Issa Ba (born 7 October 1981) is a Senegalese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Ba was born on 7 October 1981 in Dakar, Senegal. He began playing football in 1998 at local club, AS Police. In 2000, he moved to the French club Laval, making his Ligue 2 debut on 18 November when coach Hervé Gauthier sent him in the 85th minute to replace Cyril Yapi in a 0âÂÂ0 draw against Nancy. His following appearance took place on 3 February 2001, when he scored a goal in a 2âÂÂ1 win over Le Mans. In 2004, Ba joined fellow Ligue 2 side Châteauroux. There, he played in both legs of the 2004âÂÂ05 UEFA Cup where they were defeated 6âÂÂ1 on aggregate by Club Brugge. In the same season, he scored a career-best seven goals in the league. Subsequently, Ba joined Auxerre in 2006, making his Ligue 1 debut on 27 August when coach Jean Fernandez sent him in the 76th minute to replace Frédéric Thomas in a 1âÂÂ0 away loss to Nancy. He helped his side win the 2006 Intertoto Cup, playing in the 4âÂÂ1 win against Farul ConstanÃÂa in the first leg of the final. Afterwards, the team played in the 2006âÂÂ07 UEFA Cup, reaching the group stage where Ba made four appearances. On 2 November 2008, he made his last Ligue 1 appearance in Auxerre's 1âÂÂ0 loss to Caen, having a total of 24 matches in the competition.
In 2009, Ba joined Spanish third league team Terrassa, but did not make a single league appearance there. Then he went to play for Wisà Âa Kraków, making his Ekstraklasa debut on 27 February 2010, as coach Maciej Skorà ¼a sent him in the 70th minute to replace TomÃ¡à ¡ Jirsák in a 1âÂÂ0 away loss to GKS Beà Âchatów. After 10 league appearances for Wisà Âa, Ba switched countries again, going to Romania to join FCM Târgu MureÃÂ. He made his Liga I debut on 4 October 2010 under coach Ioan SabÃÂu in a 0âÂÂ0 draw against Victoria BrÃÂneÃÂti. In the middle of the 2011âÂÂ12 season, Ba left Târgu Mureàand signed with Gaz Metan MediaÃÂ. In May 2012, Ba went to play for Dinamo BucureÃÂti. In his debut, he played as a starter under coach Dario Bonetti, forming a central midfield partnership with compatriot Boubacar Mansaly during the penalty shoot-out victory against CFR Cluj in the 2012 Supercupa României. Subsequently, he played in a 2âÂÂ0 home loss to Metalist Kharkiv in the 2012âÂÂ13 Europa League play-off round, having a total of nine matches in European competitions (including one appearance in the Intertoto Cup). On 17 November, he scored a goal in a 1âÂÂ1 draw against Viitorul ConstanÃÂa. Ba made his last Liga I appearance on 23 November 2012 in a 2âÂÂ1 home win over OÃÂelul GalaÃÂi, totaling 50 matches with one goal in the competition. In 2014, he returned to Senegal to play for ASC Diaraf. Afterwards, Ba joined Kuwait Premier League side Al-Shabab where he ended his career in 2017.
Ba made his debut for Senegal on 9 July 2000 under coach Peter Schnittger in a 0âÂÂ0 draw against Egypt in the 2002 World Cup qualifiers. Subsequently, he played in a 1âÂÂ0 loss to Togo during the 2002 African Cup of Nations qualifiers. Then he made six appearances during the 2006 World Cup qualifiers. Coach Abdoulaye Sarr selected Ba to be part of the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations squad where he made five appearances and scored once in the 2âÂÂ0 group stage victory against Zimbabwe. Senegal reached the semi-finals where they were defeated 2âÂÂ1 by Egypt. Ba made his last appearance for the national team on 1 March 2006 in a 2âÂÂ1 friendly win against Norway, having a total of 18 matches with one goal for the Lions of Teranga.
Auxerre
Dinamo BucureÃÂti