Ismaël Bangoura

For another person, see Ismaël Karba Bangoura.

Ismaël Bangoura (born 2 January 1985) is a Guinean former footballer who played as a forward. Although his primary position is striker, Bangoura has also played as a winger and attacking midfielder.

Ismaël Bangoura

Bangoura in 2012
Personal information
Date of birth	(1985-01-02) 2 January 1985 (age 40)
Place of birth	Conakry, Guinea
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
2000–2003	Athlético de Coléah
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2003–2005	Gazélec Ajaccio	44	(15)
2005–2007	Le Mans	56	(18)
2007–2009	Dynamo Kyiv	46	(28)
2009–2010	Rennes	39	(8)
2010–2011	Al Nasr	18	(10)
2012–2015	Nantes	40	(4)
2012–2013	→ Umm Salal (loan)	6	(0)
2013–2014	Nantes B	12	(2)
2016–2019	Al-Raed	75	(37)
2019	→ Al-Batin (loan)	8	(0)
2019–2020	Mulhouse	9	(1)
2020–2021	Al-Taraji	22	(15)
International career
2006–2015	Guinea	52	(13)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 19:57, 23 March 2020 (UTC)

Club career

Early career

Bangoura began his career at local side Athlético Coléah, before being spotted by scouts from French amateurs Gazélec Ajaccio. He joined the Corsican side, scoring 15 times in 44 games for his new club, before moving to French Ligue 1 side Le Mans in 2005. He made his debut on 5 November 2005 against French club Marseille, starting his top-flight career with a goal in his sides 3–0 victory. He ended his first season having played 23 times, scoring a six goals. He was the top scorer for Le Mans in the 2006–07 season, with 12 goals in 33 games as well as being the joint second highest scorer in Ligue 1.

Dynamo Kyiv

On 5 July 2007, Bangoura signed a five-year contract with Dynamo Kyiv.^[2] The transfer fee was estimated to be around €5 million. Bangoura quickly became a fan favourite, and established himself as a goal scorer. He was known to celebrate goals with teammate and Senegalese international defender Pape Diakhaté, resembling an African dance.

Playing in Kyiv gave Bangoura the chance to showcase his abilities in European competition, with the team playing in the 2007–08 season. The forward made the most of the opportunity, scoring three goals in three games for the Ukrainians, including a 25-yard strike against Manchester United in his sides 4–2 defeat on 23 October 2007. Bangoura also scored two goals against Shakhtar Donetsk on 11 November 2007, which ended in a 2–1 win.

Bangoura scored in the UEFA Cup second leg in a 3–0 win against Paris Saint-Germain, sending Dynamo Kyiv to the semi-finals, where they were knocked out by Shakhtar Donetsk after losing 2–3 on aggregate.

Stade Rennais

On 2 July 2009, Bangoura signed with Rennes on a four-year deal from Dynamo Kyiv^[3] for €11 million.^[4] Bangoura made his debut on 8 August 2009, scoring with a superb overhead kick in a 3–0 win against Boulogne.^[5]

Al Nasr SC

On 2 September 2010, Bangoura signed for Al Nasr SC Dubai on a four-year contract for an estimated fee believed to be €8 million.^[6] He scored his first goal on 16 September 2010 in a 3–1 win against Al-Ahli Dubai. During the 2010–11 season, he scored 10 goals from 17 league matches and was admired for his performances by Al Nasr and other Emirati clubs.

Early in the 2011–12 season, he decided to move away temporarily from the club for African Nations Cup in January 2012, which could see him unavailable for almost two months. Al Nasr accepted his decision, but did not wait for him. Bangoura was replaced by other players Brazilian Careca and Ivorian Amara Diané. Team manager Khalid Obaid explained that it was decided he would be away for too long and this wouldn't be of use to the team.^[7]

Nantes

Bangoura joined FC Nantes in French Ligue 2 on 31 January 2012 on a two-and-a-half-year contract. Al Nasr SC later sued Bangoura for unilaterally breach of contract. FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber confirmed the claim from the UAE club and ordered Bangoura and Nantes jointly liable to pay €4.5 million as compensation. Bangoura also banned for four months and Nantes was banned from making transfers in two consecutive transfer windows (summer and winter or one season). Both parties appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.^[8]

Before the FIFA DRC had a conclusion, on 10 September 2012, Bangoura joined Umm Salal in the Qatar Stars League on a temporary loan deal.^[9] He served the ban with the Qatari for about 2 months.

Ismaël Bangoura during Guinea national team friendly match against the Stade Rennais youth team

Al-Raed

In January 2016, he signed for Saudi Professional League club Al-Raed.^[10]

Bangoura was released by Al-Raed in July 2019.^[11]

International career

Bangoura was a member of the Guinea squad for the 2006 African Nations Cup as Guinea were eliminated in the quarter-finals after losing 2–3 to Senegal. He later represented Guinea at the tournament in 2008 and 2012.^[1]

Bangoura turned down a place in Guinea's 2015 Africa Cup of Nations squad to focus on his club career.^[12]

Personal life

Bangoura holds both Guinean and French nationalities.^[13]

In October 2018 he was convicted of fraud by a French court and fined €130,000; his house was also seized.^[14]

In the end of February 2020 Ismaël gave an exclusive interview to the Ukrainian football news agency "FootballHub" with complimentary comments to several Ukrainian players and Dynamo Kyiv in general.^[15]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^[1][16][17]

Club	Season	League			National Cup[a]		League Cup[b]		Continental[c]		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Gazélec Ajaccio	2003–04	Championnat National	9	2			—		—				9	2
	2004–05	Championnat National	35	13			—		—				35	13
	Total		44	15					0	0			44	15
Le Mans	2005–06	Ligue 1	23	6	0	0	2	0	—		0	0	25	6
	2006–07	Ligue 1	33	12	2	0	3	2	—		0	0	38	14
	Total		56	18	2	0	5	2	0	0	0	0	63	20
Dynamo Kyiv	2007–08	Ukrainian Premier League	20	15	1	0	—		7	4	0	0	28	19
	2008–09	Ukrainian Premier League	26	13	0	0	—		13	6	0	0	39	19
	Total		46	28	1	0	0	0	20	10	0	0	67	38
Rennes	2009–10	Ligue 1	35	6	1	0	1	0	—		0	0	37	6
	2010–11	Ligue 1	4	2	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	4	2
	Total		39	8	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	41	8
Al Nasr	2010–11	UAE Pro League	17	10			0	0	—		0	0	17	10
	2011–12	UAE Pro League	1	0			3	0	—		0	0	4	0
	Total		18	10	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	21	10
Nantes	2011–12	Ligue 2	9	2	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	9	2
	2012–13	Ligue 2	3	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	3	0
	2013–14	Ligue 1	13	1	1	0	2	0	—		0	0	16	1
	2014–15	Ligue 1	15	1	2	0	3	2	—		0	0	20	3
	Total		40	4	3	0	5	2	0	0	0	0	48	6
Umm Salal (loan)	2012–13	Qatar Stars League	6	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	6	0
Nantes B	2013–14	Championnat de France Amateur	8	1	—		—		—		0	0	8	1
	2014–15	Championnat de France Amateur	3	1	—		—		—		0	0	3	1
	2015–16	Championnat de France Amateur	1	0	—		—		—		0	0	1	0
	Total		12	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	12	2
Al-Raed	2015–16	Saudi Professional League	13	7	2	0	0	0	—		2[d]	2	17	9
	2016–17	Saudi Professional League	25	18	1	0	1	0	—		0	0	27	18
	2017–18	Saudi Professional League	25	10	0	0	1	0	—		2[d]	1	28	11
	2018–19	Saudi Professional League	12	2	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	12	2
	Total		75	37	3	0	2	0	0	0	4	3	84	40
Al-Batin (loan)	2018–19	Saudi Professional League	8	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	8	0
Mulhouse	2019–20	Championnat National 2	9	1	1	0	—		—		0	0	10	1
Al-Taraji	2020–21	Saudi Second Division	22	15	—		—		—		0	0	22	15
Career total			375	138	11	0	16	4	20	10	4	3	426	155

1. Includes Coupe de France, Ukrainian Cup and King Cup
2. Includes Coupe de la Ligue, UAE League Cup and Saudi Crown Prince Cup
3. Includes UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League
4. Appearance(s) in Saudi Professional League relegation play-offs

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[1]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Guinea	2006	6	0
	2007	8	1
	2008	15	9
	2009	8	0
	2010	1	0
	2011	5	2
	2012	5	1
	2014	3	0
	2015	1	0
Total		52	13

Scores and results list Guinea's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bangoura goal.

List of international goals scored by Ismaël Bangoura^[1]

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	9 September 2007	Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry, Guinea	Cape Verde	4–0	4–0	2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification	[18]
2	11 January 2008	Atalaya Park, Marbella, Spain	Sudan	6–0	6–0	Friendly	[19]
3	24 January 2008	Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra, Ghana	Morocco	2–0	3–2	2008 Africa Cup of Nations	[20]
4	14 June 2008	Sam Nujoma Stadium, Windhoek, Namibia	Namibia	1–0	2–1	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification	[21]
5	22 June 2008	Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry, Guinea	Namibia	2–0	4–0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification	[22]
6				3–0
7				4–0
8	20 August 2008	Stade des Bourgognes, Chantilly, France	Ivory Coast	1–1	1–2	Friendly	[23][24]
9	12 October 2008	Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry, Guinea	Kenya	1–0	3–2	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification	[25]
10	18 November 2008	Stade Paul Cosyns, Compiègne, France	Gabon	3–3	3–3	Friendly	[23][26]
11	5 June 2011	Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry, Guinea	Madagascar	2–0	4–1	2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification	[27]
12	8 October 2011	Abuja National Stadium, Abuja, Nigeria	Nigeria	1–0	2–2	2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification	[28]
13	15 August 2012	Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco	Morocco	2–0	2–1	Friendly	[29]

Honours

Dynamo Kyiv

• Ukrainian Premier League: 2008/09
• Ukrainian Super Cup: 2007