Mahamadou Diarra

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Mahamadou Diarra
Mahamadou Diarra.JPG
Personal information
Full name Mahamadou Diarra
Date of birth (1981-05-18) 18 May 1981 (age 31)
Place of birth Bamako, Mali
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Defensive Midfielder
Club information
Current club Fulham
Number 19
Youth career
1997–1998 Centre Salif Keita
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1998–1999 OFI Crete 21 (2)
1999–2002 Vitesse 69 (9)
2002–2006 Lyon 123 (7)
2006–2011 Real Madrid 90 (3)
2011 Monaco 9 (0)
2012– Fulham 11 (1)
National team‡
2001– Mali 64 (6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:35, 7 April 2012 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 29 February 2012

Mahamadou Diarra (born 18 May 1981 in Bamako) is a Malian footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Fulham and the Mali national team, for whom he is captain.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early career

Diarra started his career with Greek side OFI Crete. He played for French club Lyon from 2002 until 2006 and formed a successful midfield partnership with Michael Essien. He won four Ligue 1 titles during his time at Lyon, playing a key role in the teams success.[1][2]

[edit] Real Madrid

After Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello asked President Ramón Calderón to sign three players, "Diarra, Diarra and Diarra",[3] Real Madrid joined Manchester United in the race to sign Mahamadou Diarra.[4] Lyon said that Diarra could not leave and put a €40 million price tag on him, which matched the price Chelsea paid Lyon for Michael Essien in the summer of 2005.[5] On 18 August 2006, Real Madrid agreed a fee of €26 million. On 22 August, Diarra was unveiled at the Santiago Bernabéu by Calderón and was assigned the number 6 shirt.

In 2006–07, Diarra was a staple player in Fabio Capello's two-defensive midfielder system. He played in 33 of Madrid's 38 matches, scoring three times. He lost his first team spot at one point after he and Antonio Cassano were caught on camera making fun of Capello during a training session. On 18 June 2007, with Real Madrid needing to win against Real Mallorca to win the league title for the first time since 2003, Diarra scored an 81st minute header to give Madrid a 2–1 lead. In the 84th minute, José Antonio Reyes scored a third goal to ensure Real Madrid were champions.[6]

Diarra played a pivotal role in the 2007–08 title defence under new coach Bernd Schuster, and he established himself as the first-choice defensive midfielder, causing teammate Fernando Gago to play higher upfield. Real Madrid comfortably won the league, finishing 8 points clear of second placed Villarreal. Diarra had now been a league champion for 6 consecutive seasons, after winning Ligue 1 with Lyon between 2002–03 and 2005–06, and La Liga with Real Madrid in 2006–07 and 2007–08.[7]

In October 2008, while playing an international fixture against Chad, Diarra was stretchered off the field after receiving a blow to his knee. He was rested for a month and made his next appearance in late November, but was forced to undergo surgery after aggravating his knee injury, which ruled him out for the rest of the season. In his absence, Real Madrid signed Lass Diarra from Portsmouth as a replacement defensive midfielder, who was given Diarra's number 6 shirt.[8][9] After recovering from injury, Diarra only started 8 further matches in two seasons for Real Madrid.[10] In January 2011, it was reported that Diarra would be leaving Real Madrid, and was linked to several clubs including Málaga.[11]

[edit] AS Monaco

Diarra returned to French football and signed with AS Monaco on 27 January 2011.[12] He made his début in a 0–0 draw against Olympique de Marseille.[13][14] Diarra left Monaco after the club was relegated to Ligue 2 at the end of the 2010–11 season. After his departure from Monaco, Diarra remained without a club for the first half of the 2011–12 European season, and was linked with moves to the Middle East[15] and English Football League Championship club Doncaster Rovers.[16]

[edit] Fulham

Diarra signed for Premier League team Fulham on 26 February 2012.[4] He agreed to a contract for the remainder of the 2011–12 season, with an option for the 2012–13 season.[4] He made his Fulham debut as a substitute against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 4 March 2012, assisting the fifth goal in a 5–0 win. On 17 March, he made his first start for Fulham in a 3–0 home loss to Swansea City.[17] He scored his first goal for Fulham against Bolton Wanderers on 7 April 2012.[18]

After impressing manager Martin Jol throughout his eleven Premier League games, on the 17th May 2012, Diarra signed a new one-year contract at the club, keeping him at Craven Cottage until the end of the 2012-13 Premier League season.[19]

[edit] International career

Diarra first represented Mali at youth level. He was in the squad that took third place at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship in Nigeria. Having impressed at the U-20 tournament, Diarra was given his debut in 2001 and is currently the team captain. He won the award for Best Young Player at the 2002 African Cup of Nations.

[edit] International goals

Scores and goals list Mali's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 6 January 2002 Ismailia Stadium, Ismaïlia  Egypt 1–0 2–1 Friendly
2. 2–0
3. 30 January 2004 Stade El Menzah, Tunis  Burkina Faso 2–1 1–3 2004 African Cup of Nations
4. 7 February 2004 Stade El Menzah, Tunis  Guinea 2–1 2–1 2004 African Cup of Nations
5. 5 June 2005 Stade Amari Daou, Ségou  Liberia 4–1 4–1 2006 World Cup qualifier
6. 6 February 2007 Stade de Marville, La Courneuve  Lithuania 2–1 3–1 Friendly

[edit] Playing style

FourFourTwo magazine says that "Diarra provides aggression, tactical awareness, toughness and the discipline that other players simply lack."[3]

[edit] Career statistics

As of 13 May 2012
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
OFI Crete 1998–99 21 2 0 0 0 0 21 2
Total 21 2 0 0 0 0 21 2
Vitesse 1999-00 16 2 0 0 1 0 17 2
2000–01 29 4 1 0 2 0 32 4
2001–02 24 3 4 0 0 0 28 3
Total 69 9 5 0 3 0 77 9
Lyon 2002–03 28 1 4 1 7 0 39 2
2003–04 27 1 1 1 10 0 38 2
2004–05 34 2 4 1 9 2 47 5
2005–06 32 3 5 1 9 2 46 6
2006–07 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Total 123 7 14 4 35 4 172 15
Real Madrid 2006–07 33 3 4 0 7 1 44 4
2007–08 30 0 2 0 6 0 38 0
2008–09 9 0 3 0 3 0 15 0
2009–10 15 0 2 0 3 0 20 0
2010–11 3 0 3 0 2 0 8 0
Total 90 3 14 0 21 1 125 4
AS Monaco 2010–11 9 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
Total 9 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
Fulham 2011–12 11 1 0 0 0 0 6 1
Total 11 1 0 0 0 0 6 1
Career Total 329 22 33 4 59 5 410 31

[edit] Honours

[edit] Club

Lyon

Real Madrid

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://africanfootball.mtnfootball.com/live/content.php?Item_ID=25240
  2. ^ http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2012/03/03/2942948/from-clasicos-to-the-cottage-how-former-real-madrid-man
  3. ^ a b http://talentspotter.fourfourtwo.com/player/mahamadoudiarra-8288.aspx
  4. ^ a b c "Mahamadou Diarra to join Fulham until end of the season". BBC Sport. 27 February 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17177742. 
  5. ^ http://soccerlens.com/where-will-diarra-go-lyon-manchester-united-or-real-madrid/297/
  6. ^ [1]
  7. ^ [2]
  8. ^ [3]
  9. ^ [4]
  10. ^ [5]
  11. ^ [6]
  12. ^ [7]
  13. ^ "Ligue 1 round-up". Sky Sports. 30 January 2011. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11819_6712337,00.html. 
  14. ^ "Monaco agrees deal to sign midfielder Mahamadou Diarra from Real Madrid". The Canadian Press. 27 January 2011. http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5gUdKi-AQM9NUw4wLYVoceKhPgOqA?docId=5780158. Retrieved 27 January 2011. 
  15. ^ http://www.insidefutbol.com/2011/09/24/mahamadou-diarra-offered-lucrative-middle-east-option/49649/
  16. ^ "Doncaster eye Diarra & Piquionne". BBC News. 5 October 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/d/doncaster/9606623.stm. 
  17. ^ [8]
  18. ^ "Bolton 0 - 3 Fulham". BBC. 7 April 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17570919. Retrieved 7 April 2012. 
  19. ^ http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11661/7762498/Diarra-extends-Fulham-stay

[edit] External links

Fulham F.C. – current squad
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