Tobias Tigjani Sana (born 11 July 1989) is a Swedish 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 an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, 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 #Cent ...

for

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football lea ...

club

BK Häcken Bollklubben Häcken, more commonly known as BK Häcken or simply Häcken (), is a Swedish professional association football, football club based in Gothenburg. It currently plays in Allsvenskan, the top tier of Swedish football. Formed on 2 Augu ...

Club career

Qviding FIF

Sana began his professional football career in 2007–2008, playing for Qviding FIF, having spent his youth years playing for Marieholm BoIK, followed by Västra Frölunda IF, from where he was recruited to play for Qviding FIF in the Swedish

Division 1 Södra Ettan Fotboll, or simply Ettan ( en, the one), which also is its common name in everyday speech, is the third level in the Swedish football league system and consists of 32 Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden ...

and

Superettan Superettan (; meaning the super first (division)) is an association football league and the second highest league in the league system of Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Al ...

, the third and second tier of Swedish professional football. He made 28 appearances in two years, in the regular season for the club from

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, scoring twice.

IFK Göteborg

In 2009 Sana signed with IFK Göteborg making his debut in the

league, the top tier in Swedish football. A special clause in his contract allowed for him to return to his former club on a loan basis in 2009, before fully committing himself to IFK Göteborg. During the first half of the 2012 season Sana was a first team regular and rated among many as one of the team's best players. Despite that, the team had a disappointing season and Sana only scored two goals and made no assists.

AFC Ajax

On 1 August 2012, Sana signed a three-year deal with Dutch giants

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the l ...

IFK Göteborg Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Göteborg (officially IFK Göteborg Fotboll), commonly known as IFK Göteborg, IFK (especially locally) or simply Göteborg, is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, it is the ...

received €350,000 for the right-winger. On 19 August 2012, Sana earned his first start for

and immediately paid back the support from the manager by scoring his first two

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

goals, and earning himself the ''Man of the Match'' award.

Malmö FF

Swedish champions

Malmö FF Malmö Fotbollförening, commonly known as Malmö FF, Malmö, or MFF, is a professional football club and the most successful football club in Sweden in terms of trophies won. Formed in 1910 and affiliated with the Scania Football Association, ...

announced on 14 January 2015 that they had signed Sana on a four-year contract.

AGF

On 8 July 2017, he signed a three-year contract with AGF, who play in the Danish Superliga.

IFK Göteborg

On 10 August 2019, Sana signed a three-year contract with

and by doing so returned to the club he played for between 2009 and 2012. At the beginning of May 2022, Sana was suspended from the club, which later led to him being forced to leave IFK Göteborg on 19 May 2022.

International career

Born to a Burkinabé father and a Swedish mother, Sana has been eligible to represent either

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

on international level. He chose to represent Sweden, his country of birth, receiving his first call up on 2 October 2012 to play in the World Cup qualifying matches against

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Not making an appearance against the Faroe Islands, he made his debut for Sweden on 16 October 2012 in the match against Germany, which ended in a 4–4 tie. His second appearance for Sweden came in the friendly match against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on 14 November 2012, which ended in a 4–2 win for Sweden.

Personal life

Sana was born in Sweden, his father is from

, and his mother is from Sweden. Sana holds dual citizenship, but plays for the Swedish national team. Burkina Faso expressed interest in adding the young footballer to their national squad, however Sana expressed his desire to play for the Swedish national team, being the country of his birth. His younger brother Muba is also a footballer and plays for

since 2012.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Ajax *

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, 2013–14 *

Johan Cruyff Shield The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footbal ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

Malmö FF *

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

IFK Göteborg *

Svenska Cupen Svenska Cupen (, ''The Swedish Cup'') is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. Svenska Cupen usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also held. Each year 96 teams compe ...

: 2019–20 Individual * Årets ärkeängel (IFK Göteborg player who have shown great loyalty to the club):

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sana, Tobias 1989 births Living people Burkinabé footballers Swedish footballers Swedish expatriate footballers Sweden international footballers Association football midfielders Qviding FIF players IFK Göteborg players AFC Ajax players Jong Ajax players Malmö FF players Aarhus Gymnastikforening players BK Häcken players Ettan Fotboll players Superettan players Allsvenskan players Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players Danish Superliga players Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in Denmark Footballers from Gothenburg Swedish people of Burkinabé descent Swedish sportspeople of African descent Sportspeople of Burkinabé descent 21st-century Burkinabé people