Souleymane Doukara (born 29 September 1991) is a 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 striker or a winger for Cypriot club Mağusa Türk Gücü and the Mauritania national team. He is nicknamed ''Dudu'' or ''The Duke''. Born in France, he plays for the Mauritania national team.

Club career

Early career

Doukara was born in

Meudon Meudon () is a French Communes of France, commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, on the left bank of the Seine. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of P ...

, Hauts-de-Seine. He started his professional career during the 2008–09 season, playing for Rovigo Calcio in the

Lega Pro Seconda Divisione Serie C2 was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Serie C. The league menaging ...

. Making his first team debut at the age of 16 he played seven games that season, without scoring goals. Doukara was scouted by

AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

who had an option to sign him from

Rovigo Rovigo (, ; ) is a city and communes of Italy, commune in the region of Veneto, Northeast Italy, the capital of the province of Rovigo, eponymous province. Geography Rovigo stands on the low ground known as Polesine, by rail southwest of Veni ...

, he even played for their youth team on a trial spell during a youth tournament in Milan, but the club decided against signing him. His club participated in the 2009–10

Serie D The Serie D () is the highest level of semi-professional football in Italy, and the fourth tier of the Italian national league system. It sits beneath the third and lowest fully professional league, Serie C, and feeds in to it through promotion ...

season and Doukara had his first chance to play as a regular starter; at the end of the championship he had made 36 appearances. His form earned him a trial spell at

Grasshopper Club Zürich Grasshopper Club Zurich (GCZ), commonly referred to as Grasshopper Club or simply just GC, is a professional sports club, multisports club based in Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland. They are nicknamed the ''Grasshoppers'' or sometimes just ''Hopper ...

in the

Swiss Super League The Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current fo ...

but he was unable to earn a contract. Prior to the 2011–12 Lega Pro season, Doukara was transferred to Seconda Divisione club Vibonese, in which he played 37 out of 42 league matches, scoring 13 goals.

Catania

After impressing scouts in the Italian fourth tier, Doukara officially signed with

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

outfit,

Calcio Catania Catania Football Club, commonly known as Catania, is an Football in Italy, Italian football club based in the city of Catania, Sicily, that plays in Serie C. Originally founded in 1908 as ''Associazione Sportiva pro Educazione Fisica'', the clu ...

. He made his Serie A debut on 16 September 2012, when he came on as a substitute for Alejandro Gómez against

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

in a 2–0 loss after goals from

Luca Toni Luca Toni (; born 26 May 1977) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a striker. A prolific goalscorer, Toni scored over 300 goals throughout his career, and is one of the top-five highest scoring Italians in all competition ...

and

Stevan Jovetić Stevan Jovetić (, ; born 2 November 1989) is a Montenegrin professional footballer who plays as a striker for Omonia and captains the Montenegro national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest Montenegrin footballers of all time. Joveti ...

. Doukara primarily served as a back-up to Argentine international's

Gonzalo Bergessio Gonzalo Rubén Bergessio (; born 20 July 1984) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a striker. Club career Early career Born in Córdoba, Bergessio started his career in the lower leagues with Club Atlético Platense. In 2005, ...

and

Maxi López Maximiliano Gastón López (born 3 April 1984) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. He holds both an Argentine and an Italian passport. He is known as ''El Rubio'' ("The Blonde"), and ''La Gallina de Oro'' ( ...

, though he made 12 Serie A appearances in his maiden top flight season. Additionally, he made two Coppa Italia appearances that season in Catania's quarter-final run. Doukara failed to score for the Sicilian outfit in his debut season at the club. On 1 September 2013, Doukara played in the 3–0 defeat of Catania by Serie A side

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Since 1 ...

Loan to Juve Stabia

On 2 September, the last day of the transfer window, Doukara joined

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

side

Juve Stabia Società Sportiva Juve Stabia is an Italian professional football club based in Castellammare di Stabia, Campania. Juve Stabia plays in Serie B, the second tier of Italian football system, following their promotion ahead of the 2024–25 seas ...

on loan. Subsequently, he scored six goals in 20 games during the 2013–14 season. However this wasn't enough to keep Juve Stabia in the division as they were relegated, finishing bottom.

Leeds United

2014–15

On 11 July 2014, it was confirmed by

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

owner

Massimo Cellino Massimo Cellino (; born 28 July 1956) is an Italian entrepreneur and football club owner. Through his family trust Eleonora Sport Ltd, he was the owner of Italian club Brescia Calcio, and is the former owner of Italian club Cagliari, and English ...

that the club would sign him on season-long loan with the option for a permanent deal. On 12 July, Doukara's signing to Leeds was confirmed on the club's official Twitter page. On 1 August, Doukara was assigned the Leeds number 29 shirt for the 2014–15 season. Doukara made his debut for Leeds on 9 August against

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

. Doukara's first goal for

came on 12 August 2014, in a League Cup match against

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England, that compete in the , the fourth level of the English football league system. They have spent their entire history playing a ...

with fellow newcomer Gaetano Berardi getting the assist. He scored his second less than twenty minutes later to make it 2–0 to the home side. However, on 16 August, Doukara tore his ankle ligaments in the 1–0 victory over

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

. The injury would rule him out for 4–5 weeks. On 1 September 2014, Doukara's loan deal was made permanent, signing a three-year deal at the club. On 16 September 2014 he scored his first league goal for Leeds and his third in all competitions against

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

in a 3–1 win. On 20 September, Doukara scored his fourth goal of the season and his first league goal at

Elland Road Elland Road, or Elland Road Stadium, is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the List of foot ...

in a 3–0 win over local rivals

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

. Doukara scored his 5th goal of the season in a 1–1 draw against

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

, with teammate

Adryan Adryan Oliveira Tavares (born 10 August 1994), or simply Adryan, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Associação Atlética Portuguesa. Adryan began his career with CR Flamengo, with loan spells at ...

providing an assist. The same game saw him pick up a suspension for receiving his 5th yellow card of the season. Doukara returned from suspension and scored his 6th goal of the season against

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 ...

in a 3–1 win on 8 November. On 18 April 2015, Doukara was one of six

signings (including Mirco Antenucci, Giuseppe Bellusci, Marco Silvestri, Dario Del Fabro and

Edgar Çani Edgar Junior Çani (born 22 July 1989) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Italian Serie D club Crema. Club career Early career Çani was born in Tirana, Albania but grew up in Città della Pieve in the Perugia ...

) who controversially pulled out of the squad with an 'injury' the day before a 2–1 loss against

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 ...

. On 2 May 2015, Doukara's strike against

was nominated for

's goal of the season at the end of the 2014–15 season awards ceremony, but lost out to eventual winner Rudy Austin's goal against Watford.

2015–16

On 31 July 2015, Doukara was given the number 11 shirt for the upcoming 2015–16 season. He scored against

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

on 9 January 2016 in a 2–0 win to help Leeds advance to the fourth round of the FA Cup. He scored his fourth goal in five games in a 2–1 victory over

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

in the FA Cup on 30 January. On 31 March 2016, Doukara was banned for eight matches after biting

Fernando Amorebieta Fernando Gabriel Amorebieta Mardaras (born 29 March 1985) is a Venezuelan former professional footballer who played as a central defender. He spent most of his career with Athletic Bilbao, appearing in 254 competitive matches over eight La Liga ...

during Leeds' home game with Fulham on 23 February 2016. After being banned for eight matches, Doukara returned to the Leeds squad upon the expiry of his ban in the final game of the season in Leeds' 1–1 draw against

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

2016–17

Doukara made his first start of the season for Leeds on 23 August 2016, starting in Leeds' League Cup fixture against

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

. He came on as a substitute on 29 October 2016 against Burton Albion, making an immediate impact by winning the penalty scored by teammate Chris Wood which was followed by Doukara's first goal of the season to seal the game at 2–0 deep into stoppage time. After reclaiming his place in the squad, becoming a regular on the Left Wing for Leeds, On 26 November, Doukara scored the winner for Leeds against Rotherham United in a 2–1 victory. On 9 December in a 2–0 defeat against

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

, Doukara was converted to an unfamiliar Central Midfield role due to injuries to Liam Bridcutt, Eunan O'Kane and the red card of

Kalvin Phillips Kalvin Mark Phillips (born 2 December 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for club Ipswich Town, on loan from Manchester City, and the England national team. An academy graduate of hometown club ...

in the same game. He continued in the Central Midfield role, starting against Reading F.C. with

suspended, Doukara scored his third goal of the season in the same game in a 2–0 victory. He scored his fourth of the season in a 4–1 victory against

on 26 December 2016. On 25 January 2017, Doukara scored a powerful long range volley in a 2–0 win over

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

with his first touch of the ball after coming on a substitute. Many drew comparisons of the goal to that of Leeds legend

Tony Yeboah Anthony Yeboah (born 6 June 1966) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the most prominent and prolific goal scorers in Ghanaian and African football history and gained a reputation for ...

's famous volley against Liverpool. On 30 April 2017, Doukara's volley against

was named Goal Of The Season at Leeds United's end of season awards.

2017–18

After not featuring during the 2017–18 season under new Head Coach Thomas Christiansen, Doukara was set to start in Leeds' 5–1

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

victory against Newport County on 22 August, however Christiansen revealed that Doukara was in talks with a club so was dropped out of the lineup. On 23 August his contract with

was terminated by mutual consent.

Osmanlıspor

On the same day following his release from Leeds, he joined Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

side Osmanlıspor on a two-year deal.

Antalyaspor

He joined fellow Turkish

side

Antalyaspor Antalyaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional multi-sport club based in Antalya, southern Turkey. The club's colours are red and white. The association football, football side play their home matches at the Antalya Stadium. In Turkey, the cl ...

on 31 January 2018 for an undisclosed fee from Osmanlıspor. He scored 6 goals in his first 13 games for the club.

Ettifaq

On 22 August 2019,

Al-Ettifaq Al-Ettifaq Club (), commonly known as Al-Ettifaq or simply Ettifaq, is a professional football club in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, which competes in the Saudi Pro League. The club was established by the merger of three Dammam-based clubs in 1945. Al- ...

has signed Doukara for one seasons from

Giresunspor

On 31 March 2022, Turkish club

Giresunspor Giresunspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club based in Giresun. History Giresunspor was founded in 1925 and re-formed in 1967 after the merger of Yeşiltepespor, Akıngençlikspor, and Beşiktaşspor. The football club is playing ...

unilaterally terminated their contract with Doukara for "the displays of joy and behavior contrary to the loyalty obligation" during a game against his earlier club

on 20 March.

Gençlerbirliği

In January 2023, Doukara returned to Turkey to join Gençlerbirliği on an eighteen-month contract, following a spell in Greece with

Levadiakos Levadiakos Football Club (officially romanized: ''Levadeiakos'' ) is a Greek professional football club that plays in the Super League Greece. Based in Livadeia, Greece, the club was promoted to the Alpha Ethniki, forerunner of the Super League, ...

International career

Doukara was born in France and is of Senegalese and Mauritanian descent. On 5 April 2014, he declared that he wanted to play for Senegal. He was called up to represent the Mauritania national team for the

2021 Africa Cup of Nations The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (also referred to as AFCON 2021 or CAN 2021), known as the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's ass ...

. He debuted with the Mauritania national team in a 0–0 friendly tie with

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 ...

on 30 December 2021.

Style of play

Doukara plays as a striker but he can also play as a winger. He revealed in a 2013 interview that his favourite player was

Nicolas Anelka Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (born 14 March 1979) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a Forward (association football), forward. As a player, he regularly featur ...

due to his style of play.

Career statistics

Club

References

External links