Ali Sowe

Ali Sowe (born 14 June 1994) is a Gambian professional footballer who currently plays as a forward for both CSKA Sofia and the Gambia national team.

Ali Sowe
Personal information
Full name Ali Sowe
Date of birth (1994-06-14) 14 June 1994
Place of birth Banjul, Gambia
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 CSKA Sofia
Number 22
Youth career
0000–2013 Gamtel
2013 Chievo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2019 Chievo 2 (0)
2013–2014 → Juve Stabia (loan) 35 (5)
2014 → Pescara (loan) 8 (0)
2015 → Latina (loan) 13 (0)
2015 → Modena (loan) 8 (0)
2016 → Lecce (loan) 9 (1)
2016–2017 → Prato (loan) 15 (0)
2017 → Vibonese (loan) 18 (6)
2017–2018 → Skënderbeu (loan) 33 (21)
2018 → CSKA Sofia (loan) 12 (3)
2019– CSKA Sofia 61 (28)
National team‡
2011– Gambia 5 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 06:06, 19 December 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 08:13, 23 December 2020 (UTC)

Club career

Early years

Ali was made under contract in early 2013 by Chievo from Gambian club GAMTEL FC after he was already capped for the Gambia national football team despite his very young age. He joined "Primavera" side for the Veronese club. On 12 May 2013, he made history being the first Gambian football player to play a match in Italian Serie A. After collecting 2 caps, on 18 July 2013, he was loaned to Juve Stabia alongside his Senegalese teammate N'Diaye Djiby, playing in 2013–14 Serie B.

Skënderbeu Korçë

On 25 July 2017, Skënderbeu Korçë reached an agreement with Chievo for the loan of Sowe for 2017–18 season.[2] The transfer was made official six days later, where he signed the contract and was assigned squad number 90.[3]

He made his Skënderbeu debut on 17 August by starting in the first leg of 2017–18 UEFA Europa League play-off round against Dinamo Zagreb which finished in a 1–1 draw.[4] In the second leg, the team held off and earned a goalless draw, with Sowe giving a strong performance, meaning that they have qualified to group stage for the second time in history, also becoming first Albanian club to successfully pass four rounds.[5]

Sowe started the domestic season on 6 September by scoring a brace in the Albanian Cup first round 8–0 hammering of Adriatiku Mamurras.[6] His league debut occurred three days later in the opening day of 2017–18 Albanian Superliga season against Flamurtari Vlorë.[7] He endured 244 minutes before netting his first goal in league, which came on 23 September in the matchday 3 against Partizani Tirana, helping Skënderbeu to their first win in 6 matches against Red Bulls.[8] Sowe scored his first Europa League group stage goal five days later in the match against Young Boys.[9]

He was named Albanian Superliga Player of the Month in October 2017.[10] Sowe's second Europa League group stage goal came later on 23 November in the 3–2 win against Dynamo Kyiv which was their second ever group stage win.[11] He concluded the first part of the season by netting a brace in the 3–1 home win over Teuta Durrës.[12]

Sowe scored his first career hat-trick on 9 May 2018 in Skënderbeu's 4–2 away defeat of bottom side Lushnja; this win clinched the championship for the club with three games to spare.[13] He finished the league by winning the Golden Boot, netting 21 goals in 33 games, beating out his rival Sindrit Guri.[14][15]

CSKA Sofia

On 5 September 2018, Sowe was loaned to Bulgarian club CSKA Sofia until the end of the season.[16] On January 31, 2019, the transfer was made permanent, after CSKA activated his buyout clause.[17]

Career statistics
As of 18 December 2020[18]
Club statistics
Club Season League Cup Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Chievo 2012–13 Serie A 2000—20
Juve Stabia (loan) 2013–14 Serie B 35510—365
Pescara (loan) 2014–15 8010—90
Latina (loan) 13000—130
Modena (loan) 2015–16 8000—80
Lecce (loan) 2015–16 Serie C 9100—91
Prato (loan) 2016–17 15010—160
Vibonese (loan) 2016–17 18600—186
Skënderbeu Korçë (loan) 2017–18 Albanian Superliga 332155724528
CSKA Sofia (loan) 2018–19 First League 1232300146
CSKA Sofia 16833001911
2019–20 301352604115
2020–21 157111052613
CSKA Sofia total 733111916510045
Career total 21564191423725685

    International
    As of match played 9 October 2019
    Appearances and goals by national team and year
    National teamYearAppsGoals
    The Gambia 201210
    201320
    201810
    201910
    Total50

    Honours

    Club
    Skënderbeu Korçë[18]

    Individual

    References
    1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
    2. Erald Kodheli (25 July 2017). "Zyrtare, Skënderbeu akord me Chievon për huazimin e Sowe" [Official, Skënderbeu agreement with Chievo for the loan of Sowe] (in Albanian). SuperSport Albania. Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
    3. Erald Kodheli (1 August 2017). "Vjen Ali Sowe nga Chievo, Skënderbeu prezanton superblerjen" [Ali Sowe arrives from Chievo, Skënderbeu presents the super purchase] (in Albanian). SuperSport Albania. Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
    4. "Dinamo Zagreb vs. Skënderbeu Korçë 1 – 1". Soccerway. 17 August 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
    5. "Skënderbeu shkruan historinë / Kalon 4 ture me rekord dhe rikthehet në Europa League!" [Skënderbeu writes history / Passes 4 round with record and returns to Europa League] (in Albanian). City News. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
    6. "Kupa e Shqipërisë/Skënderbeu provon të rinjtë me goleadë, Kukësi e Partizani mësojnë rivalët" [Albanian Cup / Skënderbeu tries the youths with goals, Kukësi and Partizani know their rivals] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 6 September 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
    7. Andi Deçka (9 September 2017). "Skënderbeu i madh edhe në Superiore" [Skënderbeu big even in Superliga] (in Albanian). SuperSport Albania. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
    8. Rinald Bregasi (23 September 2017). "Skënderbeu mposht Partizanin pas 6 takimesh" [Skënderbeu defeats Partizani after 6 meetings] (in Albanian). SuperSport Albania. Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
    9. "Skënderbeu Korçë vs. Young Boys 1 – 1". Soccerway. 28 September 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
    10. "Shkëlqimi i Soue, sulmuesi zgjidhet lojtari më i mirë i muajit" [Sowe's glow, the striker is chosen as the best player of month] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 28 November 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
    11. "Skënderbeu fiton 3-2, por i lë jashtë fitorja e serbëve" [Skënderbeu win 3-2, but serbs' victory leaves them out]. Top-Channel.tv. 23 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
    12. "Skënderbeu mposht Teutën, 'dimëron' i qetë" [Skënderbeu defeats Teuta, 'wintering' on calm] (in Albanian). Borozani.com. 22 December 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
    13. "Ndeshje e hapur dhe gola në Lushnjë, Soue heroi i Skënderbeut" [Open game and goals at Lushnje, Sowe hero of Skënderbeu] (in Albanian). Sport Ekspres. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
    14. "Soue: Do doja të luaja, i kënaqur për Këpucën e Artë" [Sowe: I wanted to play, happy with the Golden Boot] (in Albanian). Sport Ekspres. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
    15. "Ali Sue fiton "Këpucën e Artë", fiton garën me Sindrit Gurin" [Ali Sue wins “Golden Boot”, won the race to Sindrit Guri] (in Albanian). Koha Jonë. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
    16. "Привлякохме нов нападател (ВИДЕО+СНИМКИ)" (in Bulgarian). 5 September 2018.
    17. "Официално: ЦСКА-София купи Али Соу" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 31 January 2019.
    18. "Gambia - A. Sowe - Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway.
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.