 Sonko playing forAkhisar Belediyespor in 2014 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1981-01-22)22 January 1981 (age 44) | ||
| Place of birth | Bignona, Senegal | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1995–1996 | Olympique Noisy-le-Sec | ||
| 1997–1999 | Saint-Étienne | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1999–2002 | Grenoble | 47 | (2) |
| 2002–2004 | Brentford | 80 | (8) |
| 2004–2008 | Reading | 127 | (8) |
| 2008–2011 | Stoke City | 14 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | →Hull City (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | →Portsmouth (loan) | 23 | (1) |
| 2011–2012 | Ipswich Town | 22 | (1) |
| 2012–2015 | Akhisar Belediyespor | 58 | (0) |
| 2015–2018 | Harlow Town | 110 | (10) |
| Total | 490 | (30) | |
| International career | |||
| 2008 | Senegal | 5 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ibrahima Sonko (born 22 January 1981) is a Senegalese former professionalfootballer who played as acentre back.
Sonko moved to France from Senegal at a young age and began his career withOlympique Noisy-le-Sec andAS Saint-Étienne, before turning professional withGrenoble. In 2002 Sonko moved to English sideBrentford where he spent two seasons before moving toReading in 2004. Sonko spent four seasons with the Royals and helped them gain promotion to thePremier League in2005–06. Following their relegation, Sonko joinedStoke City for a fee of £2 million in August 2008. However, he failed to establish himself in the first team at Stoke and spent time out on loan atHull City andPortsmouth before being released. He spent the2011–12 season withIpswich Town and then played for Turkish sideAkhisar Belediyespor from 2012 until 2015.
Sonko was born inBignona, Senegal but moved to France when he was young. He played withOlympique Noisy-le-Sec and was in the youth team atAS Saint-Étienne before he joinedGrenoble in 1999. Sonko helped Grenoble gain promotion from theChampionnat National in 2000–01 and in 2002 he left to join English sideBrentford.[1] He played 45 times for Brentford in2002–03, scoring six goals at the Bees finished in 16th position.[2] He played 46 times in2003–04 as Brentford again finished in a mid-table position this time 17th.[3] His performances for Brentford attracted interest from high placed sides.[4]
Sonko joinedReading on abosman in the summer of 2004.[5] He made 42 appearances in2004–05 as Reading finished in 7th place missing out on a play-off place by three points.[6] In2005–06 Sonko was ever-present as the Royals gained promotion to thePremier League in emphatic fashion after winning the league with a record 106 points.[7][8] During the season, he won the player of the month award for October and was also named in the PFA Team of the Year.[9]
Sonko's first season in the Premier League was eventful. He received a straight red card againstAston Villa for trippingLuke Moore in the penalty area, meaning Reading lost 2–1.[10] He was the subject of further controversy in a match againstChelsea on 14 October 2006, when his challenge left goalkeeperCarlo Cudicini unconscious.[11] Cudicini was carried off the field wearing a neck brace.[11] Sonko stated that he was scared after receiving death threats in connection with the Chelsea match.[12] On 11 December 2006, Sonko signed an extension to his contract with Reading, keeping him at theMadejski Stadium until the summer of 2010.[13] However, on 20 January 2007, he injured knee ligaments when he fell awkwardly whilst playing for Reading in their 3–1 home win againstSheffield United,[14] and it was subsequently announced that he would miss the rest of the2006–07 season.[15] Sonko played a total of 23 times on 2006–07 as Reading ended the season in 8th position.[16]
He returned to first team action on 20 October 2007 in a 4–2 defeat away toBlackburn Rovers.[17] Sonko went on to play 16 matches for Reading in2007–08 as they were unable to retain the Premier League status, being relegated in 18th place.[18] Sonko ended the season on a sour note after he and teammateEmerse Faé were suspended by the club after refusing managerSteve Coppell's request to play in a reserve match.[19] Sonko later stated that he wanted to leave Reading after he had become an 'outcast' at the club.[20][21] Despite this he did start the first three matches of the2008–09 season where he scored twice againstPlymouth Argyle.[22] He also scored againstCharlton Athletic but was also sent-off in the match.[23]
On 29 August 2008, Sonko signed for Premier LeagueStoke City for a fee of £2 million, which could rise £2.25 million depending on appearances.[24] He made his Stoke debut on 14 September 2008 in a 3–2 defeat againstEverton.[25] However, he was unable to hold on to his place in the team underTony Pulis and became mainly used as a substitute.[26] On 20 December 2008 Stoke played away atBlackburn Rovers, Sonko conceded an early penalty after a horribly mistimed tackle onMorten Gamst Pedersen which helped Blackburn ease to a 3–0 win, Pulis described it as 'abysmal defending'.[27] Sonko only figured as a substitute for the remainder of the2008–09 season as the Potters finished in 14th position.[28]
On 1 September 2009, Sonko joinedHull City on loan for the2009–10 season.[29] Sonko made his debut for Hull on 12 September 2009, in a 4–1 loss away toSunderland.[30] He made just nine appearances as Hull suffered relegation from the Premier League.[31] He spent the2010–11 season on loan atPortsmouth.[32] He played 27 times for Pompey scoring once.[33]
After an unsuccessful time at Stoke he was released at the end of the 2010–11 season.[34]
Following his release from Stoke, Sonko went on trial with his former club Reading but was unable to earn a contract.[35]
On 26 August 2011, Sonko signed for Championship clubIpswich Town on a one-year deal.[36] He scored his first goal for Ipswich in a 3–1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion on 1 October 2011.[37] Sonko struggled with fitness and injuries during his time atPortman Road and was openly criticised by managerPaul Jewell after a 3–1 defeat againstLeeds United.[38][39][40] He was released by Ipswich at the end of the2011–12 season.[41]
Sonko joined newly promoted TurkishSüper Lig sideAkhisar Belediyespor on 15 August 2012.[42] He spent three seasons with Akhisar, making 63 appearances.[43]
It was announced on 6 August 2015, that Sonko had returned to England and signed forIsthmian League Division One North clubHarlow Town.[44] In September of the same year, Sonko revealed he turned down a one-year contract withScottish Premiership sideKilmarnock to remain with Harlow Town and stay close to his family.[45] Sonko retired at the end of the 2017–18 season.[46]
Sonko was born inSenegal, but moved to France when he was six months and 14 days old. Despite this, Sonko initially elected to play for theSenegal national team. He represented Senegal at U23 level, but declined his call-up to theirAfrican Cup of Nations squad of 2006, opting instead to help Reading's ultimately successful bid for promotion to the Premier League.[47] He then announced that he would play forFrance if selected, but if called up to the Senegal squad before a French call-up, he would play for the African team.[48]
Sonko was named in Senegal's provisional 38-man squad for theAfrican Cup of Nations, which runs from 20 January to 10 February 2008.[49] Senegal coachHenryk 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 overNamibia inDakar; he played the entire game in the centre of defence.[50]
His cousinBacary Sagna is also a professional footballer.[51]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other[A] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Grenoble | 1999–2000 | Championnat National | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ― | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2000–01 | Championnat National | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ― | 0 | 0 | 31 | 1 | ||
| 2001–02[52] | Ligue 2 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ― | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | ||
| Total | 47 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ― | 0 | 0 | 50 | 2 | |||
| Brentford | 2002–03[2] | Second Division | 37 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 45 | 6 |
| 2003–04[3] | Second Division | 43 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 3 | |
| Total | 80 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 91 | 9 | ||
| Reading | 2004–05[6] | Championship | 39 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ― | 42 | 1 | |
| 2005–06[7] | Championship | 46 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ― | 52 | 3 | ||
| 2006–07[16] | Premier League | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ― | 23 | 1 | ||
| 2007–08[18] | Premier League | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ― | 16 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09[28] | Championship | 3 | 3 | ― | 0 | 0 | ― | 3 | 3 | |||
| Total | 127 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ― | 136 | 8 | |||
| Stoke City | 2008–09[28] | Premier League | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ― | 16 | 0 | |
| 2009–10[31] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | ― | 1 | 0 | ― | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ― | 17 | 0 | |||
| Hull City (loan) | 2009–10[31] | Premier League | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ― | ― | 9 | 0 | ||
| Portsmouth (loan) | 2010–11[33] | Championship | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 1 |
| Ipswich Town | 2011–12[53] | Championship | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 1 |
| Akhisar Belediyespor | 2012–13[43] | Süper Lig | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ― | ― | 31 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14[43] | Süper Lig | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ― | ― | 30 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15[43] | Süper Lig | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ― | ― | 2 | 0 | |||
| Total | 58 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ― | ― | 63 | 0 | ||||
| Harlow Town | 2015–16[54] | Isthmian League First Division North | 40 | 3 | 5 | 0 | ― | 5 | 1 | 50 | 4 | |
| 2016–17[55] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 41 | 5 | 1 | 0 | ― | 7 | 0 | 49 | 5 | ||
| 2017–18[56] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 29 | 2 | 4 | 0 | ― | 1 | 0 | 34 | 2 | ||
| Total | 110 | 10 | 10 | 0 | ― | 13 | 1 | 133 | 11 | |||
| Career total | 490 | 30 | 32 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 549 | 32 | ||
Source:[57]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senegal | 2008 | 5 | 1 |
| Total | 5 | 1 | |
Senegal score listed first, score column indicates score after each Sonko goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 June 2008 | Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor,Dakar, Senegal | 4 |  Liberia | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification | [57] |
Grenoble
Reading
Harlow Town
Individual
