Mustapha Yatabaré (born 26 January 1986) 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 lea ...

who plays as a forward for club Gençlerbirliği. Born in France, he played for the Mali national team.

Club career

Yatabaré was born in the French town of

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; ) is a town and Communes of France, commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise Departments of France, département, in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, north of Paris. The Communes of France, commune o ...

, and began his career at his hometown club AS Beauvais. He stayed at the club until 2005, before signing for

Amiens SC Amiens Sporting Club (; commonly referred to as Amiens SC or simply Amiens) is a French association football club based in the northern city of Amiens in the Hauts-de-France region. The club was formed in 1901 and play in Ligue 2, the second d ...

, to be part of the youth system. In 2006, he joined

Championnat National The Championnat National (), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, is the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, the Championnat National operates on a system of ...

side Villemomble Sports, scoring eight goals in 25 appearances, before earning a move to

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

side

Clermont Foot Clermont Foot 63 (Occitan: ''Clarmont d'Auvèrnhe''; commonly referred to as Clermont Foot) is a French professional football club based in Clermont-Ferrand, France. It competes in Ligue 2. The first incarnation of the club was formed in 1911 and ...

in 2008.

Boulogne

Yatabaré moved to Ligue 1 side

US Boulogne Union Sportive de Boulogne-sur-Mer Côte d'Opale (commonly referred to as US Boulogne, USBCO or frequently, simply Boulogne) is a French association football club based in the commune of Boulogne-sur-Mer. The club was founded in 1898 and cur ...

in January 2010. They were relegated at the end of the season.

Guingamp

During the summer of 2011, Yatabaré moved to the Ligue 2 side

En Avant de Guingamp En Avant Guingamp (, ), commonly referred to as EA Guingamp, EAG, or simply Guingamp (), is a French professional football club based in the commune of Guingamp, in France's Brittany region. The club was founded in 1912 and play in Ligue 2, ...

. He did not score in his first season. At the beginning of the 2012–13 season, he scored eight goals within the ten first games, including successive goals from the sixth to the tenth game. He finished that season as the Ligue 2 top scorer, with 23 goals, and contributed six assists. His goal-scoring exploits helped earn the Briton club promotion back into

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

after two years in the second division. Yatabaré scored his first goal of the

2013–14 Ligue 1 The 2013–14 Ligue 1 was the 76th season since its establishment. The season began on 9 August 2013 and ended on 17 May 2014. Paris Saint-Germain were the defending champions. As in the previous years, Adidas provided the official ball for all ...

season on the opening day of the campaign, but it came in a losing effort as Guingamp fell 3–1 to

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

. He scored his sixth league goal on 25 January 2014 in Guingamp's 1–1 draw with reigning champions PSG. In the quarter-finals of the

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

on 26 March 2014, Yatabaré scored both goals in Guingamp's 2–0 victory over

AS Cannes Association Sportive de Cannes Football (; commonly referred to as AS Cannes or simply Cannes) is a French association football club based in Cannes. The club was formed in 1902 as a sports club and currently plays in the Championnat National 2 ...

. On 16 April, Yatabaré scored twice against

AS Monaco Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club, commonly referred to as AS Monaco (), is a professional football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco. Although not in France, they are a member of the French Football Federation (FFF) and currently ...

in the semi-finals of the Coupe de France as Guingamp won 3–1 in extra time to reach the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. In the

on 3 May, Yatabaré scored in the first minute of the second half, as Guingamp won 2–0 against

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

. He headed in a cross from Steeven Langil for his eighth goal of the Coupe de France campaign, securing Guingamp's second Coupe de France championship. On 2 August 2014, in the

Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the Super cup, super cups found in many other count ...

against

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

at the Workers Stadium in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, Yatabaré took a penalty in the 32nd minute after Claudio Beauvue had been fouled by

Marquinhos Marcos Aoás Corrêa (born 14 May 1994), better known as Marquinhos (), is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back and Captain (association football), captains both club Paris Saint-Germain FC, Par ...

. It was saved by

Salvatore Sirigu Salvatore Sirigu (, ; born 12 January 1987) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Palermo. Sirigu began his career with Venezia and then Palermo. In 2011, he moved to French side Paris Saint-Germain. Twice v ...

and Guingamp lost 2–0.

Trabzonspor

On 1 September 2014, Yatabaré signed for

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

side

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Trabzon, located in Black Sea region, northeastern Turkey. Established in 1967 through the merger of several local clubs, Trabzonspor is one of the most prominent A ...

on a three-year deal. The transfer fee paid to Guingamp was reported as €2.5 million.

Montpellier

After one season in Turkey, Yatabaré signed for Ligue 1 side

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

on a season-long loan deal, while Montpellier was given an option to sign him permanently.

Sivasspor

On 24 July 2019, Yatabaré left Konyaspor and signed a two-year contract with fellow

club

Sivasspor Sivasspor Kulübü, known as Net Global Sivasspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish sports club based in Sivas. The primary department of the club is men's football. Formed in 1967, its football department has competed in Süper Lig since t ...

. On 18 May 2021, Yatabaré extended his contract with Sivasspor for a further two years until the end of the 2022–23 season. On 26 May 2022, Yatabaré started in the

of the Turkish Cup against

Kayserispor Kayseri Spor Kulübü, commonly known as Kayserispor, and also called Bellona Kayserispor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional football club based in Kayseri. They play their home matches at the RHG Enertürk Enerji Stadium ...

. Sivasspor won 3–2 after extra time for their first Turkish Cup title. He finished the season as the club's top scorer with 12 goals. He left the club on 1 July 2023 when his contract expired.

Gençlerbirliği

On 14 July 2023, Yatabaré joined Gençlerbirliği on an initial one-year deal with the club having an option to extend his contract for a further two seasons.

International career

In November 2008, Yatabaré earned himself a call-up to the

Mali national football team The Mali national football team ( Bambara: '' Mali jamana ntolatantɔn'', ) represents Mali in men's international football and is governed by the Malian Football Federation. The team's nickname is Les Aigles. They represent the country at tou ...

, following his impressive club displays. He made his international debut on 19 November 2008 against

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

, with the score finishing 1–1. On 10 January 2010, in the opening game of the

2010 African Cup of Nations The 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange (telecommunications), Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial association football, football championship of Africa (Confederat ...

, he scored a dramatic equaliser, as Mali came from 0–4 down to draw 4–4 with Angola. He also made the squad for the

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

tournament, helping the team reach the semi-finals and third place.

Personal life

Yatabaré was born in France to a Malian father and Senegalese mother. He holds both French and Malian nationalities. His younger brother, Sambou, is also a professional footballer.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Mali's goal tally first.''

Honours

Guingamp *

: 2013–14 Sivasspor *

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup () is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası''. Now Ziraat Bankası is ...

: 2021–22 Mali *

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

bronze:

Individual * Ligue 2 UNFP Team of the Year: 2012–13 *

Top scorer: 2012–13

References

External links

Profile
at Foot Mercato *
Profile
at Sport 24 (archived 7 October 2008)
Interview with Yatabaré
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yatabare, Mustapha 1986 births Living people 2010 Africa Cup of Nations players 2012 Africa Cup of Nations players 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players 2017 Africa Cup of Nations players Amiens SC players AS Beauvais Oise players Clermont Foot players En Avant Guingamp players Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Footballers from Beauvais French expatriate men's footballers French expatriate sportspeople in Turkey French men's footballers French sportspeople of Malian descent French sportspeople of Senegalese descent Gençlerbirliği S.K. footballers Kardemir Karabükspor footballers Konyaspor footballers Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Mali men's international footballers Malian expatriate men's footballers Malian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Malian men's footballers Malian people of Senegalese descent Men's association football forwards Montpellier HSC players Sivasspor footballers Süper Lig players TFF 1. Lig players Trabzonspor footballers US Boulogne players 21st-century French sportsmen