Umaru Bangura

Umaru Bangura
Personal information
Date of birth (1987-10-07) 7 October 1987 (age 37)
Place of birth Freetown, Sierra Leone
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Defender, Midfielder
Youth career
2004–2005 Mighty Blackpool
2005 Watford
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2010 Hønefoss 123 (7)
2010–2013 Haugesund 81 (1)
2014–2016 Dinamo Minsk 58 (0)
2016–2021 Zürich 80 (1)
2021–2022 Neuchâtel Xamax 29 (0)
International career‡
2006–2022 Sierra Leone 53 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 May 2022
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:42, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

Umaru Bangura (born 7 October 1987) is a Sierra Leonean former professional footballer who played for the Sierra Leone national team. He played as a central defender or in midfield.[1]

Career

Bangura started his senior career with Hønefoss BK in Norway.

In January 2011, Bangura moved to Eliteserien club FK Haugesund. He made his league debut for the club on 20 March 2011 in a 2–0 away loss to Tromsø IL. He was subbed on in the 71st minute for Ugonna Anyora.[2] He scored his first league goal for the club on 25 September 2011 in a 1–0 home victory over Aalesunds FK. His goal came in the 54th minute.[3]

During the English 2013 summer transfer window, Bangura attracted interest from Premier League side Crystal Palace, but the move failed to materialise.[4][5]

In December 2013 Bangura agreed to move to FC Dinamo Minsk in the Vysheyshaya Liga.[6] He made his league debut for the club on 30 March 2014 in a 1–0 away victory over FC Dnepr Mogilev. He played all ninety minutes of the match.[7]

In August 2016 he signed a three years contract with Swiss club FC Zürich.[8] He made his league debut for the club on 22 August 2016 in a 1–0 home victory over Neuchâtel Xamax. He was subbed on for Armando Sadiku in the 84th minute.[9] He scored his first league goal for the club on 2 October 2016 in a 5–0 away victory over FC Wohlen. His goal, scored in the 61st minute, made the score 4–0 to Zürich.[10]

On 8 January 2021, it was announced that Bangura had joined Swiss Challenge League club Neuchâtel Xamax on a contract until the end of the season, after being released by Zürich.[11][12]

International career

Bangura is the captain of the Sierra Leone national team.[13] In October 2019, he stated that he was considering quitting the national team after his team was attacked by angry fans, but retracted his decision soon after and represented Sierra Leone at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, the country's first ever AFCON.[14]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 17 December 2021[15][16]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Play-offs Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Hønefoss 2006 Adeccoligaen 15 0 — — 15 1
2007 Adeccoligaen 23 0 — — 23 0
2008 Adeccoligaen 27 2 — — 27 2
2009 Adeccoligaen 29 3 1 0 — — 30 3
2010 Tippeligaen 29 2 4 1 — 3 0 36 3
Total 123 7 5 1 0 0 3 0 131 9
Haugesund 2011 Tippeligaen 24 1 4 0 — — 28 1
2012 Tippeligaen 29 0 1 0 — — 30 0
2013 Tippeligaen 28 0 4 0 — — 32 0
Total 81 1 9 0 0 0 0 0 90 1
Dinamo Minsk 2014 Vysheyshaya Liga 23 0 0 0 7 0 — 30 0
2015 Vysheyshaya Liga 22 0 3 0 12 0 — 37 0
2016 Vysheyshaya Liga 13 0 4 0 0 0 — 17 0
Total 58 0 7 0 19 0 0 0 84 0
Zürich 2016–17 Swiss Challenge League 17 1 2 0 3 0 — 22 1
2017–18 Swiss Super League 24 0 4 0 — — 28 0
2018–19 Swiss Super League 25 0 2 0 8 0 — 35 0
2019–20 Swiss Super League 14 0 1 0 — — 15 0
2020–21 Swiss Super League 0 0 1 0 — — 1 0
Total 80 1 10 0 11 0 0 0 111 1
Neuchâtel Xamax 2020–21 Swiss Challenge League 18 0 0 0 — — 18 0
2021–22 Swiss Challenge League 3 0 1 0 — — 4 0
Total 21 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 22 0
Career total 363 9 32 1 30 0 3 0 428 10

International

As of match played 11 January 2022[1]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Sierra Leone 2006 2 0
2007 5 0
2008 6 0
2010 2 0
2011 4 0
2012 6 0
2013 4 0
2014 6 2
2015 4 0
2016 4 1
2017 1 1
2019 4 0
2020 2 0
2021 2 0
2022 1 0
Total 53 4
Sierra Leone score listed first, score column indicates score after each Bangura goal[1]
List of international goals scored by Umaru Bangura
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 31 May 2014 National Stadium, Freetown, Sierra Leone  Swaziland 1–0 1–0 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification [17]
2 19 July 2014 National Stadium, Freetown, Sierra Leone  Seychelles 2–0 2–0 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification [18]
3 28 March 2016 National Stadium, Freetown, Sierra Leone  Gabon 1–0 1–0 Friendly [19]
4 10 June 2017 National Stadium, Freetown, Sierra Leone  Kenya 2–0 2–1 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification [20]

Honours

Order

References

  1. ^ a b c "Umaru Bangura". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  2. ^ "Tromso vs. Haugesund – 20 March 2011 – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  3. ^ "Haugesund vs. Aalesunds – 25 September 2011 – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  4. ^ "Transfer News: Crystal Palace launch move for Umaru Bangura". Sky Sports. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  5. ^ "Crystal Palace plot double deal as Eagles eye up Umaru Bangura and Osman Sow". Daily Mirror. 24 July 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  6. ^ "Bangura klar for utenlandsk klubb". Nettavisen (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 10 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  7. ^ "Dnepr Mogilev vs. Dinamo Minsk – 30 March 2014 – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  8. ^ "Innenverteidiger Umaru Bangura wechselt zum FC Zürich" (in German). fcz.ch. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  9. ^ "Zurich vs. Neuchatel Xamax – 22 August 2016 – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  10. ^ "Wohlen vs. Zurich – 2 October 2016 – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  11. ^ "Xamax verpflichtet Umaru Bangura". Bote der Urschweiz (in Swiss High German). 8 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  12. ^ "Un nouveau défenseur pour Neuchâtel Xamax". Radio Télévision Neuchâtel (in Swiss French). 8 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  13. ^ "Sierra Leone captain: "We're the ones suffering"". BBC Sport. 1 November 2018.
  14. ^ "Sierra Leone captain could quit after attack on home". BBC Sport. 1 October 2019.
  15. ^ "Umaru Bangura". altomfotball.no. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  16. ^ "Sierra Leone - U. Bangura - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
  17. ^ "Sierra Leone vs. Eswatini - 31 May 2014 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
  18. ^ "Sierra Leone vs. Seychelles - 19 July 2014 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
  19. ^ "Sierra Leone - Gabon 1:0 (Friendlies 2016, March)". worldfootball.net.
  20. ^ "Sierra Leone v Kenya Match Report, 10/06/2017, Africa Cup of Nations Qualification | Goal.com". www.goal.com.
  21. ^ "'Zangalay' Bangura receives Presidential award". slconcordtimes.com. SL Concord Times. Retrieved 2 March 2019.