Mahamadou Diarra

Mahamadou Diarra

Personal information
Full name	Mahamadou Diarra
Date of birth	18 May 1981 (1981-05-18)
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	65	(9)
2002–2006	Lyon	123	(6)
2006–2011	Real Madrid	90	(3)
2011	Monaco	9	(0)
2012–	Fulham	0	(0)
National team‡
2001–	Mali	64	(6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12 December 2010. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 6 September 2011

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

Biography

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.

Real Madrid

After Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello asked President Ramón Calderón to sign three players, "Diarra, Diarra and Diarra", Real Madrid joined Manchester United in the race to sign Diarra. 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. On 18 August 2006, Real Madrid agreed a fee of €26 million. On 22 August, Diarra was unveiled at the Santiago Bernabeu by Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón and was assigned the number 6 shirt, which had been worn by Iván Helguera in the previous season.

In 2006–07, Diarra was a staple player in Fabio Capello's two-defensive midfielder system. 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. Diarra played a pivotal role in the 2007–08 league success under new coach Bernd Schuster, and he established himself as the first-choice defensive midfielder, causing teammate Fernando Gago to play higher upfield.

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 he was forced to undergo surgery after aggravating his knee injury, which ruled him out for the rest of the season. After enjoying two successful seasons, he lost his place in the team to new signing Xabi Alonso at the start of the 2009–10 season. With the successful integration of Xabi Alonso into the Madrid set up, Diarra was no longer the stalwart in midfield. With the arrival of José Mourinho and the influx of players for the 2010–11 season, Sami Khedira and Xabi Alonso became the first choice pairing. In January 2011, after the acquisition of Emmanuel Adebayor, Diarra's contract was bought out, which made him a free agent.

AS Monaco

Diarra signed with AS Monaco on 27 January 2011. He made his debut in a 0–0 draw against Olympique de Marseille. Diarra left AS Monaco when the club was relegated from Ligue 1 after the 2010–11 season. Diarra had been linked with a move to the Middle East and Doncaster Rovers.

Fulham

Diarra signed for Fulham on 26 February 2012. He agreed a contract for the rest of the 2011–12 season with an option to extend the contract until 2013.

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.

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

Playing style

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

Career statistics

(correct as of 22 December 2010 )

Club	Season	League		Cups		Continental		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Lyon	2002–03	25	0	5	1	8	0	38	1
	2003–04	28	1	1	1	10	0	39	2
	2004–05	36	2	3	1	9	2	48	5
	2005–06	32	3	5	1	8	2	45	6
	2006–07	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	Total	123	6	14	4	35	4	172	14
Real Madrid	2006–07	33	3	2	0	7	1	42	4
	2007–08	30	0	2	0	6	0	38	0
	2008–09	9	0	1	0	3	0	13	0
	2009–10	15	0	2	0	3	0	20	0
	2010–11	3	0	3	0	2	0	8	0
	Total	90	3	10	0	21	1	121	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	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Career Total		215	9	24	4	56	5	295	18

Honours

Club

Lyon

• French Ligue 1: 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06
• Trophée Des Champions: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006

Real Madrid

• La Liga: 2006–07, 2007–08
• Supercopa de España: 2008
• Copa del Rey (1): 2010–11

External links

• Profile at Realmadrid.com
• ESPN Profile
• FootballDatabase profile and career statistics
• About Diarra on rus