Samba Sow (born 29 April 1989) is a Malian former professional footballer who played as a defensive or central midfielder.
 Sow with Dynamo Moscow in 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 29 April 1989 | ||
| Place of birth | Bamako, Mali | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2006–2008 | Lens | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2008–2013 | Lens | 90 | (1) |
| 2011–2012 | Lens B | 6 | (0) |
| 2013–2015 | Kardemir Karabükspor | 50 | (1) |
| 2015–2017 | Kayserispor | 41 | (3) |
| 2017–2019 | Dynamo Moscow | 41 | (0) |
| 2019–2021 | Nottingham Forest | 40 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | Lens B | 10 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2009–2017 | Mali | 36 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
Sow played his first game for RC Lens on 22 May 2009, the season Lens won Ligue 2.[1] He scored his first goal for the club on 15 May 2010 in the 36th minute against Bordeaux, which they won 4–3. He scored in the 95th minute to make the score 3–0 in the Coupe de la Ligue 1st round against Clermont on 22 July 2011.
On 20 June 2017, he moved to the Russian Premier League, signing with FC Dynamo Moscow.[2] He extended his Dynamo contract on 30 December 2017.[3]
On 1 August 2019, Sow signed for EFL Championship side Nottingham Forest on a two-year deal.[4] Sow was a key player for Forest during the 2019–20 season. Notability, Forest had a win rate of 52% when Sow was in the team, compared to 30% when he was not playing.[5] He featured less regularly during his second season at Forest due to a recurring injury problem, and was released following the end of his contract on 1 June 2021.[6]
International career
Sow played his first game for Mali on 27 December 2009, against North Korea in a 1–0 defeat for Mali.[7]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 11 December 2021[1]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Lens | 2008–09 | Ligue 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 | Ligue 1 | 31 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 36 | 1 | ||
| 2010–11 | Ligue 1 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | Ligue 2 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 24 | 1 | ||
| 2012–13 | Ligue 2 | 25 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 27 | 0 | ||
| Total | 90 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 99 | 2 | |||
| Lens B | 2010–11 | Championnat de France Amateur | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2012–13 | Championnat de France Amateur | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||||
| Kardemir Karabükspor | 2013–14 | Süper Lig | 32 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | Süper Lig | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 4[a] | 0 | 24 | 1 | ||
| Total | 50 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | 60 | 1 | |||
| Kayserispor | 2015–16 | Süper Lig | 16 | 1 | 8 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 1 | ||
| 2016–17 | Süper Lig | 25 | 2 | 8 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 2 | |||
| Total | 41 | 3 | 16 | 0 | — | — | 57 | 3 | ||||
| Dynamo Moscow | 2017–18 | Russian Premier League | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | Russian Premier League | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 0 | |||
| 2019–20 | Russian Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 41 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 43 | 0 | ||||
| Nottingham Forest | 2019–20 | EFL Championship | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0 |
| 2020–21 | EFL Championship | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | |
| Total | 40 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 0 | ||
| Lens B | 2021–22 | Championnat National 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 273 | 5 | 32 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 312 | 6 | ||
International
- As of 17 June 2019[8]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mali | 2009 | 1 | 0 |
| 2010 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2016 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 36 | 2 | |
- Scores and results list Mali's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sow goal.[8]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 June 2015 | Centre Sportif Maâmora, Salé, Morocco |  Libya | 2–1 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 2 | 14 November 2015 | Francistown Stadium, Francistown, Botswana |  Botswana | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
Lens
Mali
- Africa Cup of Nations bronze: 2013[9][10]