Thievy Bifouma

Thievy Guivane Bifouma Koulossa (born 13 May 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Persian Gulf Pro League club Esteghlal Khuzestan.

Thievy Bifouma

Bifouma before a match with Reims
Personal information
Full name	Thievy Guivane Bifouma Koulossa[1]
Date of birth	(1992-05-13) 13 May 1992 (age 32)[2]
Place of birth	Saint-Denis, France
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[3]
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Esteghlal Khuzestan
Number	23
Youth career
1999–2006	CS Meaux
2006–2010	Strasbourg
2010–2011	Espanyol
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2011	Espanyol B	6	(3)
2011–2016	Espanyol	32	(4)
2012–2013	→ Las Palmas (loan)	38	(11)
2014	→ West Bromwich Albion (loan)	6	(2)
2014–2015	→ Almería (loan)	29	(4)
2015–2016	→ Granada (loan)	7	(0)
2016	→ Reims (loan)	14	(4)
2016–2017	Bastia	14	(2)
2017	Osmanlıspor	17	(1)
2017–2018	Sivasspor	28	(6)
2018–2019	Ankaragücü	13	(1)
2019–2020	Yeni Malatyaspor	31	(8)
2020–2021	Shenzhen	9	(0)
2021	→ Heilongjiang Ice City (loan)	0	(0)
2022	Bursaspor	10	(1)
2022–2023	OFI	11	(0)
2023–2024	A.E. Kifisia	29	(2)
2024–	Esteghlal Khuzestan	12	(3)
International career‡
2011	France U20	1	(0)
2012–2013	France U21	3	(0)
2014–	Congo	41	(16)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:25, 15 January 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 September 2023

He spent most of his early career in Spain, totalling 68 La Liga games and eight goals for Espanyol, Almería and Granada in addition to a season on loan at Las Palmas in the Segunda División. As well as brief spells in England with West Bromwich Albion and France with Reims and Bastia, he represented four clubs in Turkey's Süper Lig.

Formerly a youth international for France, where he was born, Bifouma made his senior debut for the Congo in 2014. He competed at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, where he was joint top scorer.

Club career

Espanyol

Bifouma was born in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis.^[4] He joined RCD Espanyol in Spain in early 2010, not yet aged 18, signing from RC Strasbourg Alsace. On 13 March 2011, he made his debut with the Catalans' first team, after coming on as a substitute for Joan Verdú in the dying minutes of a 2–0 La Liga home win against Deportivo de La Coruña.^[5]

On 10 August 2011, in the Copa Catalunya final, Bifouma scored a hat-trick in a 3–0 victory over a FC Barcelona team that was filled with reserve and youth players.^[6] On 17 December, he netted his first goal with the main squad, scoring the opener in an eventual 2–1 away defeat of Sporting de Gijón.^[7]

In September 2012, Bifouma was loaned to UD Las Palmas of Segunda División.^[8] After a successful spell, he extended his contract with Espanyol until 2017.^[9]

On 31 January 2014, Bifouma signed for West Bromwich Albion on a loan deal with a view to a permanent transfer, being awarded the number 50 shirt.^[10][11] He made his debut in the Premier League eight days later, playing the second half and scoring within 36 seconds of taking the pitch in a 3–1 away loss against Crystal Palace.^[12]

Bifouma moved to fellow top-division club UD Almería on 13 August 2014, in a season-long loan.^[13] On 19 March of the following year, he was suspended for one month due to allegations of breach of contract with his former agent;^[14] the ban was lifted days later, and he continued to appear regularly for the Andalusians, which suffered relegation.^[15]

On 19 August 2015, Bifouma was loaned to Granada CF of the same league for one year.^[16] He finished the season with Stade de Reims, also owned by Espanyol.^[17]

Turkey

On 28 July 2016, Bifouma signed for fellow French Ligue 1 club SC Bastia.^[18][19] He was on the move again in the following transfer window, joining Süper Lig's Osmanlıspor on a three-and-a-half-year deal.^[20] He scored just one goal in 22 total games for the team from Ankara, in their 5–1 win at Adanaspor in the Süper Lig on 19 February 2017.^[21]

Remaining in the same league, Bifouma signed a one-year contract with Sivasspor on 9 September 2017.^[22] Only eight days later, he netted twice in a 4–2 victory on his return to the Osmanlı Stadium.^[23]

Bifouma went back to the Turkish capital in June 2018, agreeing to a three-year deal at MKE Ankaragücü.^[24] He scored once during his brief tenure, a late consolation in a 2–1 home defeat to Kasımpaşa S.K. on 2 September,^[25] and moved on again on 22 January 2019 when he signed with third-placed Yeni Malatyaspor for an undisclosed fee.^[26] On 15 December that year, he scored in a 2–0 win at Beşiktaş J.K. which broke the Istanbul club's six-match winning streak.^[27]

On 17 July 2020, Bifouma moved to the Chinese Super League's Shenzhen F.C. on an undisclosed contract for a fee of around €3 million.^[28] The following 19 April, he was released by mutual accord and signed for Heilongjiang Ice City F.C. in the country's second tier.^[29]

Ten months after leaving China with no goals and one assist to his name from nine appearances, Bifouma returned to Turkey in February 2022, signing for a Bursaspor side fighting to remain in the TFF First League.^[30] He was one of 17 players to leave following their relegation.^[31]

Later career

On 16 September 2022, Bifouma joined OFI Crete F.C. on a two-year contract.^[32]

International career

A French youth international, Bifouma opted to represent Congo at the senior level, receiving a FIFA clearance on 1 August 2014.^[33] He made his full debut a day later, replacing Julsy Boukama-Kaya in the 68th minute of a 2–0 away loss against Rwanda in the second leg of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations second qualification round.^[34]

On 6 September 2014, in the same competition, Bifouma scored a brace in a 3–2 win in Nigeria.^[35] At the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations finals, he netted Congo's first goal of the tournament in a 1–1 draw with hosts Equatorial Guinea.^[36] He also scored the opener in their 2–1 group phase victory over Burkina Faso, a result which qualified the nation to the quarter-finals for the first time since 1992,^[37] where he grabbed his final goal against the DR Congo, putting his team ahead 2–0 but in an eventual 4–2 defeat;^[38] with three goals, he was one of five joint top scorers.^[39]

Having missed over two years of games for reasons including travel restrictions in China during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bifouma was recalled to the Congolese squad in September 2020.^[40] He finally played again the following 26 March, in a goalless draw at home to Senegal in 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification.^[41][42]

Career statistics

Club

As of 26 December 2024^[43]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Espanyol B	2010–11	Tercera División	6	3	0	0	—		6	3
Espanyol	2010–11	La Liga	2	0	0	0	—		2	0
	2011–12		19	1	4[a]	0	—		23	1
	2012–13		0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2013–14		11	3	3[a]	0	—		14	3
	Total		32	4	7	0	0	0	39	4
Las Palmas (loan)	2012–13	Segunda División	38	11	6[a]	2	—		44	13
West Bromwich Albion (loan)	2013–14	Premier League	6	2	0	0	—		6	2
Almería (loan)	2014–15	La Liga	29	4	1[a]	0	—		29	4
Granada (loan)	2015–16	La Liga	7	0	1[a]	0	—		8	0
Reims (loan)	2015–16	Ligue 1	14	4	0	0	—		14	4
Bastia	2016–17	Ligue 1	14	2	1[b]	0	—		15	2
Osmanlıspor	2016–17	Süper Lig	16	1	3[c]	0	2[d]	0	21	1
	2017–18		1	0	0	0	—		1	0
	Total		17	1	3	0	2	0	22	1
Sivasspor	2017–18	Süper Lig	28	6	2[c]	0	—		30	6
Ankaragücü	2018–19	Süper Lig	13	1	0	0	—		13	1
Yeni Malatyaspor	2018–19	Süper Lig	10	2	2[c]	0	—		12	2
	2019–20		21	6	4[c]	0	4[d]	0	29	6
	Total		31	8	6	0	4	0	41	8
Shenzhen	2020	Chinese Super League	9	0	1[e]	0	—		10	0
Heilongjiang Ice City (loan)	2021	China League One	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
Bursaspor	2021–22	TFF First League	10	1	0	0	—		10	1
OFI	2022–23	Super League Greece	11	0	0	0	—		11	0
A.E. Kifisia	2023–24	Super League Greece	29	2	2	0	—		31	2
Esteghlal Khuzestan	2024–25	Persian Gulf Pro League	12	3	1	0	—		13	3
Career total			306	46	31	2	6	0	343	48

1. Appearances in Copa del Rey
2. Appearance in Coupe de la Ligue
3. Appearances in Turkish Cup
4. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
5. Appearance in Chinese FA Cup

International

As of 10 September 2023^[44]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Congo	2014	7	2
	2015	9	8
	2016	4	0
	2017	7	2
	2018	4	3
	2019	0	0
	2020	0	0
	2021	2	0
	2022	4	0
	2023	4	1
Total		41	16

As of 23 March 2023^[43]

Scores and results list Congo's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bifouma goal.

List of international goals scored by Thievy Bifouma

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	6 September 2014	U. J. Esuene, Calabar, Nigeria	Nigeria	2–1	3–2	2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
2				3–1
3	10 January 2015	Léopold Sédar Senghor, Dakar, Senegal	Cape Verde	1–0	2–3	Friendly
4	17 January 2015	Estadio de Bata, Bata, Equatorial Guinea	Equatorial Guinea	1–1	1–1	2015 Africa Cup of Nations
5	25 January 2015	Estadio de Bata, Bata, Equatorial Guinea	Burkina Faso	1–0	2–1	2015 Africa Cup of Nations
6	31 January 2015	Estadio de Bata, Bata, Equatorial Guinea	DR Congo	2–0	2–4	2015 Africa Cup of Nations
7	13 October 2015	Alphonse Massemba-Débat, Brazzaville, Congo	Benin	1–0	2–1	Friendly
8				2–1
9	14 November 2015	Addis Ababa Stadium, Addis-Abeba, Ethiopia	Ethiopia	1–1	4–3	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
10	17 November 2015	Alphonse Massemba-Débat, Brazzaville, Congo	Ethiopia	2–1	2–1	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
11	10 June 2017	Stade des Martyrs, Kinshasa, DR Congo	DR Congo	1–1	1–3	2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
12	1 September 2017	Baba Yara, Kumasi, Ghana	Ghana	1–0	1–1	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
13	25 March 2018	Aimé Bergéal, Mantes-la-Jolie, France	Guinea-Bissau	2–0	2–0	Friendly
14	9 September 2018	Alphonse Massemba-Débat, Brazzaville, Congo	Zimbabwe	1–1	1–1	2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
15	18 November 2018	Alphonse Massemba-Débat, Brazzaville, Congo	DR Congo	1–1	1–1	2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
16	23 March 2023	Alphonse Massemba-Débat, Brazzaville, Congo	South Sudan	1–1	1–2	2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

See also

• List of top international men's football goalscorers by country

References

1. "Premier League clubs submit squad lists" (PDF). Premier League. 4 February 2014. p. 39. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
2. "Thievy Bifouma". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
3. "Thievy: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
4. ""Il ne faut pas avoir peur"" ["There's no need to be afraid"] (in French). Le Parisien. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
5. Alonso and Verdu fire Espanyol; ESPN Soccernet, 13 March 2011
6. El Espanyol se da un festín en el derbi de la mano de Thievy (Espanyol indulge themselves in derby courtesy of Thievy); Marca, 10 August 2011 (in Spanish)
7. Sporting Gijón 1–2 Espanyol; ESPN Soccernet, 17 December 2011
8. El delantero Thievy jugará cedido en Las Palmas por el Espanyol (Forward Thievy will play in Las Palmas on loan from Espanyol); Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, 4 September 2012 (in Spanish)
9. Thievy, españolista hasta el 2017 (Thievy, españolista until 2017); Tinta Amarilla, 12 July 2013 (in Spanish)
10. "Thievy jugarà al West Bromwich Albion" [Thievy will play in West Bromwich Albion] (in Catalan). RCD Espanyol. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
11. "Albion sign Thievy Bifouna". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
12. Chase, Graham (8 February 2014). "Crystal Palace 3–1 West Bromwich Albion". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
13. "El Almería refuerza su ataque con el fichaje de Thievy" [Almería bolster attack with the signing of Thievy] (in Spanish). UD Almería. 13 August 2014. Archived from the original on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
14. "Thievy, sancionado con un mes por una denuncia de su exagente" [Thievy, suspended for a month due to a complaint from his ex-agent] (in Spanish). Marca. 19 March 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
15. Gregorio, Paco (23 May 2015). "Descenso con un claro responsable (2–3)" [Relegation has a clear guilty party (2–3)] (in Spanish). Diario de Almería. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
16. "¡Thievy ya está aquí!" [Thievy is already here!] (in Spanish). Granada CF. 19 August 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
17. Gonzalez, Lionel (28 January 2016). "L'attaquant Thievy Bifouma rejoint l'effectif du Stade de Reims" [Forward Thievy Bifouma joins Stade de Reims roster] (in French). France 3. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
18. "4 arrivées et 3 départs au Sporting" [4 arrivals and 3 departures at Sporting] (in French). SC Bastia. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
19. "Thievy, traspassat al SC Bastia" [Thievy, transferred to SC Bastia] (in Catalan). RCD Espanyol. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
20. "Osmanlıspor transfer haberi – Thievy Bifouma Osmanlıspor'da" [Osmanlıspor transfer news – Thievy Bifouma to Osmanlıspor] (in Turkish). Yeni Şafak. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
21. "Adanaspor 1–5 Osmanlıspor / Maç özeti" [Adanaspor 1–5 Osmanlıspor / Match highlights] (in Turkish). Skor. 19 February 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
22. "Thievy Bifouma signe pour un an à Sivasspor" [Thievy Bifouma signs for one year at Sivasspor] (in French). L'Équipe. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
23. "Demir Grup Sivasspor, Osmanlıspor'u 4–2 yendi" [Demir Grup Sivasspor, Osmanlıspor beat 4–2] (in Turkish). Anadolu Agency. 17 September 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
24. Waell, Youssef (20 June 2018). "Congolese Thievy Bifouma joins MKE Ankaragücü". KingFut. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
25. McBride, Luke (2 September 2018). "Trezeguet scores winner for Kasimpasa". KingFut. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
26. "Thievy Bifouma (ex-Reims) rejoint Malatyaspor (officiel)" [Thievy Bifouma (ex-Reims) joins Malatyaspor (official)] (in French). Football 365. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
27. Aşıkçı, Emre (15 December 2019). "Football: Besiktas lose to Yeni Malatyaspor 2–0 at home". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
28. "Le Congolais Thievy Bifouma quitte la Turquie pour Shenzhen en Chine" [Congolese Thievy Bifouma leaves Turkey for Shenzhen in China] (in French). Radio France Internationale. 18 July 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
29. M'Poli M'Toama, Ange (19 April 2021). "Mercato: Thievy Bifouma quitte Shenzhen pour la D2 chinoise" [Transfer market: Thievy Bifouma leaves Shenzhen for the Chinese second division] (in French). Africa Foot United. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
30. Delourme, Camille (9 February 2022). "Transferts: Thievy Bifouma à Bursaspor, la dernière chance de relance?" [Transfers: Thievy Bifouma to Bursaspor, last chance of a comeback?] (in French). Agence d'Information d'Afrique Centrale. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
31. "Bursaspor eriyor! Bakın kimler gitti" [Bursaspor are melting! Look who left!] (in Turkish). Bursasporda Bugün. 4 July 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
32. Tsouvaras, Thomas (16 September 2022). "ΟΦΗ μεταγραφές: Ανακοίνωσε τον Μπιφουμά για δύο χρόνια" [OFI transfers: Bifouma announced for two years] (in Greek). Sport 24. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
33. Congo: La FIFA donne feu vert à Thievy Bifouma (Congo: FIFA gives green light to Thievy Bifouma); Africa Top Sports, 1 August 2014 (in French)
34. Rwanda 2–0 Congo Archived 3 August 2014 at archive.today; African Soccer, 2 August 2014
35. Congo stun Nigeria in five-goal show; SuperSport, 6 September 2014
36. Hughes, Ian (17 January 2015). "Equatorial Guinea 1–1 Congo". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
37. "Congo 2–1 Burkina Faso". BBC Sport. 25 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
38. Hughes, Ian (31 January 2015). "Congo 2–4 DR Congo". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
39. Isabirye, David (15 January 2017). "AFCON Top Scorers: A look at the previous tournament net busters". Kawowo Sports. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
40. "Congo: Bifouma de retour dans la liste contre la Gambie!" [Congo: Bifouma back in the list against the Gambia!] (in French). Afrik Foot. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
41. Golden Eloué, James (25 March 2021). "Congo-Sénégal: Thievy Bifouma promet d'être à la hauteur" [Congo-Senegal: Thievy Bifouma promises to be up to the task] (in French). Agence d'Information d'Afrique Centrale. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
42. Sambe, Ndiasse (16 March 2021). "CAN 2021: le Congo-B tient tête au Sénégal et garde ses chances de qualification" [2021 ACN: Republic of Congo stand up to Senegal and maintain their chances of qualification] (in French). Radio France International. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
43. Thievy Bifouma at Soccerway
44. Thievy Bifouma at National-Football-Teams.com

External links

• Thievy Bifouma at BDFutbol
• Thievy Bifouma at the Turkish Football Federation
• Thievy Bifouma at National-Football-Teams.com