - , 5. , , 25 March 2015 , ,

Stade Pierre Brisson Stade Pierre Brisson is a multi-use stadium in Beauvais, France. It is used mostly for football matches and serves as the home stadium for AS Beauvais Oise Association Sportive Beauvais Oise (; commonly referred to as AS Beauvais, ASBO, or si ...

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; pcd, Bieuvais) is a city and commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise département, in the Hauts-de-France region, north of Paris. The commune of Beauvais had a population of 56,020 , making it the most populous ...

, France , , , , align=center , 3–3 , , align=center , 3–4 , , Friendly ,

, - , 6. , , 31 March 2015 , ,

Stade Sébastien Charléty Stade Sébastien-Charléty (; ), also known as Stade Charléty or Charléty, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, France. Comprising a running track and a football field, the stadium is a 20,000-seat state ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France , , , , align=center , 1–1 , , align=center , 1–1 , , Friendly ,

, - , 7. , , rowspan="2" , 9 October 2015 , , rowspan="2" ,

Stade de l'Aube Stade de l'Aube is a multi-use stadium in Troyes, France. It is currently used mostly for football matches, by Troyes AC Espérance Sportive Troyes Aube Champagne (ESTAC), commonly known as Troyes, is a French association football club, bas ...

Troyes Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near to ...

, France, , rowspan="2" , , , align=center , 1–0 , , rowspan="2" style="text-align:center", 4–1 , , rowspan="2" , Friendly , , rowspan=2 ,

, - , 8. , , align=center , 2–0 , - , 9. , , 17 November 2015 , , Stade du 26 Mars, Bamako, Mali , , , , align=center , 2–0 , , align=center , 2–0 , , 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification ,

Honours

Wolverhampton Wanderers *

Football League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

: 2013–14 Crystal Palace *

runner-up: 2015–16 Individual *

: 2013–14 League One, 2014–15 Championship * Football League One Team of the Season: 2013–14

References

External links

Official club profile
* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sako, Bakary 1988 births Living people People from Ivry-sur-Seine Footballers from Val-de-Marne French footballers France under-21 international footballers France youth international footballers Malian footballers Mali international footballers Association football midfielders LB Châteauroux players AS Saint-Étienne players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Pafos FC players Levadiakos F.C. players Ligue 1 players English Football League players Premier League players Cypriot First Division players Super League Greece players 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players 2017 Africa Cup of Nations players French expatriate footballers Malian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Cyprus Expatriate footballers in Greece French expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus French expatriate sportspeople in England French expatriate sportspeople in Greece Malian expatriate sportspeople in France Malian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Malian expatriate sportspeople in England Malian expatriate sportspeople in Greece French sportspeople of Malian descent Black French sportspeople