Mohammed "Momo" Sylla (born 13 March 1977) is a Guinean 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 ...
Sylla started his football career at French Second Division club
Créteil
Créteil () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Créteil is the '' préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-de-Marne department as well as the seat of the Arrondissement of ...
, on the outskirts of
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
, before moving on to
Le Havre
Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, ver ...
when he was 18. He also played for
Le Mans
Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...
, before moving to Scotland to sign for
St Johnstone
St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an ol ...
, where he was considered to be a fan's favourite. Sylla was also considered to be quite an aggressive player during his time at St. Johnstone, as he picked up 16 yellow cards.
Celtic's manager signed him for £650,000 in August 2001. Sylla played in a variety of different positions while at Celtic, but was never a first-team regular. Celtic won the league twice during Sylla's time at the club in 2001–02 and 2003–04. Sylla contributed nine league appearances to the first of these titles and fourteen to the second.
Celtic released Sylla in 2005 and he then signed for
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the Nation ...
at the beginning of the 2005–06 season. He then had a short stint with
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Football League (SFL). It was abolished in 2013, when t ...
club Kilmarnock in early 2007 and a trial with Nottingham Forest, before retiring.
International career
Born in the Ivory Coast, Sylla played for the Guinea national team internationally making 56 appearances between 1999 and 2007.
Personal life
Sylla is the youngest of six children. He has two brothers and three sisters. From age 10, he was brought up by his sisters in Paris, as his mother, Massiami Bamba, and father believed that opportunities would be better for him than they were in Africa.
He is one of at least two Guinean football players commonly known as Mohammed Sylla. Another, Mohamed Lamine Sylla, played with
Willem II Willem II may refer to:
People
* William II, Prince of Orange (1626–1650), stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands
* William II of the Netherlands (1792–1849), King of the Netherlands
Other uses
* Willem II (football club), a Du ...
,
FC Martigues
Football Club de Martigues, known as FC Martigues or just Martigues, is a French professional football club which plays in the Championnat National, the third level of football in France.
The club plays at the Stade Francis Turcan, which ha ...
and Ayr United amongst others.Ayr United Match reports 1997-98 , Hand of David Ayr United Fans Site. The overlapping nature of the two players' careers has led to a degree of media confusion regarding the details of their transfers.
Honours
Celtic
*
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Football League (SFL). It was abolished in 2013, when t ...
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2003–04, 2004–05
*
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, cla ...
: Runner-up 2002–03
Individual
* St Johnstone's Player of the Year: 2000–01