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

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 lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. 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 The African Footballer of the Year award, presented to the best African association football, footballer each year, has been conferred by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) since 1992. Samuel Eto'o and Yaya Touré have won the award the ...

(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 the 1960s and 70s, ...

Conakry Conakry ( , ; ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its population as of the 2014 Guinea census was 1,660,973. The current population of C ...

Career

Born in Kindia the son of a chauffeur/mechanic, Souleymane moved to

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

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 in the second-tier DDR-Liga 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, the top national league, from 1965 to 1968 and from 1971 to 1979. In international competition, it won the African Cup of Champions Clubs 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, ...

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 – 1977 Moscow bombings, 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 (no ...

, and was the runner-up in

1976 Events January * January 2 – 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 18 – Full diplomatic ...

, during Souleymane's tenure. In the 1976 African Cup of Nations, Guinea came in second, despite never losing a game, Souleymane's sole regret of his playing career. He was also on the Guinea national team from 1965 through 1977, and competed for Guinea at the 1968 Summer Olympics with the national team. In 11

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

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 since 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Souleymane, Cherif 1944 births Living people People from Kindia Men's association football midfielders Guinean men's footballers Guinean expatriate men's 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 TSG Neustrelitz players 1. FC Neubrandenburg 04 players Expatriate men's footballers in East Germany CAF Champions League–winning players