Thierno Ballo

Thierno Ballo
Ballo playing for Austria U19 in 2019.
Personal information
Full name Thierno Mamadou Lamarana Ballo[1]
Date of birth (2002-01-02) 2 January 2002 (age 22)
Place of birth Abidjan, Ivory Coast[2]
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Wolfsberger AC
Number 70
Youth career
–2012 SV Chemie Linz
2012 LASK
2013–2016 Bayer 04 Leverkusen
2016–2018 Viktoria Köln
2018–2021 Chelsea
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2022 Chelsea 0 (0)
2021–2022 → Rapid Wien (loan) 8 (0)
2022– Wolfsberger AC 69 (22)
International career‡
2016 Austria U15 2 (1)
2016–2017 Austria U16 5 (2)
2016–2019 Austria U17 25 (6)
2018 Austria U18 1 (0)
2018–2019 Austria U19 12 (6)
2021– Austria U21 9 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 December 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 03:16, 26 September 2022 (UTC)

Thierno Mamadou Lamarana Ballo (born 2 January 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Austrian Bundesliga club Wolfsberger AC. Born in the Ivory Coast, he is a youth international for Austria.

Career

Chelsea

Born in Ivory Coast, Ballo moved to Guinea at the age of three before leaving for Austria four years later. Ballo joined Chelsea in January 2018, following stints with SV Chemie Linz, LASK, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and eventually, Viktoria Köln.[3][4] During his debut under-18 campaign with the Blues, Ballo finished as top goalscorer for that respective age group and subsequently made his quick progression into the under-23 side over the next two years.[5] He signed his first professional contract with Chelsea in January 2019.[6]

On 31 August 2021, Ballo returned to Austria to join Rapid Wien on loan for the 2021–22 campaign.[7] Just under a month later, he made his debut for the club featuring as second-half substitute during their Austrian Cup 2–1 victory over Admira Wacker.[8] After only featuring thirteen times in all competitions come January 2022, Ballo's loan was terminated and the forward subsequently returned to Chelsea.[9]

Wolfsberg

On 12 July 2022, Wolfsberger AC announced the signing of Ballo on a free transfer, after his release from Chelsea. Ballo signed a two-year contract with an option for a further year.[10] On 23 July, he played his first game for the club in a 1–1 draw against SK Sturm Graz.[11] On 28 August 2023, Ballo scored his first goal in his professional career in a league game against WSG Tirol, helping his team to a 3–1 victory, which is Wolfsberger's first league win of the season.[12]

Career statistics

As of matches played 21 May 2024[5]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[a] League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Chelsea U23 2019–20 — — — — 3[b] 0 3 0
2020–21 — — — — 2[b] 0 2 0
Total — — — — 5 0 5 0
Chelsea 2021–22 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rapid Wien (loan) 2021–22 Austrian Bundesliga 8 0 2 0 — 3[c] 0 — 13 0
Wolfsberger AC 2022–23 Austrian Bundesliga 27 6 4 1 — 3[d] 0 1[e] 0 35 7
2023–24 Austrian Bundesliga 27 12 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 29 13
Total 54 18 6 2 0 0 3 0 1 0 64 20
Career total 62 18 8 2 0 0 6 0 6 0 82 20
  1. ^ Includes Austrian Cup
  2. ^ a b Appearances in the EFL Trophy
  3. ^ Appearances in the UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League
  5. ^ Appearance in the 2022–23 Austrian Football Bundesliga#Europa Conference League play-offs

References

  1. ^ "Premier League clubs publish 2020/21 retained lists". premierleague.com. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b Thierno Ballo at WorldFootball.net
  3. ^ Kinsella, Nizaar (5 January 2018). "Who is Thierno Ballo? Meet Chelsea's new 16-year-old Austrian wonderkid". Goal. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Teenage Kicks: Thierno Ballo". Chelsea F.C. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  5. ^ a b Thierno Ballo at Soccerway
  6. ^ "Chelsea's FA Youth Cup squad pen pics". Chelsea F.C. 1 November 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  7. ^ "Ballo heads on loan to Austria". Chelsea F.C. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  8. ^ "ÖFB Cup: Rapid reach Round 3 after extra time away to Admira". SK Rapid. 23 September 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  9. ^ Emms, Nick (5 January 2022). "Report: Chelsea Recall Thierno Ballo From Rapid Vienna Loan". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  10. ^ "NEUE OFFENSIVKRAFT". rzpelletswac.at (in German). Wolfsberger AC. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  11. ^ "Remis zum Saisonstart". RZ Pellets WAC (in German). 25 July 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  12. ^ "Derbywoche". RZ Pellets WAC (in German). 29 August 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2024.