Yacouba Sylla (born 29 November 1990) 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

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for club

Châteauroux Châteauroux ( ; ; ) is the capital city of the French department of Indre, central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called ''Castelroussins'' () in French. Climate Châteauroux te ...

. Born in France, he represented France as a youth international before switching to Mali at senior level.

Club career

Youth career

Prior to joining Clermont, where Sylla signed his first professional contract, he had a year's stint with

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 ...

club

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

. Before that, Sylla had started his career with hometown Parisian club Étampes FC, before joining nearby club CSF Brétigny, which produced France internationals

Patrice Evra Patrice Latyr Evra (; born 15 May 1981) is a French former professional footballer. Originally a forward, he primarily played as a left-back. Evra served as captain for both Manchester United and the France national team. He was named in the P ...

and

Jimmy Briand Jimmy Julien Briand (born 2 August 1985) is a French former professional footballer. He started his career as a striker, but was later used as a winger, playing in Ligue 1 for Rennes, Lyon, Guingamp and Bordeaux, as well as in the Bundesliga wi ...

. After four years in Brétigny, Sylla spent the next four years roaming around clubs in the

Lower Normandy Lower Normandy (, ; ) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, Lower and Upper Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy. Geography The region included three departments, Calvados, Manche and Orne, that cover ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

such as Montferrand, Malesherbes, and Caen. And then in 2009, he signed an amateur contract with Clermont where he was inserted into Clermont's reserve team for the 2009–10 season. He appeared in 17 matches scoring one goal.

Clermont

For the 2010–11 season, Sylla was promoted to the senior team by manager Michel Der Zakarian. He made his professional debut on 15 October 2010 in a league match against

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

playing the entire match in a 2–0 defeat. Sylla subsequently appeared as a starter in the team's next seven matches. His performances domestically led to interest from German club

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

and Italian club

Udinese Udinese Calcio (; "Udinese Football") is a professional football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The team currently competes in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sport ...

. In order to decrease the interest Clermont signed Sylla to his first professional contract, which ran from 22 November 2010 until June 2014.

Aston Villa

On 31 January 2013,

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

completed the signing of Sylla on a three-and-a-half-year deal, subject to international clearance, after passing a medical.

Loan to Kayseri Erciyesspor

On 14 July 2014, Sylla joined Turkish Super Lig club

Kayseri Erciyesspor Kayseri Erciyesspor was a Turkish sports club based in Kayseri. History In 1965, Orhan Şefik Apak, then president of the Turkish Football Federation, asked cities in Turkey to combine their amateur football clubs into one singular club that wo ...

on a season-long loan.

Rennes

On 22 June 2015, Sylla joined

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

on a four-year deal, after two years at Aston Villa where he made only 22 league appearances.

Loan to Panathinaikos

On 30 August 2017, Panathinaikos officially announced the signing of Malian international defensive midfielder Yacouba Sylla. He joined the Greens on loan from Rennes until the end of 2017–18 season and was the 10th summer signing of the Athens club.

Mechelen

On 17 January 2018, Sylla signed a contract with YR KV Mechelen until 2021. He leaves

after having been on loan at Panathinaikos since the end of August.

Strømsgodset

On 1 March 2019, Sylla signed a contract until the end of the 2020 season with Norwegian club

Strømsgodset Toppfotball Strømsgodset Toppfotball is a Norwegian professional association football, football club based in Gulskogen, Drammen, competing in the Eliteserien (football), Eliteserien. It is part of the multi-sports club Strømsgodset IF, founded on Fe ...

. On 19 May, Sylla scored his first and only goal for the Norwegians, in a 3–1 win against

Tromsø IL Tromsø Idrettslag () is a Norwegian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Tromsø. They play their home games at the Romssa Arena which has a seating capacity of 6,801. Tromsø play in the Eliteserien. Despi ...

CFR Cluj

On 1 July 2019, he signed a three-year contract with

CFR Cluj Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ) or simply CFR, is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, that competes in the Liga I. Founded as ''Kolozsvári Vasut ...

, Romanian champions.

Mouloudia

On 27 October 2020, Sylla joined

Botola The Botola Pro (), officially known as the Botola Pro Inwi for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Morocco and the top tier of the Moroccan football league system. Organized by the Ligue Nationale de Football Prof ...

side MC Oudja on a two-year deal.

Bastia

On 13 December 2021, Sylla signed for Ligue 2 side

Bastia Bastia ( , , , ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest popu ...

on a contract until the end of the season.

Botoșani

On 26 July 2022, Sylla joined

Botoșani Botoșani () is the capital city of Botoșani County, in the northern part of Moldavia, Romania. Today, it is best known as the birthplace of many celebrated Romanians, including Mihai Eminescu, Nicolae Iorga and Grigore Antipa. Origin of the ...

in Romania with a one-year contract with an option to extend.

Châteauroux

He spend one and a half year as a free agent, before he on 7 January 2025, signed with

Championnat National The Championnat National (), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, is the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, the Championnat National operates on a system of ...

club

LB Châteauroux La Berrichonne de Châteauroux (), commonly referred to as La Berrichonne or simply Châteauroux, is a Football in France, French association football club based in Châteauroux. The football team is a part of a sports club that consists of seve ...

International career

France

Sylla was born in France but has

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

an heritage, which meant that he was eligible to represent either

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He made one appearance for France's under-21 team on 24 March 2011, in a 3–2 friendly victory over

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Sylla was a late substitute for

Antoine Griezmann Antoine Griezmann (; born 21 March 1991) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward or attacking midfielder for club Atlético Madrid. Considered one of the greatest players ...

and played the final few minutes of the game.

Mali

Following his move to

and positive form towards the end to the 2012–13 season, Sylla was called up to represent Mali for the first time. He first played in an unofficial friendly against the national team of

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

, France, a side not affiliated with

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

on 28 May 2013. Mali lost 1–0. Sylla's official, full international début for Mali came on 9 June 2012 in a 1–1

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team plays in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments ar ...

draw with

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

. Sylla replaced

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

player

Tongo Doumbia Tongo Hamed Doumbia (born 6 August 1989) is a Malian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Saudi Arabian club Tuwaiq. He has previously played for the Mali national team. Club career French football Doumbia played youth foo ...

in the 70th minute. Sylla started and played the full 90 minutes in Mali's 2–2 draw with

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

seven days later, but Mali were unfortunately eliminated from the competition. In January 2015, he participated with the Mali in his first ever

2015 African Cup of Nations The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was orga ...

. After three scoreless matches at the end of the first round, Mali emerged from the competition at the expense of a draw favourable to the

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

Personal life

Sylla is the older brother of the France youth international Moussa Sylla.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

CFR Cluj *

Liga I Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...

: 2019–20 *

Supercupa României The Supercupa României () is a Romanian football (soccer), football championship contested by the winners of the Liga I and the Cupa României. It is usually played at the Arena Națională in Bucharest. The competition started off in 1994 Supe ...

runner-up:

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

References

External links