Ballou Tabla

Ballou Tabla
Personal information
Full name Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla
Date of birth (1999-03-31) 31 March 1999
Place of birth Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Height 175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position Winger
Club information
Current team
 Barcelona B
Youth career
2012–2013 Montreal Impact
2013–2015 Panellinios
2015 Montreal Impact
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016 FC Montreal 21 (5)
2017 Montreal Impact 21 (2)
2018– Barcelona B 19 (2)
National team‡
2014–2015 Canada U17 5 (1)
2016– Canada U20 7 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11 October 2018
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22 January 2017

Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla (born 31 March 1999) is a Canadian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Spanish club FC Barcelona B.

Early life

Tabla was born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on 13 March 1999 and as a child moved to Canada.[1] He was raised in Québec.[2]

Club career

Early career

Tabla first joined the academy of the Montreal Impact of Major League Soccer in 2012. On 9 December 2013, he left the club to join local amateur team CS Panellinios. In April 2015, he returned to the Impact as part of the team's U18 side which finished the 2014/15 U.S. Soccer Development Academy in first place in the overall standings.[3] He also played for Jets Pointe-aux-Trembles, another local amateur team.[1]

FC Montreal

On 10 November 2015, it was announced that Tabla had signed for FC Montreal, the second team of the Impact which competed in the United Soccer League, the second tier of the Canadian soccer league system.[3] He made his professional debut on 9 April 2016 and scored his first professional goal as Montreal fell 1–2 to Toronto FC II.[4] While with FC Montreal, Tabla regularly trained with the first team which included fellow Ivorian Didier Drogba.[5] In February 2016, Tabla and three of his teammates had a training stint with Bologna F.C. 1909 of Serie A.[6]

In April 2016, it was revealed that Tabla was being eyed by numerous big teams in Europe including Premier League clubs Arsenal, Manchester City, and Chelsea, along with F.C Barcelona. He was first spotted by scouts during a U20 match in March 2016 in which Canada beat England by a score of 2–1. It was also revealed that several European clubs had inquired about taking the player in on a trial.[5]

Montreal Impact

On 20 October 2016, the Montreal Impact announced they had signed Tabla to a two-year contract as a Homegrown Player, which would begin in the 2017 season.[7][8]

On 8 August 2017, the Montreal Gazette reported that Tabla "missed practice Tuesday as the MLS team confirmed it has received a transfer offer for the 18-year-old from a second-division European club."[9] The next day Tabla issues an apology through the Twitter social media website.[10][11]

Barcelona B

On 25 January 2018, Tabla signed with FC Barcelona B on an initial 3-year deal, with an optional 2-year extension. His buyout clause was set at €25 million for the first three years, which would rise to €75 million if his contract option is picked up.[12]

International career

Tabla was 14 years old when he first participated in a national camp. He has represented Canada at the U15, U17, U18, and U20 levels.[2] He was named to Canada's squad for the 2015 CONCACAF U-17 Championship.[13] In 2014, he was named the Canada U17 Male Player of the Year.[14] In August 2016, Tabla was called up to the U-20 team for a pair of friendlies against Costa Rica[15] In 2016, he was named the Canada U-20 Male Player of the Year for his performances with the U-20 squad in friendlies against England and Honduras.[16]

He later refused call-ups to Canada, citing a possibility to play for the Ivory Coast.[17] It was reported that he sought advice from Didier Drogba, a former Ivory Coast striker with whom he struck a friendship during their time in Montreal.[18] In September 2018, Tabla declared his international allegiance to Canada.[19]

Career statistics

Club

As of October 22, 2017[20]
Club League Season League Playoffs Cup 1 Continental 2 Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
FC Montreal USL 2016 215000000215
Montreal Impact MLS 2017 212003100243
Total 42 7 0 0 3 1 0 0 45 8
Club League Season League Playoffs Cup 3 Continental 4 Total
Barcelona B La Liga 2 2017–18 1110000––111
Total 11 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 12 1
Career Total 538003100569

Honours

Club

Barcelona

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 "Biographie". Self. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  2. 1 2 "CSA Profile". Canada Soccer. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla joins FC Montreal". Montreal Impact. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  4. ↑ "USL Profile". United Soccer League. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  5. 1 2 O'ROURKE, Peter. "Impact's Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla eyed by Premier League clubs - source". ESPN FC. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "Four players from FC Montreal in Bologna for a training camp". Montreal Impact. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  7. ↑ Montreal Impact (October 20, 2016). "Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla signs MLS contract with Impact".
  8. ↑ Oliver Tremblay (October 20, 2016). "Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla with the first team: the reactions". Montreal Impact.
  9. ↑ Press, ,The Canadian. "Montreal Impact midfielder Ballou Tabla misses practice amid transfer dispute". www.montrealgazette.com. Retrieved 2017-08-14.
  10. ↑ "Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla sorry for skipping Montreal training in transfer push". ESPNFC.com. Retrieved 2017-08-14.
  11. ↑ Tabla, Ballou (2017-08-09). "pic.twitter.com/ESlxtTGAqY". @balloutabla. Retrieved 2017-08-14.
  12. ↑ https://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/barca-b/news/2017-2018/agreement-with-montreal-impact-for-transfer-of-ballou-tablaagreement-with-montreal-impact-for-transfer-of-ballou-tabla
  13. ↑ "Canada M17 squad selected for CONCACAF U-17 Championship". Canada Soccer. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  14. ↑ "QUEBEC JEAN-YVES BALLOU TABLA PLAYER NAMED CANADIAN U17 MEN OF THE YEAR IN CANADA". Federation de Soccer de Quebec. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  15. ↑ "Canada m20 announces squad and matches against Costa Rica". Canada Soccer Association. August 24, 2016.
  16. ↑ Canada Soccer Association (December 14, 2016). "Tabla and Fleming win 2016 Canadian U-20 Players of the Year". Canada Soccer Association.
  17. ↑ Marsden, Sam (March 27, 2018). "Barcelona's Ballou Tabla torn between choosing Canada, Ivory Coast". ESPN. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  18. ↑ Taiwo, Taiye (March 28, 2018). "Barcelona's Ballou Tabla undecided on Cote d'Ivoire future". Goal. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Ballou a choisi de représenter le Canada". Réseau des sports (in French). September 25, 2018. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  20. ↑ Soccerway. "Ballou Tabla profile".
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