Mohammed "Momo" Sylla is a Guinean footballer

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

. Sylla has become something of a cult figure at many of his clubs.

Sylla, a Guinea

Guinea national football team

The Guinea national football team, nicknamed Syli national , is the national team of Guinea and is controlled by the Fédération Guinéenne de Football. They have never qualified for the World Cup finals, and their best finish in the African Nations Cup was second in the 1976...

 international, started his football career at French Second Division club Créteil

US Créteil-Lusitanos

Union Sportive Créteil-Lusitanos Football is a French football club based in Créteil, a southeastern suburb of Paris. The club was founded in 1936 and currently play in the Championnat National, the third division of French football...

, on the outskirts of Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, before moving on to Le Havre

Le Havre AC

Le Havre Athletic Club Football Association is a French association football club based in Le Havre. The club was founded originally as an athletics and rugby club in 1872, thus making it the oldest association football and rugby club registered in France...

 when he was 18. He has also played for Le Mans and St. Johnstone.

His former St. Johnstone manager, Sandy Clark had this to say about him: "He's so skilful. The thing about Momo is this - he doesn't even know what he's going to do, so how's a defender supposed to know?"

Sylla's form for St. Johnstone during the 2000–01 persuaded Martin O'Neill

Martin O'Neill

Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, OBE, is a Northern Irish football manager and former player.Until resigning the post on 9 August 2010, he was manager of Aston Villa. Starting his career in his native Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his playing career with Nottingham...

 to sign him for £750,000 in August 2001. Sylla was never really a first team regular at Celtic, but he was an unused substitute in Celtic

Celtic F.C.

Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...

's 3–2 defeat against FC Porto in the 2003 UEFA Cup Final

2003 UEFA Cup Final

The 2003 UEFA Cup Final was played on 21 May 2003 between Celtic of Scotland and Porto of Portugal. Porto won the match 3–2 in extra time thanks to a goal from Derlei...

.

Celtic released Sylla in 2005 and he then signed for Leicester City

Leicester City F.C.

Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...

 at the beginning of the 2005-06 season

2005-06 in Scottish football

The 2005–06 season was the 109th season of competitive football in Scotland.-2005:*1 June: Gordon Strachan officially takes charge of Celtic after the resignation of Martin O'Neill...

. He then had a short stint with Scottish Premier League

Scottish Premier League

The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...

 club Kilmarnock

Kilmarnock F.C.

Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...

 in early 2007.

Personal life

Sylla is the youngest of six children. He has two brothers and three sisters. From age 10, he was brought up by his sisters, in Paris, with his mother, Massiami Bamba, and father believing this was the best thing for him, as opportunities would be better than they were in Africa. Sylla keeps his religious beliefs private.

He is one of at least two Guinean football players commonly known as Mohammed Sylla. Another, Mohammed Lamine Sylla

Mohamed Sylla (footballer born 1971)

Mohamed Sylla was a Guinean football player. He is not to be confused with compatriots Mohamed Ofei Sylla and Mohammed 'Momo' Sylla.-Club career:...

, played with Willem II Tilburg

Willem II Tilburg

Willem II , also known as Willem II Tilburg, is a football club based in Tilburg, North Brabant, Netherlands. The team was founded on 12 August 1896 as Tilburgia...

, FC Martigues

FC Martigues

FC Martigues play in the Championnat National, which is the third level of football in France. The club was formed in 1921 and played regional football until the early 1970s when the club gained promotion to the professional Second Division.The club's greatest achievement was winning promotion to...

 and Ayr United

Ayr United F.C.

Ayr United Football Club are a Scottish association football team based in Ayr, South Ayrshire, that plays in the First Division of the Scottish Football League. Formed in 1910 after the merger of former clubs Ayr Parkhouse F.C. and Ayr F.C...

 amongst others. The overlapping nature of the two players' careers has led to a degree of media confusion regarding the details of their transfers.

Honours

Celtic

Celtic F.C.

Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...

• Winner
  • Scottish Premier League
    Scottish Premier League
    The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
    
    : 2003–04
  • Scottish Cup
    Scottish Cup
    The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...
    
    : 2003–04
    2004 Scottish Cup Final
    The 2004 Scottish Cup Final was played on 22 May 2004 at Hampden Park in Glasgow and was the final of the 118th Scottish Cup. The final was contested by Dunfermline Athletic and Celtic. Celtic came from behind to win the match 3–1.-Match details:...
    
    , 2004–05
    2005 Scottish Cup Final
    The 2005 Scottish Cup Final was played on 28 May 2005 at Hampden Park in Glasgow and was the final of the 119th Scottish Cup. The final was contested by Celtic and Dundee United. Celtic won the match with an eleventh minute goal from Alan Thompson....
    
    

• Runner-up
  • UEFA Cup: 2002-03
    2003 UEFA Cup Final
    The 2003 UEFA Cup Final was played on 21 May 2003 between Celtic of Scotland and Porto of Portugal. Porto won the match 3–2 in extra time thanks to a goal from Derlei...
    
    

External links