Ibrahim Ba

Infobox Football biography
playername= Ibrahim Ba
fullname = Ibrahim Ba
height = Height|m=1.78
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1973|11|12
cityofbirth = Dakar
countryofbirth = Senegal
currentclub = retired
clubnumber =
position = Right Midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1991-1996
1996-1997
1997-2003
1999-2000
2001
2003-2004
2004-2005
2005-2006
2007-2008
clubs = Le Havre AC
Girondins de Bordeaux
AC Milan
→ Perugia (loan)
→ Marseille (loan)
Bolton Wanderers
Çaykur Rizespor
Djurgårdens IF
AC Milan
Total
caps(goals) = 128 0(8)
035 0(6)
056 0(1)
016 0(1)
009 0(0)
009 0(0)
002 0(0)
014 0(1)
000 0(0)
269 (17)
nationalyears = 1997-1998
nationalteam = France
nationalcaps(goals) = 008 (2)
pcupdate =
ntupdate =

Ibrahim "Ibou" Ba (born November 12, 1973 in Dakar, Senegal) is a retired French professional football player of Senegalese descent.

He played as a right midfielder. Ba was born in Senegal but his family moved to France when he was a child. Although he had dual nationality, he elected to play for his adoptive nation's national team, rather than the county of his birth.

In the period from 1996 to 1998, Ba was considered to be one of the hottest young talents in the world after consistently impressing with Bordeaux.

Biography

Ibrahim Ngom Ba is the son of Ibrahima Ba, a Senegalese international footballer. [http://www.playerhistory.com/Default.aspx?page=player_details&playerID=54645] Ba Snr. spent his late career in France, and helped Le Havre AC promoted in 1979 and last played for SC Abbeville.

Early career

He started his career with French club Le Havre AC in 1991, before moving to fellow Ligue 1 outfit Bordeaux in 1996. He reached the final of Coupe de la Ligue with Bordeaux, and made his French national team debut on January 22 1997 against Portugal, scoring one goal in the 2-0 victory.

A.C. Milan

After the 1997-1998 football season, a host of clubs was after the signature of Ba, including Barcelona, Milan, and Manchester United. He was sold to Italian club Milan after just one season at Bordeaux.

His first season in Milan was to become his best; he played 31 matches and scored one goal. His most memorable moment for the French national team came in the June 1997 friendly match with Brazil in Paris. He took a free kick 35 yards from goal, and his swerving shot forced Brazilian goalkeeper Claudio Taffarel to drop the ball in front of French striker Marc Keller, who went on to score.

Ba was seen as a great talent, but never quite lived up to his promise. To his great dismay, he was left out of France's 1998 FIFA World Cup squad, when France became World Champions on home soil. That might be seen as the beginning of his downfall. Over the subsequent years, Ba did not play many games for Milan and went on loan to Italian team AC Perugia in 1999-2000 season, where he broke a leg and had to miss four matches since he had hit an opponent with his head. He underwent another loan deal back in France with Olympique de Marseille in 2001.

Later years

In 2003, he finally left Milan and joined Bolton Wanderers in England.

He failed to make an impression at Bolton, and moved on to Turkey after just one season, joining Çaykur Rizespor on a one-year deal on 24 August, 2004.

In 6 February, 2005, Ba was surprisingly signed by Swedish side Djurgårdens IF on a two-year contract. He was a spectacular signing for the club, and caused much interest in Sweden, and it was thought that a less prestigious league might bring back Ba's old ability. Djurgården won the league in his first season, but Ba failed to impress fans and commentators, spending a lot of time on the bench. In early 2006, it was decided that his contract would be terminated and he subsequently left Djurgården in January of that year. In July 2006 Ba was linked with a move to then Scottish Premier League side Dunfermline Athletic F.C., but a deal could not be agreed because of Ba's religious commitments which were going to interfere with matchdays.

Return to Italy

At the start of 2007 Ba returned to Italy to train with Serie C2 team Varese to help with his fitness. [cite web|url=http://www.varese1910.it/comunicati2006/16-03-07_bis.htm|language=Italian|publisher=AS Varese 1910|title=Ibrahim Ba a Varese] In June 2007, after having travelled to Athens together with the AC Milan squad to attend the UEFA Champions League final they won against English Premiership side Liverpool, [cite news|publisher=Football Italia|accessdate=2007-07-30|date=2007-06-13|url=http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/jun13o.html|title='Dinho revives Milan link?] , Ibrahim Ba agreed a one-year contract with his former club. [cite news|publisher=Football Italia|accessdate=2007-07-30|date=2007-06-15|url=http://www.tuttomercatoweb.it/index.php?action=read&id=62886|title=UFFICIALE: Ibou Ba torna al Milan|language=Italian] During the 2007/2008 season after which Ba retired despite not making any league appearances he did make one appearance in the coppa italia as a substitute. After the season Ba accepted a job as a scout for Milan in Africa.

Honours

*1999 Italian League with AC Milan
*2003 Coppa Italia with AC Milan
*2003 UEFA Champions League with AC Milan
*2005 Swedish League with Djurgårdens IF
*2005 Swedish Cup with Djurgårdens IF

Notes

External links

*fr icon [http://www.fff.fr/servfff/historique/historique.php?id=BA%20Ibrahim FFF profile]
*soccerbase|14087
*lfpfr|2964
* [http://www.acmilan.com/InfoPage.aspx?id=30558 Esordienti Regionali 1994 page]