Yaya Alfa Soumahoro (born 28 September 1989) is an Ivorian former 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 ...

. Having begun his career with Séwé Sports in his native country, he joined Thai club

Muangthong United Muangthong United Football Club ( th, สโมสรฟุตบอลเมืองทอง ยูไนเต็ด) is a Thai professional football club based in Muang Thong Thani, Nonthaburi province. The club plays in the Thai League ...

in 2008. His good performances earned him a move to

K.A.A. Gent Koninklijke Atletiek Associatie Gent (, English: ''Royal Athletic Association Ghent''), often simply known as Ghent or by their nickname ' ( en, The Buffalos), is a Belgian sports club, based in the city of Ghent, East Flanders. Their football ...

in 2010. He spent five and a half seasons with Gent but was plagued by recurring injuries throughout his time there. Following a half-season loan to

Sint-Truidense V.V. Koninklijke Sint-Truidense Voetbalvereniging (), commonly known as Sint-Truiden or STVV () or by their nickname De Kanaries (, is a Belgian professional football club located in the city of Sint-Truiden in Limburg. Sint-Truiden plays in the Belg ...

, he returned to Muangthong United where did not feature. In 2018, he joined the Egyptian side

Wadi Degla SC Wadi Degla Sporting Club ( ar, نادي وادي دجلة الرياضي) is an Egyptian football club based in Cairo. The club is related to Wadi Degla Holding, a construction company established in 1994. In 2009–10, it was promoted to the ...

Early life

Soumahoro grew in the Ivorian capital

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, ...

. He learned to play football in the streets and he decided to play for Séwé Sports. Soumahoro lost both parents at an early age and was taken care by a foster family.

Club career

Muangthong United

In 2008 Soumahoro moved to

Thai Premier League The Thai League 1 ( th, ไทยลีก 1), often referred to as T1, is the top level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai League 2. Seasons run from August ...

side

from Séwé Sports. He became a figurehead in this team, as he scored many goals and charmed the supporters with his numerous dribbles. He scored 32 goals in 72 games and helped the club win the Thai Premier League Championship

Thai Division 1 League Thai League 2 ( th, ไทยลีก 2), commonly known as the T2, formally called Thai Division 1 League, is the second-tier professional league in the Thai football league system. The top 3 are promoted to Thai League 1 at the end of the s ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and the

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

Gent

On 1 July 2010, Soumahoro joined Belgian club

on a three-year contract. On 22 August, he impressed in 3–1 league win against

Charleroi Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593.

scoring and assisting a goal each while also winning a penalty which

Shlomi Arbeitman Shlomi Arbeitman ( he, שלומי ארביטמן; born May 14, 1985) is an Israeli former professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career A young striker, Arbeitman joined Maccabi Haifa for the 2005–06 season. He regularly p ...

failed to convert. Four days later, he scored a goal to put Gent level on aggregate in a

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

qualifying match against

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...

. His side went on to win 2–0 and qualify for the

. In September 2010, Soumahoro sustained a hamstring injury in a league match against

Zulte Waregem Sportvereniging Zulte Waregem (), commonly known as Zulte Waregem or by their nickname Essevee (), is a Belgian professional football club based in Waregem, West Flanders. Zulte Waregem plays in the Belgian First Division A. Their highest finish a ...

and was substituted off after 73 minutes. It was announced he would be out of action for four weeks. In October 2010, he signed a one-year contract extension, tying him to the club until 2014. In April 2011, he received a three-match suspension. In March 2012, it was announced Soumahoro would need to undergo surgery likely ruling him out for the rest of the 2012–13 season. In October 2013, he signed a two-year contract extension with Gent, keeping him at the club until 2016. On 20 September 2015, Soumahoro made his first starting appearance after an injury layoff in a league match against Standard Liège. He had to leave the pitch after twisting his knee. With his contract set to expire at the end of the 2015–16 season Gent were looking to transfer Soumahoro. He did not take part in the club's winter training camp and instead trained with the reserves in wait of contract offers from other clubs. On 8 January 2016, Soumahoro rejected a move involving a 2.5-year deal to Cypriot club Anorthosis Famagusta. On 12 January, he joined Gent's league rivals

on loan until the end of the season.

After Gent

In June 2016 Soumahoro returned to former club Muangthong United. Six months later, his contract was terminated after he had not made any appearances due to injury problems. In July 2018, he trialled with

Belgian First Division B The Challenger Pro League (previously known as ''1B Pro League'') is the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian First Division A. It was created by the Royal Belgian Football Association in 201 ...

side

K.S.V. Roeselare Koninklijke Sport Vereniging Roeselare, abbreviated to KSV Roeselare (),''V.'' in isolation: ., also known in French as KSV Roulers, was a Belgian football club from the city of Roeselare in West Flanders. Its matricule was 134. It last played ...

. He sustained an injury in a friendly match with Crawley Town and was not signed by Roeselare. In October 2018, Soumahoro joined

Egyptian Premier League The Egyptian Premier League ( ar, الدوري المصري الممتاز), also known as WE Egyptian Premier League (WE EPL) after the addition of title sponsor WE, is a professional association football league in Egypt and the top level of th ...

side

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

Honours

Muangthong United *

Gent *

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 team ...

: 2014–15 * Belgian Super Cup:

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Soumahoro, Yaya 1989 births Living people Footballers from Abidjan Men's association football midfielders Ivorian men's footballers Séwé FC players Yaya Soumahoro K.A.A. Gent players Sint-Truidense V.V. players Wadi Degla S.C. players Yaya Soumahoro Belgian Pro League players Egyptian Premier League players Ivorian expatriate men's footballers Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in Thailand Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in Egypt Expatriate men's footballers in Thailand Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Egypt