Mathis Bolly

Mathis Gazoa Kippersund Bolly (born 14 November 1990) is a Norwegian-born Ivorian footballer who plays as a forward for Eliteserien club Molde. Bolly made his professional debut for the Norwegian top flight side Lillestrøm. He represented Norway at youth international level, but chose to represent Ivory Coast at senior level.

Mathis Bolly

Personal information
Full name	Mathis Gazoa Kippersund Bolly[1]
Date of birth	14 November 1990
Place of birth	Oslo, Norway
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s)	Forward[3]
Club information
Current team	Molde
Number	30
Youth career
	Holmlia
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2008–2012	Lillestrøm	60	(7)
2013–2016	Fortuna Düsseldorf	50	(6)
2016–2018	Greuther Fürth	16	(1)
2019–	Molde	27	(4)
National team^‡
2009	Norway U19	3	(0)
2013–	Ivory Coast	5	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19 December 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 June 2014

Club career

Born in Oslo to a Norwegian mother and an Ivorian father,[4] Bolly grew up at Holmlia in Oslo and youth football for Lyn, Oppsal IL and Holmlia before transferring to Lillestrøm in 2008. He made his debut for the first team in the Tippeligaen match against Stabæk and played two matches in his first season with the club.[5] In the 2009 season, Bolly's second season with Lillestrøm, he played 10 matches in Tippeligaen.[6] Bolly scored his first Tippeligaen goal in the 1–0 victory against Sandefjord on 3 October 2010.[7] During the 2012 season Bolly scored four goals and made four assists.[8] His contract with Lillestrøm lasted till the end of the 2013 season, though he had told the club that he didn't want to renew his contract. Lillestrøm subsequently accepted an offer from Fortuna Düsseldorf and on 2 January 2013, Bolly signed for a three-and-a-half-year contract with the German side.[9]

Bolly made his Bundesliga debut in the match against Mainz 05 when he came on as a substitute. He started the next match against Bayern Munich on 9 March 2013, where he also scored one of Fortuna Düsseldorf's goals in the 3–2 loss.[10] The next week, Bolly scored another goal when Fortuna Düsseldorf drew 1–1 away against VfL Wolfsburg.[11] Fortuna Düsseldorf was relegated after the 2012–13 season, but Bolly stayed with the team when they played in the 2. Bundesliga in the following season.[12]

On 19 February 2019, Bolly joined Molde on a one-year contract.[13] He got his Molde debut on 18 July 2019 when he came on as a 62nd minute substitute in Molde's 0–0 draw away against KR in the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League first qualifying round.[14] On 1 October 2019, Molde announced that they had agreed a contract extension with Bolly that will keep him at the club till the end of the 2022 season.[15][16]

International career

Bolly played three matches for the Norwegian under-19 team in 2009,[17] and was called up for the under-21 team in February and March 2013. He was also included in the Norwegian preliminary squad for the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, but withdrew from the squad when he in May 2013 was called up for the Ivory Coast national team for the World Cup qualifiers against Gambia and Tanzania.[18] His former manager at Lillestrøm, Henning Berg, stated that it was a big loss for Norway and that Bolly could have been an important player for the national team in the future.[8] He played his first game for the Ivory Coast against Gambia on 8 June 2013.[12] He played his second match for Ivory Coast in the friendly match against Mexico in August 2013, playing alongside Didier Drogba.[19] Bolly was an unused substitute in the decisive play-off match against Senegal when Ivory Coast qualified for the 2014 World Cup.[12] He was selected to represent the Ivory Coast at the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil, and got his World Cup debut as a second-half substitute in the Ivory Coast's second group game against Colombia.

Style of play

When he joined Lillestrøm in 2008, Bolly ran 40 meters in 4.77 seconds.[5] After the 2009 season, he ran 40 meters in 4.61 seconds, which makes him the second fastest Tippeligaen player ever, only beaten by Luton Shelton.[6] When EA Sports released the video game FIFA 14, Bolly was the fastest player in the game in terms of sprint speed. As of FIFA 17, he still holds this achievement.[20] However, in the FIFA 18 edition, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang replaces him as the fastest player in the game in terms of sprint speed and acceleration.

Career statistics

As of match played 19 December 2020[2][21]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Lillestrøm	2008	Tippeligaen	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	2009	Tippeligaen	10	0	2	0	—		12	0
	2010	Tippeligaen	8	1	0	0	—		8	1
	2011	Tippeligaen	16	2	0	0	—		16	2
	2012	Tippeligaen	24	4	4	0	—		28	4
	Total		60	7	6	0	—	—	66	7
Fortuna Düsseldorf	2012–13	Bundesliga	7	2	0	0	—		7	2
	2013–14	2. Bundesliga	14	1	1	0	—		15	1
	2014–15	2. Bundesliga	11	1	5	0	—		16	1
	2015–16	2. Bundesliga	18	2	1	0	—		19	2
	Total		50	6	7	0	—	—	57	6
Greuther Fürth	2016–17	2. Bundesliga	16	1	1	0	—		17	1
	2017–18	2. Bundesliga	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		16	1	1	0	—	—	17	1
Molde	2019	Eliteserien	13	3	0	0	6[lower-alpha 1]	2	19	5
	2020		14	1	0	0	7	0	21	1
	Total		27	4	0	0	13	2	40	6
Career total			153	18	14	0	13	2	180	20

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League, including qualifying games

Honours

Molde

• Eliteserien: 2019

References

1. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of players: Côte d'Ivoire" (PDF). FIFA. 14 July 2014. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 January 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
2. "Bolly, Mathis" (in German). kicker.de. Archived from the original on 2 February 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
3. Mathis Bolly at WorldFootball.net
4. Bergh, Nicholas (17 May 2013). "Bolly takket nei til spill for Norge". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
5. Svesengen, Morten (14 January 2009). "På kanten av gjennombruddet". Romerikes Blad (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
6. Almløv, André (5 November 2009). "Tidenes raskeste norske eliteseriespiller". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
7. Hongshagen, Eva (3 October 2010). "Bolly-perle sikret seier til uavgjortspesialistene". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
8. Øgar, Sindre (18 May 2013). "Berg: - Bolly kunne fått mange landskamper for Norge". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
9. Burheim, Mads Gudim; Strand, Sigbjørn (2 January 2013). "Her er Norges ferskeste Bundesliga-proff" (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. Archived from the original on 6 January 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
10. Smørdal, Sander (9 March 2013). "Her scorer Mathis Bolly sitt første Bundesliga-mål mot mektige Bayern München". TV 2 (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
11. Baardsen, Christer (15 March 2013). "Her scorer Mathis Bolly i Bundesliga igjen". TV 2 (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
12. Pettersen, Per Møller (17 November 2013). "Denne nordmannen er nær VM". Nettavisen (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 22 January 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
13. "Molde signerer kontrakt med Mathis Bolly". www.moldefk.no (in Norwegian). Molde FK. 19 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
14. "KR Reykjavik 0-0 Molde". www.uefa.com. UEFA. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
15. "Forlenget kontrakten med Molde". eurosport.no (in Norwegian). Eurosport. 1 October 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
16. "Bolly forlenger!". moldefk.no (in Norwegian). Molde FK. 1 October 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
17. "Mathis Gazoa Kippersund Bolly's profil". fotball.no (in Norwegian). Football Association of Norway. Archived from the original on 28 November 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
18. Haugvik, Simen; Stokstad, Morten (17 May 2013). "Bolly sier nei til Norge". TV 2 (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
19. Svesengen, Morten (15 August 2013). "På lag med Drogba". Romerikes Blad (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
20. Bakkehaug, Wegard (25 September 2013). "Bolly topper FIFA14-liste: – Ser på meg selv som en av de raskeste fotballspillerne i verden". TV 2 (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
21. "Mathis Bolly" (in Norwegian). NIFS. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2013.

External links

• Mathis Bolly at Kicker