Wilfried Bony facts for kids
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Bony with Swansea City in 2013
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Wilfried Guemiand Bony | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 10 December 1988 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Bingerville, Ivory Coast | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2002 | Maracanã Bingerville | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2005 | Cyril Domoraud Academy | ||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2008 | Issia Wazy | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | → Sparta Prague B (loan) | 14 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2011 | Sparta Prague | 59 | (22) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | Vitesse | 65 | (46) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Swansea City | 54 | (25) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2017 | Manchester City | 36 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | → Stoke City (loan) | 10 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Swansea City | 22 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | → Al-Arabi (loan) | 7 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Al-Ittihad | 10 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | NEC Nijmegen | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Always Ready | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2019 | Ivory Coast | 56 | (16) | ||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 May 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12:26, 14 July 2019 (UTC) |
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Wilfried Guemiand Bony (born 10 December 1988) is a former professional footballer from Ivory Coast. He was known for playing as a striker, which means he was a forward player whose main job was to score goals.
Bony started his career in Ivory Coast before moving to Europe. He played for clubs like Sparta Prague in the Czech Republic and Vitesse in the Netherlands. He became a top scorer in the Dutch league, which led to a big move to Premier League club Swansea City. Later, he joined Manchester City in an even bigger transfer deal. He also played for Stoke City on loan and returned to Swansea.
Wilfried Bony also played for his country, Ivory Coast. He represented them in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and helped them win the Africa Cup of Nations in 2015.
Contents
Early Life and Football Beginnings
Wilfried Bony was born in Bingerville, a city in Ivory Coast. From a young age, he loved playing football on the streets. He later joined the Maracanã Bingerville football school to improve his skills. He also took part in many school and city football competitions. Before becoming a professional, he spent three years training at the Cyril Domoraud Academy in Bingerville.
Club Career Highlights
Starting in Ivory Coast
Bony began his professional football journey at Issia Wazy in Ivory Coast's top football league. He quickly showed his talent, finishing as the top goalscorer in the 2007 season.
Moving to Europe: Sparta Prague
In 2007, Bony had a trial with English club Liverpool, but he didn't get a contract. Later that year, he joined Czech club Sparta Prague on a loan. He first played for their B team and helped them win a championship.
He then joined Sparta Prague permanently and became a key player for their main team. In the 2009–10 season, he scored nine goals, helping Sparta Prague win the Czech First League title. He continued to score many goals, including five in the UEFA Europa League. His impressive performance led to a transfer to Dutch club Vitesse in January 2011.
Success at Vitesse
Bony signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Vitesse. He scored a goal in his very first game for the club. In his first full season, he scored 12 goals in the Eredivisie, the top Dutch league. This made him Vitesse's top scorer that season.
The 2012–13 season was amazing for Bony. He scored a hat-trick (three goals in one game) against Heerenveen. He also scored both goals in a big 2–0 win against Ajax, which was Vitesse's first win at the Amsterdam Arena since 2001. Bony ended the season as the Eredivisie's top scorer with 31 goals in 30 matches. He was also given the Golden Shoe award for being the best player in the Netherlands.
Joining Swansea City
On 11 July 2013, Bony moved to Welsh club Swansea City for a record fee of £12 million. He quickly made an impact, scoring two goals in his first competitive game for Swansea in the UEFA Europa League.
In his first Premier League season (2013–14), Bony scored 25 goals across all competitions. He even scored a winning goal against Manchester United in the FA Cup, helping Swansea win at Old Trafford for the first time ever. In 2014, Bony was the Premier League's top scorer for the entire calendar year with 20 goals.
Time at Manchester City
On 14 January 2015, Bony signed with Manchester City for a fee that could reach £28 million. This made him one of the most expensive African footballers at that time. He made his debut for Manchester City in February 2015.
He scored his first league goal for City in March 2015. In the middle of 2015, Bony got malaria, which affected his training. However, he still scored two goals in a 5–1 win against AFC Bournemouth in October 2015. He also scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in November 2015. In 2016, he helped Manchester City win the League Cup. After a new manager, Pep Guardiola, arrived, Bony was allowed to leave the club.
Loan to Stoke City
On 31 August 2016, Bony joined Stoke City on a loan for one season. He scored two goals in a 3–1 victory against his former club, Swansea, in October. After playing for Ivory Coast in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, he was not often chosen to play for Stoke.
Return to Swansea and Later Clubs
On 31 August 2017, Bony returned to Swansea City. He scored his first goal back at Swansea against Stoke City in December 2017. He also captained Swansea to a win against West Bromwich Albion. However, he later suffered an ankle injury. Swansea was relegated from the Premier League that season.
After his contract with Swansea ended in May 2019, Bony moved on loan to Qatari club Al-Arabi. In January 2020, he signed with Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia. He left the club by mutual agreement after 10 months.
In January 2022, after being without a club for over a year, Bony returned to the Netherlands to play for NEC Nijmegen. He made only one short appearance due to injuries. In February 2023, Bony signed with Always Ready, a club in Bolivia, becoming the first Ivorian to play professional football there.
International Career
Wilfried Bony made his debut for the Ivory Coast in late 2010.
Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup
In 2012, Bony scored a goal in the African Cup of Nations, helping Ivory Coast win a group stage match against Angola.
He was part of Ivory Coast's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In their first match against Japan, he scored the equalizing goal, and Ivory Coast went on to win 2–1. He also scored against Greece in the final group stage match.
Bony played a key role in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. In the quarter-finals, he scored two headers against Algeria. In the final, even though he missed his penalty in the shoot-out, his team eventually won the tournament!
Personal Life
Wilfried Bony's father is Amedee Shemiz Bony. Wilfried is very good at languages and speaks French, English, and Czech fluently. His son, Geoffroy Bony, is also a professional footballer, playing for EFL League Two club Newport County. His younger son, Orphee Bony, is also part of Newport County's development squad.
Honours
Sparta Prague
- Czech First League: 2009–10
Manchester City
- Football League Cup: 2015–16
Ivory Coast
- Africa Cup of Nations: 2015
Individual
- Eredivisie top scorer: 2012–13
- Dutch Footballer of the Year: 2012–13
- Swansea City Player of the Year: 2013–14
- Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2015
See also
In Spanish: Wilfried Bony para niños
