Thierno Ballo
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.
| Ballo playing for Austria U19 in 2019. | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Thierno Mamadou Lamarana Ballo[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 2 January 2002 | ||
| 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 | 39 | (9) |
| 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 | 8 | (3) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18 December 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 03:16, 26 September 2022 (UTC) | |||
Career edit
Chelsea edit
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]
On 31 August 2021, Ballo returned to Austria to join Rapid Wien on loan for the 2021–22 campaign.[6] 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.[7] After only featuring thirteen times in all competitions come January 2022, Ballo's loan was terminated and the forward subsequently returned to Chelsea.[8]
Wolfsberger edit
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.[9]
Career statistics edit
- As of matches played 4 November 2023[5]
| 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 Football Bundesliga | 9 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 4 | |
| Total | 36 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 11 | ||
| Career total | 44 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 64 | 11 | ||
- ^ Includes Austrian Cup
- ^ a b Appearances in the EFL Trophy
- ^ Appearances in the UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League
- ^ Appearance in the 2022–23 Austrian Football Bundesliga#Europa Conference League play-offs
References edit
- ^ "Premier League clubs publish 2020/21 retained lists". premierleague.com. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
- ^ a b Thierno Ballo at WorldFootball.net
- ^ Kinsella, Nizaar (5 January 2018). "Who is Thierno Ballo? Meet Chelsea's new 16-year-old Austrian wonderkid". Goal. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ "Teenage Kicks: Thierno Ballo". Chelsea F.C. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ a b Thierno Ballo at Soccerway
- ^ "Ballo heads on loan to Austria". Chelsea F.C. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ "Admira vs. Rapid Vienna". Soccerway. 23 September 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ Emms, Nick (5 January 2022). "Report: Chelsea Recall Thierno Ballo From Rapid Vienna Loan". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ "NEUE OFFENSIVKRAFT". rzpelletswac.at (in German). Wolfsberger AC. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.