Ibrahima Sonko

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Ibrahima Sonko
Personal information
Full name	Ibrahima Sonko
Date of birth	22 January 1981 (1981-01-22) (age 28)
Place of birth	Bignona, Senegal
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Playing position	Centre Back
Club information
Current club	Stoke City
Number	33
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1999–2002 2002–2004 2004–2008 2008–	Grenoble Brentford Reading Stoke City	043 (2) 080 (8) 127 (8) 014 (0)
National team2
2008–	Senegal	004 (1)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 09:42, 23 June 2009 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 18 October 2008. * Appearances (Goals)

Ibrahima Sonko (born 22 January 1981 in Bignona) is a professional footballer. He currently plays in central defence for Stoke City in the Premier League. His cousin Bacary Sagna also plays in the Premier League, for Arsenal.^[1]

[edit] Club career

Sonko started his career at Saint-Étienne 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-shirts have been made available by Reading.^{[2][dead link]}

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.^[3] 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".^[4]

He was the subject of further controversy in a match against Chelsea on 14 October 2006, when his challenge left goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini unconscious.^[5] Cudicini was carried off the field wearing a neck brace.^[5] On 22 December 2006 Sonko announced that he was scared after receiving death threats in connection with the Chelsea match.^[6]

On 11 December 2006, Sonko signed an extension to his contract with Reading, keeping him at the Madejski Stadium until the summer of 2010.^[7]

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,^[8] and it was subsequently announced that he would miss the rest of the 2006–07 season.^[9] He returned to first team action on 20 October 2007 in a 4–2 defeat away to Blackburn Rovers.^[10] Sonko, along with teammates Emerse Fae refused to play in a reserve match at the end of the 07/08 season and was suspended for their last 2 matches.

Sonko signed for Midlands-based club Stoke City for a fee of £2 million, which could rise £2.25 million depending on appearances, on 29 August 2008.^[11] Ibrahima made his Stoke City Debut on the 14th September 2008 in a 3-2 defeat to Everton

[edit] International career

Sonko was born in Senegal, 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 English Premier League.^[12] 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.^[13]

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.^[14] 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.^[15]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Ibrahima Sonko profile at readingfc.co.uk
• Ibrahima Sonko career stats at Soccerbase

v • d • e Senegal squad – 2008 Africa Cup of Nations 1 Sylva • 2 Sonko • 3 N'Daw • 4 Sarr • 5 Diawara • 6 Faye • 7 Camara • 8 Niang • 9 Gueye • 10 N'Doye • 11 Diouf • 12 Bayal Sall • 13 Diatta • 14 Papa Waigo • 15 Kamara • 16 C. N'Diaye • 17 Sougou • 18 Mendy • 19 Bouba Diop • 20 Faye • 21 Beye • 22 Ba • 23 Coundoul • Coach: L. N'Diaye