Bakary Soro (born 5 December 1985) is a Burkinabé 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 recently played as a defender for

Şanlıurfaspor Şanlıurfaspor is a Turkish sports club located in Urfa. The football (soccer), football team currently plays in the TFF First League. Current squad Out on loan Honours * TFF Second League ** Winners (1): ...

. He has represented the Ivory Coast at under-20 level and

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

in an exhibition game.

Career

Soro was raised in

Anyama Anyama is a city in south-eastern Ivory Coast. It is a suburb of Abidjan and is one of four sub-prefectures of Ivory Coast, sub-prefectures of Abidjan Autonomous District. Anyama is also a Communes of Ivory Coast, commune. The city is located abou ...

, the same

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

suburb as Ivorian internationals Arouna and

Bakari Koné Bakari Koné (born 17 September 1981) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a winger. Club career Early career Koné was born in Abidjan. Like many other Ivorian stars, he began his career at the famed youth academy at A ...

, and in similar fashion to the latter, began his career at homeland club

ASEC Mimosas ASEC Mimosas (short for Association Sportive des Employés de Commerce Mimosas; ) is an Ivorian professional football club based in Abidjan. The club is also known as ''ASEC Abidjan'', especially in international club competitions. Founded in 194 ...

, coming through their famed

Académie de Sol Beni ASEC Mimosas (short for Association Sportive des Employés de Commerce Mimosas; ) is an Ivorian professional Association football, football club based in Abidjan. The club is also known as ''ASEC Abidjan'', especially in international club compet ...

youth academy, run by

Jean-Marc Guillou Jean-Marc Guillou (born 20 December 1945) is a French football coach and former player, who played at the 1978 World Cup. Club career Guillou was born in Bouaye, Loire-Atlantique. He played for Angers SCO, OGC Nice, Neuchâtel Xamax, FC Mulh ...

, before moving on to the ASEC first team. Soro's success did not go unnoticed, as he was called up to the Ivorian senior side for the

2008 African Cup of Nations The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the MTN Africa Cup of Nations due to the competition's sponsorship by MTN, was the 26th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football tournament for nations affiliated with the Confeder ...

qualifier against

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

on 5 October 2006, along with fellow ASEC player

Didier Ya Konan Didier Ya Konan (born 22 May 1984) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Club career Ya Konan started his professional career at ASEC Mimosas in 2003. A club that previously had produced players as Kolo Touré ...

. The team won 5–0, although Soro was an unused substitute. In November 2006, it was reported that Soro and Ya Konan had been granted trials with English

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

, with the

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

-based side eventually signing him. In January 2007, Soro signed a loan deal with

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023 ...

club

Germinal Beerschot Koninklijke Beerschot Antwerpen Club (), simply known as Beerschot AC, was a Belgian association football, football club based in southern Antwerp. Beerschot played in the Belgian Pro League from Belgian First Division 1999–2000, 1999–2000 ...

, going on to make four appearances. In August 2007, Soro moved to French

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 ...

side

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

, establishing himself in the first team for the 2008–09 season. Soro left Lorient in September 2009 to join

Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...

on a free transfer in December 2009.

International career

Soro represented the Ivory Coast at the

2005 African Youth Championship The 2005 African Youth Championship was an international football competition that took place between 15 and 29 January 2005. The tournament was hosted by Benin and also served as qualification for the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship. Qualific ...

and was named captain during the tournament. He played in games against Mali, Benin and Nigeria as Ivory Coast were eliminated at the group stage. Soro later switched international allegiance to

and participated in an exhibition game in

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

against Gabon on 6 September 2010. He came on as a second-half substitute, making his debut under controversial Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte; Duarte gave international debuts to several non-Burkinabé players during his time as Burkina Faso head coach. In 2012, it was announced that Burkina Faso had named Soro in their provisional squad for the

2013 Africa Cup of Nations The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange S.A., Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons, held from 19 January to 10 February 2013, was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, the Association football, footbal ...

References

Alanyaspor'da 4 imza!
fanatik.com.tr, 15 January 2016

Career

International career

References

External links