Chérif Souleymane, also known as Chérif Soulegmane, (born 20 October 1944) is a former Guinean

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 ...

. He is considered among the finest footballers Guinea has ever produced. He was named the France Football African Footballer of the Year and the

African Footballer of the Year African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

(the only Guinean to receive that honour) in 1972 while playing with

Hafia FC Hafia Football Club is a football club based in Conakry, Guinea. Founded in 1951, the team was known as Conakry II in the 1960s and won three titles under that name. Hafia have won 15 league titles overall having dominated in 1960s and 70s, but t ...

Conakry Conakry (; ; sus, Kɔnakiri; N’ko: ߞߐߣߊߞߙߌ߫, Fula: ''Konaakiri'' 𞤑𞤮𞤲𞤢𞥄𞤳𞤭𞤪𞤭) is the capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its p ...

Career

Born in

Kindia Kindia ( N’ko: ߞߌ߲ߘߌߦߊ߫) is the fourth largest city in Guinea, lying about 85 miles northeast of the nation's capital, Conakry. Its estimated population in 2008 was 181,126. Kindia serves as the capital and largest city of Kindia Prefe ...

the son of a chauffeur/mechanic, Souleymane moved to

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

when he was 17 to study to become a plumber, but switched to architecture because, he later stated, it made it easier for him to play football. He played for

SC Neubrandenburg 1. FC Neubrandenburg 04 is the German football club based in Neubrandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, playing in the 2019-20 Verbandsliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (VI). History The earliest forerunner of 1. FC Neubrandenburg 04 was founded in 19 ...

in the second-tier

DDR-Liga The DDR-Liga (English: GDR League or ''East German League'') was, prior to German reunification in 1990, the second level of football competition in the DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik or German Democratic Republic, commonly East Germany), bei ...

for two seasons, from 1962 to 1964. He returned to his home country and spent the rest of his playing career with top-tier

, initially known as Conakry II when he joined the club. He played for Hafia from 1964 to 1978. Hafia was a powerhouse in Guinea and in Africa during this period, winning the

Guinée Championnat National Guinée Championnat National (simply known as Ligue 1 Pro) is the top division of the Guinean Football Federation, it was created in 1965. Ligue 1 Pro 2021–22 teams Champions *1965 : AS Kaloum Star *1966 : Hafia FC *1967 : Hafia FC *1968 : ...

, the top national league, from 1965 to 1968 and from 1971 to 1979. In international competition, it won the

African Cup of Champions Clubs The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club competition organized by the Confederation of African Football and cont ...

three times, in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

and

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

, and was the runner-up in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

, during Souleymane's tenure. In the

1976 African Cup of Nations The 1976 African Cup of Nations was the tenth edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the soccer championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by Ethiopia. The format of competition changed from 1974: the field of eight teams was still split into tw ...

, Guinea came in second, despite never losing a game, Souleymane's sole regret of his playing career. He was also on the

Guinea national football team The Guinea national football team ( French: '' Équipe de football du Guinée'') represents Guinea in men's international football and it is controlled by the Guinean Football Federation. They have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals, ...

from 1965 through 1977, and competed for Guinea at the 1968 Summer Olympics with the national team. In 11

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

appearances, he scored three goals. He also coached nine FIFA games, amassing a record of three wins, two draws and four losses. He made his debut at the 1985 inaugural FIFA U-16 World Championship in China; his team defeated the United States 1-0, advanced out of its group and placed fourth. As of December 2013, Souleymane has been the Technical Director (Director Technique) of the

Guinean Football Federation The Guinean Football Federation (French: ') is the governing body of football in Guinea. It was founded in 1959, affiliated to FIFA and to CAF in 1962. It organizes the national football league and the national team. References External links ...

since 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Souleymane, Cherif 1944 births Living people People from Kindia Men's association football midfielders Guinean footballers Guinean expatriate footballers Guinea men's international footballers 1976 African Cup of Nations players Olympic footballers for Guinea Footballers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Hafia FC players African Footballer of the Year winners Guinean football managers 1. FC Neubrandenburg 04 players Expatriate footballers in East Germany