Morike Sako (born 17 November 1981) is a French 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 lea ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

Career

Early career

Born in Paris, Sako began his career in France with US Ivry, leaving in 2004 to join Swiss side

SR Delémont Sport-Réunis de Delémont (shortened to SR Delémont) is a Swiss Association football, football club based in Delémont and founded in 1909. The team currently play in Swiss 1. Liga (football), 1st League Classic from 2025–26, the fourth tier ...

Torquay United

Sako joined

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

in July 2005, one of three French players, the others being Mamadoli Sow and

Carl Priso Carl Yaya Priso (born 10 July 1979) is a French former professional footballer who played as a forward. Career His professional football career began in France with Poissy, moving on to Parisian side Red Star 93 and German side Chemnitzer FC in ...

signed at the same time by then Torquay manager

Leroy Rosenior Leroy De Graft Rosenior (born 24 August 1964) is a football coach and pundit. He is a former footballer whose clubs included Fulham, Queens Park Rangers (for whom he appeared as a substitute in the 1986 League Cup Final), Bristol City and Wes ...

. Sako was the most successful and popular of the three, playing 27 times and scoring three goals the following season, his league debut coming in a 3–0 defeat away to

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

on 13 August 2005. He was one of six players transfer-listed in October 2005 as Torquay struggled in the league, but regained his place in the side and was taken off the list in January 2006 after Rosenior had been replaced by

John Cornforth Sir John Warcup Cornforth Jr., (7 September 1917 – 8 December 2013) was an AustralianBritish chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1975 for his work on the stereochemistry of enzyme- catalysed reactions, becoming the only Nobel l ...

. Torquay chairman

Mike Bateson Mike Bateson is an England, English businessman and former chairman of Torquay United F.C., Torquay United Football Club. Bateson was brought up in Blackpool and after a spell in the Scots Guards made his fortune selling double glazing in the Sou ...

turned down an offer for Sako on the transfer deadline day at the end of that month. He was surprisingly released by new manager

Ian Atkins Ian Leslie Atkins (born 16 January 1957) is an English football manager, scout, and former player. Atkins amassed over 300 appearances for Shrewsbury Town, the club where he began his career. He also made appearances in the Football League for ...

at the end of the season, despite playing in some crucial games as Torquay successfully fought off relegation to the

Conference National The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...

. He had trials with a number of clubs after being released from Torquay, including

League One League One or League 1 may refer to: Association football * EFL League One, the third tier of football in England. * China League One, the second tier of football in China * K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea * Lao League 1 * Lea ...

clubs

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

and

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

Rochdale

In August 2006, Sako signed for League Two club

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

having impressed manager

Steve Parkin Stephen John Parkin (born 7 November 1965) is an English football manager and former player who played as a defender. As of 2021, he serves as the assistant manager at Wrexham. He played for Mansfield Town, Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion ...

. At the end of December 2006, Sako left Rochdale after being told his contract would not be renewed. He played twenty times for the club, scoring three goals. He was on then trial at

club,

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth ( ) is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. ...

FC St. Pauli

In January 2007, Sako signed a short-term contract until the end of the 2006–07 season to play for German 2. Bundesliga club

FC St. Pauli Fußball-Club St. Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St. Pauli (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg. The team plays in the Bundesliga from the 2024–25 Bundesli ...

after rejecting an offer from League 2 side Bury. He later signed a contract with St. Pauli until the end of the 2008–09 season. Sako went on to play 71 matches for St. Pauli and to score eight goals. In the 2009–10 season, Sako helped St. Pauli to gain promotion to the Bundesliga.

Arminia Bielefeld

In September 2010, Sako signed a one-year contract with an optional year's extension with 2. Bundesliga side Arminia Bielefeld. He was released after one year, then spent two years without a club before signing for

Hessen Kassel KSV Hessen Kassel is a semi-professional German football club based in Kassel, Hesse. KSV competes in the German Regionalliga Südwest, the fourth tier of German football. Nicknamed "Die Löwen" (the lions), the club was founded as FC Union 9 ...

Personal life

Sako is the older brother of

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

player

Bakary Sako Bakary Sako (born 26 April 1988) is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for French Championnat National 2 club Football Club 93 Bobigny-Bagnolet-Gagny, FC 93. He has previously played for English League club ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sako, Morike Living people 1981 births French sportspeople of Malian descent French men's footballers Footballers from Paris Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards 2. Bundesliga players Regionalliga players English Football League players US Ivry players SR Delémont players Torquay United F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players FC St. Pauli players Arminia Bielefeld players KSV Hessen Kassel players FC Eintracht Norderstedt 03 players French expatriate men's footballers French expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England French expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Germany 21st-century French sportsmen