Yacouba Sylla

Yacouba Sylla

Sylla with Rennes in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Yacouba Sylla[1]
Date of birth	29 November 1990
Place of birth	Étampes, France
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Montpellier (on loan from Rennes)
Number	5
Youth career
1995–2002	Étampes
2002–2006	CSF Brétigny
2006–2007	Montferrand
2007–2008	Malesherbes
2008–2009	SM Caen
2009–2010	Clermont
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2013	Clermont	65	(0)
2013–2015	Aston Villa	22	(0)
2014–2015	→ Kayseri Erciyesspor (loan)	27	(1)
2015–	Rennes	20	(0)
2016–	→ Montpellier (loan)	2	(0)
National team^‡
2011	France U21	1	(0)
2013–	Mali	17	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 27 August 2016. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16 June 2013

Yacouba Sylla (born 29 November 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Montpellier on loan from Rennes, and the Mali national football team, having represented France as a youth international.^[2]

Club career

Youth career

Prior to joining Clermont Foot where Sylla signed his first professional contract he had a year's stint with first division club SM Caen. 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 and Jimmy Briand. After four years in Brétigny, Sylla spent the next four years roaming around clubs in the Lower Normandy region such as AS Montferrand, SC Malesherbes, and Caen.^[3] 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.^[4]

Clermont Foot

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 playing the entire match in a 2–0 defeat.^[5] Sylla subsequently appeared as a starter in the team's next seven matches. His performances domestically led to interest from German club VfB Stuttgart and Italian club Udinese.^[6] In order to decrease the interest Clermont signed Sylla to his first professional contract, which ran from 22 November 2010 until June 2014.^[7][8]

Aston Villa

On 31 January 2013, Aston Villa completed the signing of Sylla on a three-and-a-half-year deal, subject to international clearance, after passing a medical.^[9]

Kayseri Erciyesspor (loan)

On 14 July 2014, Sylla joined Turkish Super Lig club Kayseri Erciyesspor on a season-long loan.^[10]

Rennes

On 22 June 2015, Sylla joined Rennes on a four-year deal, after 2 years at Aston Villa where he made only 22 league appearances.^[11]

International career

France

Sylla was born in France but has Malian heritage, which meant that he was eligible to represent either France or Mali. He made one appearance for France's under-21 team on 24 March 2011, in a 3–2 friendly victory over Spain. Sylla was a late substitute for Antoine Griezmann and played the final few minutes of the game.

Mali

Following his move to Aston Villa 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, France, a side not affiliated with FIFA or UEFA on 28 May 2013. Mali lost 1–0.^[12][13]

Sylla's official, full international début for Mali came on 9 June 2012 in a 1–1 FIFA World Cup qualification draw with Rwanda. Sylla replaced Wolverhampton Wanderers player Tongo Doumbia in the 70th minute.^[14] Sylla started and played the full 90 minutes in Mali's 2–2 draw with Benin seven days later, but Mali were unfortunately eliminated from the competition.

Career statistics

As of match played 22 December 2015^[15][16]

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Clermont Foot	2010–11	Ligue 2	20	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	21	0
	2011–12	Ligue 2	24	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	27	0
	2012–13	Ligue 2	21	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	23	0
	Total		65	0	3	0	3	0	0	0	71	0
Aston Villa	2012–13	Premier League	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	0
	2013–14	Premier League	11	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	13	0
	Total		22	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	24	0
Kayseri Erciyesspor	2014–15	Süper Lig	27	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	27	1
Stade Rennais F.C.	2015–16	Ligue 1	17	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	20	0
Career total			131	1	3	0	5	0	0	0	142	1

References

1. "Barclays Premier League Squad Numbers 2013/14". Premier League. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
2. Yacouba Sylla (Rennes) prêté à Montpellier (officiel)‚ 25 August 2016
3. "Yacouba Sylla" (in French). SM Caen Jeunes. 28 July 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
4. "Yacouba Sylla Profile" (in French). Foot-National. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
5. "Le Mans v. Clermont Match Report" (in French). Ligue de Football Professionnel. 15 October 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
6. "La révélation Yacouba Sylla pisté par Stuttgart et l'Udinese" (in French). FootMercato. 12 November 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
7. "Yacouba Sylla passe pro" (in French). Clermont Foot. 22 November 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
8. "Y.Sylla passe pro" (in French). Mercato365. 22 November 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
9. "Sylla thrilled to join "dynamic and exciting young team"". Aston Villa F.C. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
10. "Yacouba Sylla joins Turkish side Kayseri Erciyesspor on loan". BBC Sport. 14 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
11. "Yacouba Sylla joined Stade Rennais FC". Stade Rennais FC. 22 June 2015.
12. "Big names back for Brittany ahead of Mali encounter". NonFIFAFootball.blogspot.co.uk. 27 May 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
13. "It was Brittany 1–0 Mali in a very wet Carquefou...". Guy Pakeman (@guypakeman) via Twitter. 28 May 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
14. "Mali 1–1 Rwanda". Yahoo! UK & Ireland / Eurosport. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
15. "Yacouba Sylla". Soccerbase. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
16. "Yacouba Sylla". Soccerway. Retrieved 28 May 2014.

External links

• Yacouba Sylla career statistics at Soccerbase
  
• Aston Villa Official Website Player Profile
• Yacouba Sylla – French League Stats at LFP.fr (French)