Garra Dembélé

Early career

Born in Gennevilliers, Dembélé began his career in INF Clairefontaine, before being transferred to Auxerre. On 1 June 2006, he was released from the club for disciplinary reasons. In January 2007, he joined Istres. After six months there, Dembélé moved to AGF Århus. In July 2008, he signed with Pierikos in Greece.

Lokomotiv Plovdiv

After a year and a half, in which he played 32 games and scored six goals, Dembélé left Pierikos to sign with Bulgarian club Lokomotiv Plovdiv in January 2010. He appeared in 14 games for the Smurfs and scored five goals.

Levski Sofia

On 5 June 2010, it was announced that Dembélé had signed for Levski Sofia. On 9 June 2010, Dembélé was officially presented as a Levski Sofia player. The transfer fee was around €200,000 on a three-year contract. He made his unofficial debut against Metalist Kharkiv on 1 July 2010 and scored in a 3–2 win. His official debut for Levski was in a match against Dundalk, in the second qualifying round for Europa League. Levski had won the first match 6–0, with Dembélé scoring once. In the return match Levski won 0–2, with Dembele scoring both goals. In the first round of the A PFG Dembélé scored the winning goal for Levski in the Eternal Derby against CSKA Sofia. He scored a further two goals in the next Europa League qualification round against Swedish Kalmar FF. The play-off against AIK Fotboll saw Dembélé scoring another decisive goal for his new club, ensuring Levski's…

He was part of the France under-18 team from 2003 to 2004. Dembélé was eligible to represent either France or Mali at senior international level, but in November 2010, he chose to play for Mali. Dembélé earned his first call-up to the national side of Mali, the country of his parents, for the friendly match against Congo DR, but did not feature in the game. On 8 February 2011, he finally made his debut for Mali, playing the first 45 minutes of the 0–1 loss against Ivory Coast in a friendly match. Dembélé earned his second cap for Mali in the 1:1 draw with Burkina Faso on 11 November 2011. In January 2012, he was included in the Mali squad for the 2012 African Cup of Nations. On 24 January 2012, Dembélé made his first appearance in an official tournament for Mali, entering the fray as a 64th minute replacement for Cheick Diabaté in the 1–0 win over Guinea. A week later, he scored his first goal for the team during the same tournament, against Botswana. Mali eventually finished in third place, with Dembélé participating in five of their six matches.

Club

International goals

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

While playing in Auxerre he had been convicted of driving while intoxicated resulting in suspension of his driving licence. Later he was again punished for driving without a license. In October 2006, he was accused of rape by a 22-year-old American student while in Rome, but was later released and allowed to return to France. On 2 December 2010, he was arrested in Sofia for drunk driving and producing a fake driving license. On 2 February 2011, Dembélé was handed an eight-month suspended sentence for drink-driving offence. He was handed the suspended sentence with a three-year probation period after being caught drink-driving in December and presenting police with a forged driving licence.