Khalifa Sankaré
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Papa Khalifa Sankaré | ||
| Date of birth | 15 August 1984 | ||
| Place of birth | Dakar, Senegal | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Playing position | Centre back | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Asteras Tripolis | ||
| Number | 19 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2005–2007 | US Boulogne | 32 | (2) |
| 2007–2008 | S.V. Zulte Waregem | 9 | (2) |
| 2008–2009 | K.V. Oostende | 29 | (7) |
| 2009-2010 | R.A.E.C. Mons | 39 | (3) |
| 2010–2011 | Olympiakos Volou | 30 | (3) |
| 2011–2012 | Aris | 23 | (1) |
| 2012–2013 | Asteras Tripolis | 29 | (2) |
| 2013 | Al-Arabi | 2 | (0) |
| 2014– | Asteras Tripolis | 1 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12 January 2014. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Khalifa Sankaré (born 15 August 1984) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays for Asteras Tripolis in the Greek Superleague as a defender .
Career
Papa Khalifa Sankaré was born in Dakar, Senegal. He started his football career at French team US Boulogne as a centre back during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. He managed to make 32 appearances and score two goals. Unfortunately because of his young age he didn't get much chances from the manager and the next season he was transferred to Belgian club S.V. Zulte Waregem. His time there was not good and spent many seasons on loan to other Belgian teams but he managed to make a strong impact during his loan period at R.A.E.C. Mons with 34 appearances and two goals.
In July 2010, Sankare transferred to Greek team Olympiakos Volou. There he made his biggest impact as he was one of the best players during Olympiakos Volou first season at the Greek Super League after 20 years of absence making 30 appearances and scoring four goals leading the team to a historic fifth place and a European exit to the UEFA Europa League qualifiers for the first time in the club's history. He was the scorer of the first goal in both matches against Greek giants A.E.K Athens. His highlight was his good defending stand on CB place and his exceptional heading ability. He was also one of the contenders for the MVP title of the league and he was also part of the best 11 of the 2010–11 Greek Superleague. Those performances caught the attention of French, Belgian and Italian clubs who seemed to want him. Greek powerhouse Olympiacos F.C. also showed some interest.
During the 2011 summer, a match fixing scandal broke out in Greece, which included teams from all divisions and Kavala F.C. and Olympiakos Volou from the top division. It was a scandal which affected football life in Greece, as the final decisions took some time to be announced. But after some months the final decision came and it was the relegation of both teams to the Delta Ethniki, the fourth tier of Greek football. That means that all the players from these clubs were released including Khalifa Sankare, who signed to Aris F.C. and former manager at Olympiakos Volou Sakis Tsiolis.
He scored his first goal for Aris on debut against Ergotelis.[1]
He joined Super League side Asteras Tripolis from Aris on a free transfer in July 2012. He reached fan acclaim by scoring a stunning bicycle kick in the play-off match against PAS Giannina.[2] After the end of season 2012/13 he joined the Kuwaitian club Al-Arabi. At the beginning of 2014, he returned to his former club Asteras Tripolis.
References
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