Samuel Barlay nickname Big Sammy, is a Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...

an international footballer, who currently plays for Ravan Baku

Ravan Baku

Ravan Baku FC is an Azerbaijani football club, based in Baku, that plays in the Azerbaijan Premier League.-History:The club was founded in 2009. In May 2011, team secured their promotion to Azerbaijan Premier League after clinching second place in Azerbaijan First Division.- Stadium :Dalga Arena...

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Early career

Samuel Barlay was born and raised in Freetown. He started his professional football career with top Sierra Leonean club East End Lions

East End Lions

East End Lions is a Sierra Leonean professional football club based in the capital Freetown. They play in the Sierra Leone National Premier League, the top football league in Sierra Leone. they are one of the two biggest and most successful football clubs in Sierra Leonean football history;East...

 in the Sierra Leone National Premier League

Sierra Leone National Premier League

Sierra Leone National Premier League is the top football league in Sierra Leone. It was founded in 1967. The league is sponsored by the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank, one of the major Sierra Leonean banks. East End Lions and Mighty Blackpool are the two biggest and most successful clubs. The...

 in 2003.

Professional career

He signed for Malmö FF

Malmö FF

Malmö Fotbollförening, also known simply as Malmö FF, are a Swedish professional football club based in Malmö. The club is affiliated with Skånes Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Swedbank Stadion. The club colours, reflected in their crest and kit, are sky blue and white...

 from Sierra Leonean East End Lions shortly after the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship

2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship

The FIFA U-17 World Championship 2003 was held in the cities of Helsinki, Tampere, Lahti, and Turku in Finland between 13 August and 30 August 2003...

. In 2006 he was on a season long loan at IFK Mariehamn

IFK Mariehamn

IFK Mariehamn is a Finnish football club, based in Mariehamn, capital of the Åland Islands. It currently plays in the Finnish Premier Division . The club's manager is Pekka Lyyski, and it plays its home matches at Wiklöf Holding Arena....

 in the Finnish Veikkausliiga

Veikkausliiga

Veikkausliiga is the premier division of Finnish football, comprising the top 12 clubs of the country. Veikkausliiga is currently ranked as the 28th best league in Europe. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikkaus, hence the league's name...

. In 2008 he returned to "Grönvitt"

IFK Mariehamn

IFK Mariehamn is a Finnish football club, based in Mariehamn, capital of the Åland Islands. It currently plays in the Finnish Premier Division . The club's manager is Pekka Lyyski, and it plays its home matches at Wiklöf Holding Arena....

 after a loan spell at Örgryte IS

Örgryte IS

Örgryte IS, also commonly referred to as ÖIS, is a Swedish football club based in Gothenburg.-History:The club was founded on 4 December 1887 and participated in the first football match in Sweden on 22 May 1892. Örgryte IS has won 12 national championship titles and one national cup title. After...

 in the Swedish second tier of football

Superettan

Superettan is the second highest league in the league system of Swedish football and comprises 16 Swedish football teams. It was created in 2000. Before that, the second level league in Sweden had been Division 1....

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International career

He was the captain

Captain (sports)

In team sports, a captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field...

 of the Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...

 U-17 national football team at the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship

2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship

The FIFA U-17 World Championship 2003 was held in the cities of Helsinki, Tampere, Lahti, and Turku in Finland between 13 August and 30 August 2003...

 in Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

. Barlay is a first choice at the central midfield position for the Leone Stars, as the Sierra Leone national football team is known. He won a penalty for his country which was converted by Mohamed Kallon

Mohamed Kallon

Mohamed Kallon is a Sierra Leonean international footballer and considered the most famous footballer from Sierra Leone. He is currently playing for I-League club Viva Kerala FC-Personal life:...

that gave the Leone Stars a 1-0 win over South Africa in the 2010 FIFA World Cup/2010 African Cup of Nations qualifying match played in June 2008 in Freetown.