Demba Ba

From TheChels.info - The Chelsea Football Club Wiki

Demba Ba
0Full Name	Demba Ba
0Date of Birth	25 May 1985
0Place of Birth	Sèvres, France
0Position	Striker
0Chelsea career	2013 - 2014
0Debut	5 January 2013
0Games (goals)	51 (14)
0Other clubs	Rouen Mouscron 1899 Hoffenheim West Ham United Newcastle United Beşiktaş

Demba Ba (born 25 May 1985 in Sèvres, France) is a Senegalese international striker who played for Chelsea from January 2013 until the summer of 2014, having signed from Newcastle United. Although mainly employed as a back-up to Fernando Torres during his one-and-a-half seasons at the club, he made over 50 first team appearances for the Blues (mostly as a substitute) and scored some memorable goals.

Contents 1 Before Chelsea 1.1 Early career 1.2 1899 Hoffenheim 1.3 West Ham United 1.4 Newcastle United 2 Chelsea career 3 International 4 Statistics 5 Goals 6 Honours

Before Chelsea

Early career

Born in the Parisian suburb of Sèvres, Ba played youth football for Port Autonome du Havre, Frileuse and Montrouge, but failed to make an impression during trials at Lyon and Auxerre. He then moved to England in an effort to further his career, joining Watford, having also had a trial at Barnsley. Handed a one year deal at the Hertfordshire club in 2004, his progress suffered a blow when Ray Lewington was sacked early the following year. With no prospect of first team football under new manager Aidy Boothroyd he left the club in March 2005 without making an appearance. [1]

Ba then returned to France to join Rouen, where he proved a hit, scoring 22 goals in 26 appearances in his debut season. His performances attracted interest from various clubs and he eventually signed for Belgian Jupiler League side Mouscron, where he had an instant impact, scoring in his first three games. He then suffered a serious injury (a fractured tibia and fibula) that would keep him out for eight months. Upon his return to full fitness in April 2007 he continued in prolific goalscoring fashion, scoring seven goals in nine games.

1899 Hoffenheim

In the summer of 2007 Ba moved to Germany, joining ambitious second-tier club 1899 Hoffenheim for a fee of €3 million. He scored 12 goals in 30 games in his debut season, helping his side gain promotion to the top flight for the first time in their history. He continued to find the net in the Bundesliga, contributing 14 goals in 35 games, attracting interest from VfB Stuttgart. He was set to join the club in the summer of 2009, but he failed a medical due to a problem reportedly related to his earlier leg injury. Ba's desire to leave led to strained relationship with his club, [2] and despite extending his contract at Hoffenheim in December 2009 Ba continued to seek a move. In January 2011 his relationship with the club broke down after he refused to attend a winter training camp, the striker claiming that the club had reneged on an agreement to sell him to a Premier League club, reported to be West Ham United. [3] Having threatened to prevent him from playing for six months for breaching his contract, Hoffenheim eventually agreed a deal with Stoke City for a reported fee of £6m, however Ba again failed a medical. [4]

West Ham United

Later in January Ba finally completed a move to the Premier League, signing for West Ham United for an undisclosed fee based on appearances. Due to the potential knee problems that had been highlighted in his medical at Stoke, Ba was offered a pay as you play contract by the London club. He proved a success at West Ham, scoring 7 goals in 12 league appearances, but his goals couldn't save his side from relegation. However the Hammers' demotion allowed Ba to activate a clause in his contract allowing him to move for free, leading to interest from various Premier League clubs.

Newcastle United

Ba signed a three-year deal with Newcastle United in June 2011, and within a few weeks he had made a significant impact, scoring eight goals (including two hat-tricks) by November. His good form continued over the winter, and he was named Premier League Player of the Month for December. By the time he left to represent Senegal in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations he had scored 15 goals for the Magpies, behind only Robin van Persie in the scoring charts. During the tournament Ba's international team-mate Papiss Cissé also signed for Newcastle, and the pair returned earlier than they'd hoped with Senegal exiting the tournament at the group stage. Ba scored upon his return to the side in a home victory over Aston Villa on 5 February, but finding himself pushed out wide with Cissé now occupying the central striker's role he failed to find the net for the remainder of the season.

Ba's goalscoring form returned during the 2012-13 season, the striker scoring 13 goals in 20 league games before the turn of the year. By December it had been widely reported that his contract contained a release clause (variously reported as a fee of £7m or £7.5m), and Newcastle sought to offer Ba a new contract, partially with a view to securing his long-term future at the club via the removal of the clause. [5] As the January transfer window approached speculation grew that Chelsea were ready to activate the clause and offer the striker a move to Stamford Bridge. [6]

Chelsea career

Ba's signing for Chelsea was confirmed on 4 January 2013, the Senegalese international joining for an undisclosed fee, though it had been widely reported that there was a £7m release fee in his Newcastle contract. [7] Upon signing, Ba commented "It feels good to be here, I'm very happy and very proud... When the club who won the Champions League wants you, the decision is very easy. This club is massive and that's something that helped the decision a lot. It was not a hard one." [8]

Ba made his debut for Chelsea the day after signing, scoring twice as the Blues beat Southampton 5-1 in the FA Cup. He opened the scoring against the same opposition 11 days later, though the Blues eventually drew 2-2. With Fernando Torres the only other genuine senior centre forward in the squad and Chelsea competing on multiple fronts as usual, Ba made regular appearances over the remainder of the season. He went on to score six goals in 22 appearances (17 being starts), the highlight of which was the only goal in an FA Cup quarter-final replay victory over Manchester United; a superb volley at full stretch from a Juan Mata flighted through-ball.

With Samuel Eto'o arriving prior to the 2013-14 season, Ba struggled to win a place in the starting during his first full season at Chelsea, though he often featured from the substitutes' bench. Nonetheless he scored eight goals over the course of the season, many of which were important. Having sealed wins with late goals against Schalke and Southampton having come on as a substitute, in December he scored the only goal of the game in his first UEFA Champions League start; a 1-0 home win against Steaua Bucharest. In early March a late brace against Tottenham Hotspur merely added gloss to the scoreline in terms of the result, but was greeted with glee by the Stamford Bridge faithful as Chelsea beat their fierce rivals 4-0. A month later Ba experienced arguably his greatest moment in a Chelsea shirt. In a UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain Chelsea had trailed 3-1 after the first leg and were 1-0 up with minutes remaining in the second leg at Stamford Bridge, knowing that one more goal without reply would send them through on the away goals rule. In the 87th minute Ba – a Parisian and PSG fan – was first to a scuffed César Azpilicueta shot on the six-yard line, scoring the goal that Chelsea needed; the Blues holding on for a 2-0 win that saw them into the semi-finals. Ba later reflected on the goal, commenting "It's the first time I've wished PSG lose and it's me who scores. I'm happy for Chelsea but it's hard to see (PSG) lose". [9] Five days later Ba scored the winner against Swansea City to keep Chelsea's title hopes alive, though these hopes had been all but extinguished by the time they faced Liverpool at Anfield at the end of April, the Merseyside team needing to avoid defeat to keep their title chances in their own hands, with Manchester City their closest rivals in terms of points available. In what was a disastrous match for Liverpool in the context of their season, Steven Gerrard slipped in injury time at the end of the first half, allowing Ba a one-on-one in front of the Kop that he duly converted. Willian later capped a win that delighted the Chelsea support and will be remembered fondly as a result that ultimately denied Liverpool their first league title in almost a quarter of a century.

Despite occasional high points Ba's spell at Chelsea had the feel of a stop-gap during what could be considered a transitional period in the evolution of the squad, and a day after Diego Costa's move to Chelsea was confirmed he flew to Istanbul to finalise a move to Beşiktaş, the reported fee of £8m representing a profit on the amount Chelsea had paid Newcastle United 18 months earlier. [10]

International

Having scored on his debut against Tanzania in June 2007, Ba had played a total of 16 games for Senegal at the time he joined Chelsea, scoring four goals.

Statistics

Season	Prem		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
2012-13	14	2	6	4	2	0	0	0	0	0	22	6
2013-14	19	5	1	0	3	0	6	3	0	0	29	8
Total	33	7	7	4	5	0	6	3	0	0	51	14

Goals

#	Season	Date	Year	Competition	Opponent	Score	Result	Venue
1	2012-13	05 January	2013	FA Cup	Southampton	1-1	5-1	St Mary's Stadium
2	2012-13	05 January	2013	FA Cup	Southampton	4-1	5-1	St Mary's Stadium
3	2012-13	16 January	2013	Premier League	Southampton	1-0	2-2	Stamford Bridge
4	2012-13	02 March	2013	Premier League	West Bromwich Albion	1-0	1-0	Stamford Bridge
5	2012-13	01 April	2013	FA Cup	Manchester United	1-0	1-0	Stamford Bridge
6	2012-13	14 April	2013	FA Cup	Manchester City	1-2	1-2	Wembley Stadium
7	2013-14	06 November	2013	UEFA Champions League	Schalke 04	3-0	3-0	Stamford Bridge
8	2013-14	01 December	2013	Premier League	Southampton	3-1	3-1	Stamford Bridge
9	2013-14	11 December	2013	UEFA Champions League	Steaua Bucharest	1-0	1-0	Stamford Bridge
10	2013-14	08 March	2014	Premier League	Tottenham Hotspur	3-0	4-0	Stamford Bridge
11	2013-14	08 March	2014	Premier League	Tottenham Hotspur	4-0	4-0	Stamford Bridge
12	2013-14	08 April	2014	UEFA Champions League	Paris Saint-Germain	2-0	2-0	Stamford Bridge
13	2013-14	13 April	2014	Premier League	Swansea City	1-0	1-0	Liberty Stadium
14	2013-14	27 April	2014	Premier League	Liverpool	1-0	2-0	Anfield

Honours

Chelsea

• UEFA Europa League: 2013