Alhassane "Lass" Bangoura (born 30 March 1992) is a Guinean 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

right winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He spent the better part of his career with

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in the Villa de Vallecas district of Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish foot ...

, totalling 152 appearances. He also played in France, Canada, Ecuador and Greece. Bangoura represented

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

in two

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 ...

tournaments.

Club career

Rayo Vallecano

Born in

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 ...

, Bangoura began his career with local

Étoile de Guinée Club Sportif Étoile de Guinée, called CS Étoile de Guinée or simply Étoile de Guinée is a Association football, football club based in Conakry, Guinea. Founded in 1996, the team has promoted great talents such as Alhassane Bangoura, Naby Ya ...

. In 2010, aged 18, he joined the youth ranks of Spanish club

, scoring 23 goals in 25 games in his last year as a junior. Bangoura appeared in four

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

matches with the first team in the 2010–11 season, as the Madrid side returned to

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

after an eight-year absence. In June 2011, he attracted the interest of neighbours

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

, who made an offer to purchase him. Bangoura made his debut in Spain's top division on 28 August 2011, playing 31 minutes in a 1–1 away draw against

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

. On 23 October he scored in the 2–0 win at

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

, who had also been promoted the previous campaign. On 19 February 2012, he netted twice in a 5–3 away victory over

Levante UD Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club in Valencia, in the Valencian Community, namesake autonomous community. Founded on 6 September 1909, the club will compete in La Liga for the 2025– ...

. In the early days of the 2015 January

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

, Bangoura was loaned to

Granada CF Granada Club de Fútbol (), known simply as Granada or ''"Graná"'', is a professional List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in the city of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, that currently plays in Segunda ...

until June. He scored on his debut, a 1–2 home loss to

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, that competes in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. The club was formed on 25 January ...

in the

round of 16 A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

of the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

. On 31 January 2016, Bangoura was loaned to

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 ...

club

Stade de Reims Stade de Reims () is a French professional football club based in Reims. The club was formed in 1931 and plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of football in France. Reims plays home matches at the Stade Auguste Delaune. Reims is one of the mo ...

until the end of the season. He scored in his fifth appearance, a 4–1 defeat of

FC Girondins de Bordeaux Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux (), commonly referred to as Girondins de Bordeaux () or simply Bordeaux, is a French Association football, football club based in the city of Bordeaux in Gironde (department), Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitain ...

, in an eventual relegation. On 1 February 2018, Bangoura was loaned to Spanish second division team

UD Almería Unión Deportiva Almería, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish professional football club based in Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 26 July 1989 and known as ''Almería Club de Fútbol'' until 2001 ...

for six months. He made his debut two days later, coming on as a 46th-minute substitute for Mandi away against

Lorca FC Lorca Fútbol Club was a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Lorca, Spain, Lorca, in the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia. Founded in 2003, it last played in Divisiones Regionales de Fútbol in the Region of ...

, in a 2–1 comeback win. On 23 January 2019, Bangoura joined

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

side

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...

on a one-year loan deal. He played 18 total matches, and scored in a 3–2 loss at the

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

on 16 March. Still owned by Rayo, on 1 February 2020 Bangoura was loaned to

CD Lugo Club Deportivo Lugo is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Lugo, in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. Founded on 8 July 1953, it plays in Primera Federación, holding home games at ''Estadio Anxo ...

until 30 June. He continued to be loaned the following seasons, to C.S. Emelec (

Ecuadorian Serie A The Liga Pro Ecuador Serie A, simply known as the Liga Pro or the Serie A (or the Ecuadorian Serie A to distinguish it from the Italian Serie A and the Brazilian Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Série A), or as Liga Pro Ecuabet for sponsorship re ...

) and

PAS Lamia 1964 Lamia Football Club () is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in Lamia (city), Lamia, Greece. It was founded in 1964. The club plays in the Super League Greece 2, Super League 2, the second tier of Greek football. It ...

(

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

Later career

Bangoura remained in Greece in September 2022, signing for

Chania FC Chania Football Club () is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in Chania, Crete. They were established in 2017, as a result of a merger between the two regional clubs representing the Chania (regional unit), Chania dis ...

of the

Super League 2 Stones Bitter Super League II was the official name for the year 1997's Super League championship season, the 103rd season of top-level professional rugby league football in Britain, and the second to be played in summer. Teams Twelve teams were ...

International career

Bangoura represented

at the

2009 African U-17 Championship The 2009 African U-17 Championship was a football competition organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The tournament took place in Algeria. The top four teams qualified for the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Nigeria, automatically qua ...

. He made his debut for the senior team in 2011 at the age of 19, and was selected 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 ...

and

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Career statistics

Club

International

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bangoura, Lass 1992 births Living people 21st-century Guinean sportsmen Guinean men's footballers Footballers from Conakry Men's association football wingers La Liga players Segunda División players Rayo Vallecano players Granada CF footballers UD Almería players CD Lugo players Ligue 1 players Stade de Reims players Major League Soccer players Vancouver Whitecaps FC players Ecuadorian Serie A players C.S. Emelec footballers Super League Greece players Super League Greece 2 players PAS Lamia 1964 players Guinea men's youth international footballers Guinea men's international footballers 2012 Africa Cup of Nations players 2019 Africa Cup of Nations players Guinean expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Expatriate men's footballers in Ecuador Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Guinean expatriate sportspeople in Spain Guinean expatriate sportspeople in France Guinean expatriate sportspeople in Canada Guinean expatriate sportspeople in Ecuador Guinean expatriate sportspeople in Greece