PLAYER PROFILE

Bobo Balde

Position: Defence

Height: 6'5

Weight: 13st 4lbs

Date of Birth: 1975-10-05 Marseille, France

Bobo Balde

Dianbobo Balde or 'Bobo' as he is more commonly known, began his career with hometown club, Olympique de Marseille. However, he never broke through into the first team and switched to a lower league team - FC Mulhouse during the 1997/98 season. He was an instant hit featuring in 33 league matches. Mulhouse were then relegated, and Balde moved on again, this time to AS Cannes.

It was in August 2000 when things really started to happen for Balde. He joined newly-promoted Toulouse FC, and although their stay in the top flight was brief, it was long enough to alert Glasgow Celtic of his defensive capabilities.

Balde is a ferocious tackler who is dangerous and not afraid of getting forward. Exactly the kind of player that would do well at Parkhead, and so, in July 2001 he signed on a free transfer.

He's been a key figure ever since his arrival at Celtic, especially during the 2003/04 season when he was the rock at the heart of the Hoops defence.

Although French by birth, he, along with Hoops team-mate Mohammed Sylla both play their international football for Guinea. He made his debut during the 2002 African Nations Cup and put in some fine displays for his country during that and the 2004 tournament, when he helped Guinea reach the quarter-finals.

2005/6 proved another successful season for Balde, as he played 33 times, scoring once in the emphatic 3-0 victory over Rangers in November, but he struggled for fitness the following campaign. He had undergone stomach surgery in the summer and then barely recovered from that before suffering a broken leg on Boxing Day 2006.