Samuel Barlay (born 15 September 1986) is a Sierra Leonean

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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He has represented

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

at international level.

Club career

Samuel Barlay was born and raised in

Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...

. He started his professional football career with top Sierra Leonean club

East End Lions East End Lions is a Sierra Leonean professional football club based in the capital Freetown. They play in the Sierra Leone National Premier League, the top football league in Sierra Leone. East End Lions represents the East End of Freetown, and ...

in the

Sierra Leone National Premier League Sierra Leone National Premier League is a professional football league in Sierra Leone. It was founded in 1967. The league is sponsored by Leone Rock Metal Group. East End Lions and Mighty Blackpool are the two biggest and most successful clubs ...

in 2003. Barlay signed for

Malmö FF Malmö Fotbollförening (), commonly known simply as Malmö FF or MFF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Malmö, Scania. They compete in the Allsvenskan, the top division of Swedish football, and play home matches at the Eleda S ...

from Sierra Leonean East End Lions shortly after the

2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship The 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship, was the tenth edition of FIFA U-17 World Cup, FIFA U-17 World Championship. It was held in the cities of Helsinki, Tampere, Lahti and Turku in Finland from 13 to 30 August 2003. Players born after 1 January 19 ...

. In 2006, he was on a season long loan at

IFK Mariehamn IFK Mariehamn is a Finnish football club based in Mariehamn, the capital of the Åland Islands. It plays in the Finnish Premier Division (''Veikkausliiga''), winning their first title in 2016. The club is managed by Gary Williams, and it plays ...

in the Finnish

Veikkausliiga Veikkausliiga () is a professional association football league in Finland and the highest level of the Finnish football league system. The league comprises the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agenc ...

. In 2008, he returned to "Grönvitt" after a loan spell at

Örgryte IS Örgryte Idrottssällskap, commonly referred to as Örgryte IS, Örgryte () or (especially locally) ÖIS or Öis, is a Swedish sports club based in Gothenburg. It consists of four departments, namely bowling, football, athletics and wrestling. ...

in the Swedish second tier of football. Barlay left

, six months before his contract was due to expire, in April 2009. Following the end of his contract with Syrianska IF, Barlay went on trial with

Syrianska FC Syrianska Football Club, also known as Syrianska FC or simply Syrianska, is a Swedish professional association football, football club based in Södertälje in Stockholm County. The club was founded by Aramean people, Syriac-Aramean immigrants ...

in January 2011, before signing with

Azerbaijan Premier League The Azerbaijan Premier League (), also known as Misli Premyer Liqası for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Azerbaijan and the highest level of the Azerbaijani football league system. It is contested by twelve ...

side

FK Mughan Mughan FK () was an Azerbaijani football club, based in Salyan.. The club reached the Azerbaijan Premier League for the first time in 2008–2009. The club was first promoted after FK Masallı withdrew for the 2008/09 season. On 31 October 2008 ...

. Barlay left Ravan Baku at the end of his two-year contract in the summer of 2013. Following his release from Ravan Baku, Barlay signed for fellow Azerbaijan Premier League side

AZAL Azerbaijan Airlines (), also known as AZAL, is the national flag carrier and largest airline of Azerbaijan. Based in Baku, adjacent to Heydar Aliyev International Airport, the carrier operates to destinations across Asia, the Commonwealth of Ind ...

on a one-year contract, with the option of a second. In June 2014 Barlay returned to Syrianska, playing in the Division 2 Norra Svealand. He signed a new one-year contract with Syrianska in December 2014. In July 2015, Barlay joined Ravan Baku for a second time.

International career

Barlay was the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the Sierra Leone U-17 national football team at the

in Finland. Barlay is a first choice at the central midfield position for the Leone Stars, as the Sierra Leone national football team is known. He won a penalty for his country which was converted by

Mohamed Kallon Mohamed Kallon Order of the Rokel, MOR (born 6 October 1979) is a Sierra Leonean association football, football manager and former player who is the manager of the Sierra Leone national football team. He was a striker and played for Inter Milan f ...

that gave the Leone Stars a 1–0 win over South Africa in the 2010 FIFA World Cup/2010 African Cup of Nations qualifying match played in June 2008 in Freetown. In July 2014, Barlay was suspended indefinitely, along with Ibrahim Koroma,

Ibrahim Kargbo Ibrahim Obreh Kargbo (born 10 April 1982) is a Sierra Leonean former professional footballer. He ended his career with a suspension over match-fixing. Career Former teams are Old Edwardians F.C., Feyenoord Rotterdam, RWD Molenbeek, Sportin ...

and Christian Caulker over allegations of match-fixing relating to a 2008

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 ...

qualifier against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

which ended 0–0. Barlay and his fellow banned players had their ban lifted in March 2015.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

:''Scores and results list Sierra Leone's goal tally first.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barlay, Samuel 1986 births Living people Men's association football midfielders Sierra Leonean men's footballers Sierra Leonean expatriate men's footballers Allsvenskan players Superettan players Ettan Fotboll players Veikkausliiga players Azerbaijan Premier League players Malmö FF players Örgryte IS players IFK Mariehamn players Syrianska IF Kerburan players Mughan FK players Ravan Baku FK players Shuvalan FK players Sportspeople involved in betting scandals Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden Expatriate men's footballers in Finland Expatriate men's footballers in Azerbaijan Sierra Leone men's international footballers