Ibrahima Sonko
Encyclopedia
Ibrahima Sonko is a Senegalese international
professional footballer who currently plays for Ipswich Town.
in France
, before moving to Grenoble
. He then joined English club Brentford
in 2002, before leaving to join Reading on a Bosman
transfer in 2004. He quickly became a fans' favourite, being nicknamed Superman
for his prodigious leaps into the air to powerfully head the ball away. "Sonko is Superman" t-shirt
s have been made available by Reading.
Sonko's first season in the Premier League was eventful. He received a straight red card against Aston Villa
for tripping Luke Moore
in the penalty area, meaning Reading lost 2–1. Royals coach Kevin Dillon
condemned the referee's actions, saying "The reaction of the referee was disappointing. It was a penalty, fair enough, but the referee sprinted across. He couldn't wait to get his red card out".
He was the subject of further controversy in a match against Chelsea
on 14 October 2006, when his challenge left goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini
unconscious. Cudicini was carried off the field wearing a neck brace. On 22 December 2006 Sonko announced that he was scared after receiving death threats in connection with the Chelsea match.
On 11 December 2006, Sonko signed an extension to his contract with Reading, keeping him at the Madejski Stadium
until the summer of 2010.
However, on 20 January 2007 he injured knee ligaments when he fell awkwardly whilst playing for Reading in their 3–1 home win against Sheffield United
, and it was subsequently announced that he would miss the rest of the 2006–07
season. He returned to first team action on 20 October 2007 in a 4–2 defeat away to Blackburn Rovers
.
Sonko, along with teammates Emerse Fae
refused to play in a reserve match at the end of the 2007–08 season and was suspended for their last 2 matches.
for a fee of £2 million, which could rise £2.25 million depending on appearances, on 29 August 2008.
Ibrahima made his Stoke City Debut on 14 September 2008 in a 3–2 defeat to Everton
On 1 September 2009 Sonko joined Hull City
on a season-long loan deal. Sonko made his debut for Hull on 12 September 2009, in a 4–1 loss away to Sunderland
.
Sonko then went on loan at Portsmouth
and made his debut in a 2-0 defeat away to Coventry
on 7 August 2010. He scored his first goal for Portsmouth against Nottingham Forest on 30 October 2010.
After an unsuccessful time at Stoke he was released at the end of the 2010–11 season.
, but moved to France
when he was six months and 14 days old. Despite this, Sonko initially elected to play for the Senegal national team
. He represented Senegal at U23 level, but declined his call-up to their African Cup of Nations
squad of 2006, opting instead to help Reading's ultimately successful bid for promotion to the Premier League. He then announced that he would play for France
if selected, but if called up to the Senegal squad before a French call-up, he would play for the African team.
Sonko was named in Senegal's provisional 38-man squad for the African Cup of Nations
, which runs from 20 January to 10 February 2008. Senegal coach Henryk Kasperczak
also included Sonko in his final 23-man squad making him the only uncapped player in the squad. He finally made his debut for Senegal on 12 January 2008 in their 3–1 win over Namibia
in Dakar
; he played the entire game in the centre of defence.
|1999–00||rowspan="3"|Grenoble Foot 38
||rowspan="2"|Championnat National
||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||1||0
|-
|2000–01||31||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||31||1
|-
|2001–02
||Ligue 2
||15||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||15||1
|-
|-
|2002–03||rowspan="2"|Brentford
||rowspan="2"|League One||37||5||4||0||2||1||0||0||43||6
|-
|2003–04||43||3||2||0||1||0||0||0||46||3
|-
|2004–05
||rowspan="5"|Reading
||rowspan="2"|Championship
||39||1||3||0||0||0||0||0||42||1
|-
|2005–06
||46||3||2||0||4||0||0||0||52||3
|-
|2006–07
||rowspan="2"|Premier League||23||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||23||1
|-
|2007–08||16||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||16||0
|-
|2008–09||Championship
||3||3||0||0||0||0||0||0||3||3
|-
|2008–09||rowspan="2"|Stoke City
||rowspan="2"|Premier League||14||0||1||0||1||0||0||0||16||0
|-
|2009–10||0||0||0||0||1||0||0||0||1||0
|-
|2009–10||Hull City
||Premier League||9||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||9||0
|-
|2010–11
||Portsmouth||Championship
||23||1||1||0||3||0||0||0||27||1
|-
47||2||0||0||0||0||0||0||47||2
244||17||12||0||9||1||0||0||266||17
294||19||12||0||8||1||0||0||313||19
plays in the English Premier League for Arsenal
.
Senegal national football team
The Senegal national football team, nicknamed the Lions of Teranga, is the national team of Senegal and is controlled by the Fédération Sénégalaise de Football...
professional footballer who currently plays for Ipswich Town.
Reading
Sonko started his career at Saint-ÉtienneAS Saint-Étienne
Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire is a French association football club based in Saint-Étienne. The club was founded in 1919 and currently play in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. Saint-Étienne plays its home matches at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard located within the city...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, before moving to Grenoble
Grenoble Foot 38
Grenoble Foot 38, commonly referred to as simply Grenoble, is a French association football club based in Grenoble, a city situated at the foot of the French Alps. The original incarnation of the club was founded in 1892 and, in 1997, was formed into the club that exists today as a result of a merger...
. He then joined English club Brentford
Brentford F.C.
Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....
in 2002, before leaving to join Reading on a Bosman
Bosman ruling
Union Royale Belge des Sociétés de Football Association ASBL v Jean-Marc Bosman is a 1995 European Court of Justice decision concerning freedom of movement for workers, freedom of association, and direct effect of article 39 of the EC Treaty...
transfer in 2004. He quickly became a fans' favourite, being nicknamed Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
for his prodigious leaps into the air to powerfully head the ball away. "Sonko is Superman" t-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
s have been made available by Reading.
Sonko's first season in the Premier League was eventful. He received a straight red card against Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
for tripping Luke Moore
Luke Moore
Luke Moore is an English football striker who currently plays for Swansea City. Moore has represented England at U21 level and is the younger brother of fellow former professional footballer, Stefan Moore.-Aston Villa:...
in the penalty area, meaning Reading lost 2–1. Royals coach Kevin Dillon
Kevin Dillon (footballer)
Kevin Paul Dillon is an English former professional footballer born in Sunderland. He played in the Football League for Birmingham City, Portsmouth, Newcastle United and Reading, and was capped once for England under-21...
condemned the referee's actions, saying "The reaction of the referee was disappointing. It was a penalty, fair enough, but the referee sprinted across. He couldn't wait to get his red card out".
He was the subject of further controversy in a match against Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
on 14 October 2006, when his challenge left goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini
Carlo Cudicini
Carlo Cudicini is an Italian goalkeeper who currently plays for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. In his 10 years at Chelsea he established himself as one of England's best goalkeepers before injury and the arrival of Petr Cech displaced him as first-choice...
unconscious. Cudicini was carried off the field wearing a neck brace. On 22 December 2006 Sonko announced that he was scared after receiving death threats in connection with the Chelsea match.
On 11 December 2006, Sonko signed an extension to his contract with Reading, keeping him at the Madejski Stadium
Madejski Stadium
The Madejski Stadium is a stadium in Reading, Berkshire, England. The stadium is the home of Reading Football Club and to the rugby union club London Irish as tenants. It also provides the finish for the Reading Half Marathon...
until the summer of 2010.
However, on 20 January 2007 he injured knee ligaments when he fell awkwardly whilst playing for Reading in their 3–1 home win against Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
, and it was subsequently announced that he would miss the rest of the 2006–07
FA Premier League 2006-07
The 2006–07 FA Premier League was the fifteenth season of the FA Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The season started on 19 August 2006 and concluded on 13 May 2007....
season. He returned to first team action on 20 October 2007 in a 4–2 defeat away to Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
.
Sonko, along with teammates Emerse Fae
Emerse Faé
Emerse Faé is a French-born Ivorian professional football midfielder who plays for Ligue 1 side OGC Nice, and Côte d'Ivoire national team.-Club career:...
refused to play in a reserve match at the end of the 2007–08 season and was suspended for their last 2 matches.
Stoke City
Sonko signed for Midlands-based club Stoke CityStoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
for a fee of £2 million, which could rise £2.25 million depending on appearances, on 29 August 2008.
Ibrahima made his Stoke City Debut on 14 September 2008 in a 3–2 defeat to Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
On 1 September 2009 Sonko joined Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...
on a season-long loan deal. Sonko made his debut for Hull on 12 September 2009, in a 4–1 loss away to Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
.
Sonko then went on loan at Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
and made his debut in a 2-0 defeat away to Coventry
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...
on 7 August 2010. He scored his first goal for Portsmouth against Nottingham Forest on 30 October 2010.
After an unsuccessful time at Stoke he was released at the end of the 2010–11 season.
Ipswich Town
On 26 August 2011, Sonko signed for Championship club Ipswich Town on a one-year deal. He now lives in Ipswich. He scored his first goal for Ipswich in a 3–1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion on 1 October 2011.International career
Sonko was born in SenegalSenegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
, but moved to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
when he was six months and 14 days old. Despite this, Sonko initially elected to play for the Senegal national team
Senegal national football team
The Senegal national football team, nicknamed the Lions of Teranga, is the national team of Senegal and is controlled by the Fédération Sénégalaise de Football...
. He represented Senegal at U23 level, but declined his call-up to their African Cup of Nations
African Cup of Nations
The Africa Cup of Nations, also referred to as the African Cup of Nations or African Nations Cup, officially CAN , is the main international association football competition in Africa. It is sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football , and was first held in 1957. Since 1968, it has been...
squad of 2006, opting instead to help Reading's ultimately successful bid for promotion to the Premier League. He then announced that he would play for France
France national football team
The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...
if selected, but if called up to the Senegal squad before a French call-up, he would play for the African team.
Sonko was named in Senegal's provisional 38-man squad for the African Cup of Nations
African Cup of Nations
The Africa Cup of Nations, also referred to as the African Cup of Nations or African Nations Cup, officially CAN , is the main international association football competition in Africa. It is sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football , and was first held in 1957. Since 1968, it has been...
, which runs from 20 January to 10 February 2008. Senegal coach Henryk Kasperczak
Henryk Kasperczak
Henryk Wojciech Kasperczak is a Polish football manager and a football player.As a player, Kasperczak took part in two FIFA World Cups with Poland, achieving third place in 1974, as well as a silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada.As a manager, Kasperczak enjoyed most...
also included Sonko in his final 23-man squad making him the only uncapped player in the squad. He finally made his debut for Senegal on 12 January 2008 in their 3–1 win over Namibia
Namibia national football team
The Namibia national football team, nicknamed the Brave Warriors, is the national team of Namibia and is controlled by the Namibia Football Association...
in Dakar
Dakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
; he played the entire game in the centre of defence.
Career statistics
|-|1999–00||rowspan="3"|Grenoble Foot 38
Grenoble Foot 38
Grenoble Foot 38, commonly referred to as simply Grenoble, is a French association football club based in Grenoble, a city situated at the foot of the French Alps. The original incarnation of the club was founded in 1892 and, in 1997, was formed into the club that exists today as a result of a merger...
||rowspan="2"|Championnat National
Championnat National
The Championnat de France National, commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, serves as the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2...
||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||1||0
|-
|2000–01||31||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||31||1
|-
|2001–02
French football Division 2 2001-02
The Division 2 season 2001/2002, organised by the LFP was won by AC Ajaccio and saw the promotions of AC Ajaccio, RC Strasbourg OGC Nice and Le Havre AC, whereas Nîmes Olympique and FC Martigues were relegated to National.-20 participating teams:...
||Ligue 2
Ligue 2
Ligue 2 , formerly known as Division 2, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel , the other being Ligue 1, the country's top football division...
||15||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||15||1
|-
|-
|2002–03||rowspan="2"|Brentford
Brentford F.C.
Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....
||rowspan="2"|League One||37||5||4||0||2||1||0||0||43||6
|-
|2003–04||43||3||2||0||1||0||0||0||46||3
|-
|2004–05
FA Premier League 2004-05
The 2004–05 season of the FA Premier League began on 14 August 2004 and ended on 15 May 2005. Arsenal were the defending champions after going unbeaten the previous season....
||rowspan="5"|Reading
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...
||rowspan="2"|Championship
Championship
Championship is a term used in sport to refer to various forms of competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.- Title match system :...
||39||1||3||0||0||0||0||0||42||1
|-
|2005–06
FA Premier League 2005-06
The 2005–06 season of the FA Premier League began on 13 August 2005, and concluded on 7 May 2006. The season saw Chelsea F.C retain their title after defeating Manchester United 3–0 at Stamford Bridge towards the end of April...
||46||3||2||0||4||0||0||0||52||3
|-
|2006–07
FA Premier League 2006-07
The 2006–07 FA Premier League was the fifteenth season of the FA Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The season started on 19 August 2006 and concluded on 13 May 2007....
||rowspan="2"|Premier League||23||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||23||1
|-
|2007–08||16||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||16||0
|-
|2008–09||Championship
Championship
Championship is a term used in sport to refer to various forms of competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.- Title match system :...
||3||3||0||0||0||0||0||0||3||3
|-
|2008–09||rowspan="2"|Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
||rowspan="2"|Premier League||14||0||1||0||1||0||0||0||16||0
|-
|2009–10||0||0||0||0||1||0||0||0||1||0
|-
|2009–10||Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...
||Premier League||9||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||9||0
|-
|2010–11
2010–11 Football League
The Football League 2010–11, called the Npower Football League, was the 111th completed season of the Football League. It began in August 2010 and concluded in May 2011, with the promotion play-off finals....
||Portsmouth||Championship
Championship
Championship is a term used in sport to refer to various forms of competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.- Title match system :...
||23||1||1||0||3||0||0||0||27||1
|-
47||2||0||0||0||0||0||0||47||2
244||17||12||0||9||1||0||0||266||17
294||19||12||0||8||1||0||0||313||19
Personal life
His cousin Bacary SagnaBacary Sagna
Bacary Sagna is a French footballer who plays for Arsenal and the France national football team. His cousin Ibrahima Sonko also plays in England, for Ipswich Town. Sagna is called Bac by the majority of his teammates...
plays in the English Premier League for Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
.
External links
- Ibrahima Sonko the Official Site
- Ibrahima Sonko profile at readingfc.co.uk