MYPA sign Dawda Bah

Dawda Bah joins MYPA

Finnish Veikkausliiga club MYPA have signed Gambia international midfielder Dawda Bah on a one-year contract, this blog can report.

The 30-year-old midfielder, who has been without a club since leaving Veikkausliiga rivals Kuopion Palloseura (KuPS), finally found himself a new home in Myllykoski after he signed on a free transfer with his deal set to run until the end of the 2014 league season.

“Dawda is the player who [head coach] Antti Muurinen has been wanting for a long time. Bah was here for 10 days and in the meantime, we had a discussion with our partners. We received funding from them, which is only used [to] cover Dawda Bah’s salaries. His contract would not be realized without external funding,” MYPA executive director Marco Manso gave a rundown of how his club came into an agreement with the Gambian.

The former FC Augsburg player reunites with former coach Antti Muurinen, who has helped him become of the best midfielders in Finnish football under their time at champions HJK Helsinki.

The MYPA boss said: “Dawda Bah is a big fish in our [net]. This is a great investment in [our club] and is great to have such an experienced player in our team. Bah is a player who is able to play in a midfield position any time – at his best, he is great,”

“Bah brings to our team experience in addition to the quality and depth [in our squad]. It’s great to work with him again after our time at HJK [Helsinki], which made it easier for us to have him,” he added.

Bah started his professional career in 2005 with Finnish club Kokkolan Palloveikot (KPV) and became a key player for the second tier club where he became the leading goal scorer in the division.

He later drew interest from Veikkausliiga [top tier] clubs, but decided to stay with KPV for another season. Belarussian club FC MTZ-RIPO had offered 200.000 Euros for the Gambian, but he turned down a move to the Belarus club.

He had had trials with Norwegian side Odd Grenland, but did not get a contract offer. In January 2007, Bah trialled with Algerian club USM Blida, but the clubs could not agree on the transfer fee.

He started the 2007 season with KPV, but moved to Helsinki on a loan to Veikkausliiga club HJK. He debuted in a UEFA Cup match against FC Etzella of Luxembourg and scored a goal.

Later, the capital city club bought him from KPV and offered him a three-year contract. In 2009, Dave as he is fondly called was one of the most important features in the Finnish title winning side HJK Helsinki, scoring eight times and assisting eight times in 25 league games.

He became the first Gambian to play in the German Bundesliga after he signed for FC Augsburg in 2011.

The 6ft 2in midfielder is currently valued at €300,000 by Transfermarkt, a German-based website that has footballing information, such as scores, results, transfer news, and fixtures.