Papa Bouba Diop

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Papa Bouba Diop
Papa Bouba Diop.png
Personal information
Full name Pape Bouba Diop[1]
Date of birth 28 January 1978 (1978-01-28) (age 34)
Place of birth Dakar, Senegal
Height 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Playing position Defensive midfielder / Centre back
Club information
Current club West Ham United
Number 21
Youth career
1993–1994 Espoir Dakar
1994–1995 Diaraaf Dakar
1995–1996 Vevey Sports
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1996–2000 Neuchâtel Xamax 19 (4)
2000–2001 Grasshoppers 29 (5)
2002–2004 Lens 47 (6)
2004–2007 Fulham 76 (8)
2007–2010 Portsmouth 53 (0)
2010–2011 AEK Athens 19 (1)
2011– West Ham United 14 (1)
National team‡
2001–2008 Senegal 63 (11)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12:32, 17 January 2012 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:59, 22 July 2011 (UTC)

Pape "Papa" Bouba Diop (born 28 January 1978) is a Senegalese footballer who plays for West Ham United in the Football League Championship and the Senegal national team. His preferred position is defensive midfield but can also play as a centre back, where he previously played at Lens. His nickname is "The Wardrobe", given to him by Fulham fans, due to his height and large frame.

Diop is well known for his strength and aggression, long-range shots, solid style of play and his leadership. His playing style and ability have drawn comparisons to Patrick Vieira.

Former Fulham manager Lawrie Sanchez believes that Diop had all the attributes to become one of the best midfielders in the Premiership. Lawrie Sanchez stated, "There's no reason why Bouba can't get himself up to being one of the best centre midfield players in the Premiership and that's where I see his long-term position. I've seen Diop play over the years and he has all the attributes to be a top-class midfielder".[2]

Match of the Day football analyst Alan Hansen stated that Diop is "One of the most solid midfield players in Europe, who is hugely underrated."[citation needed]

Contents

[edit] Career

[edit] Club career

Born in Dakar he started his footballing career in his homeland with Espoir Dakar, Diaraaf Dakar and Vevey Sports.[3] Diop started his professional career at Swiss side Neuchâtel Xamax at the age of 18. Grasshoppers scouts were impressed with Boupa Diop's performances and earned him a move to the Swiss Super League. After his success in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Boupa Diop signed with Ligue 1 side RC Lens for €1.8m.

[edit] Fulham

After his impressive performances for Lens, Papa Boupa Diop signed with Premier League team Fulham for £6 million, signing a four-year deal in July 2004.[3] Diop made his debut against Manchester City on 14 August 2004, playing the full 90 minutes.[4] Diop scored his first goal for Fulham against Chelsea, scoring Fulham's only goal in a 4-1 home defeat.[4]

For his performances during the 2005–06 season, Diop was nominated for the Fulham "Player of the Year" award. Diop became a fans' favourite.[3] Diop also had a banner lifted by the Fulham fans at the Hammersmith End, which took up the majority of the stand.[citation needed]

Former manager Chris Coleman described Diop as "a great leader with inspiration and passion".[citation needed] In 2005, he was appointed as captain by Coleman.[citation needed] An injury due to hamstring, foot, and back problems resulted in him missing part of the 2006-07 season and losing the captaincy to Danny Murphy. In January 2007 Wigan made a £5 million bid for the midfielder, but Diop decided against the move and stayed with Fulham, helping them to avoid relegation.[5] After three years at Craven Cottage Fulham manager Lawrie Sanchez allowed Diop to move on and he transferred to Portsmouth on transfer deadline day.[6][7] Diop finished his Fulham career playing 84 matches, scoring nine goals.[8]

[edit] Portsmouth

Diop signed a five-year deal with Portsmouth for a fee of £3.5 million.[3] He made his debut against Liverpool on 15 September 2007 in a 0-0 draw.[9] Diop was a key player in Portsmouth's victorious 2008 FA Cup campaign, playing a solid, defensive game and making some cruical tackles against Cardiff City.

Following Portsmouth's relegation, Diop was considered likely to be released. Portsmouth's administrator, Andrew Andronikou, stated that Diop would only be leaving for a fee of £1 million,[10] but Portsmouth eventually agreed to a €300,000[citation needed] offer from AEK Athens in July 2010. He played 72 games for Portsmouth without scoring.[8]

[edit] AEK Athens

On 13 July 2010, Diop agreed terms with AEK Athens signing a two-year deal earning €900,000 per season,[11] despite interest from Fulham, Celtic and Paris Saint-Germain.[12]

After signing with AEK, Diop stated, "I am very pleased signing for AEK, my expectations are to win trophies, AEK is a huge club who plays in Europe consistently. I was very surprised with the way the AEK fans greeted me at the Venizelos airport and I hope I can do my best for the club"

Diop made his debut for AEK Athens against Dundee United on the 19 August 2010.[13] He did not play the full 90 minutes as he was not fully fit recovering from his injuries. Diop scored his first Super League goal against PAOK F.C., the match finished 4-0 to AEK. Bouba Diop finished the season only playing 19 games due to constant injuries. On 30 April 2011 Diop won the Greek Cup with AEK in a 0-3 win against Atromitos and was a key player in the victory playing a very solid game. Diop also scored two goals against PAOK in the Superleague Greece play-off's giving AEK the 3-0 lead. Diop was also awarded the MVP award.

[edit] West Ham United

On 30 August 2011, West Ham announced the signing of Diop on a one-year deal. He joined for free after leaving AEK Athens. The deal included an option to sign for a further year.[3] He made his debut for West Ham on 1 October 2011 in a 2-2 away draw with Crystal Palace.[14]

[edit] International career

Bouba Diop got his first call up to the Senegal national squad in 1999, at the age of 21, while playing for Neuchâtel Xamax in the Swiss Super League. He is perhaps most well known for scoring the first goal of 2002 FIFA World Cup against France, which resulted in the 1–0 defeat of the then reigning World champions and ultimately, their early elimination from the tournament, in which Senegal reached the quarter-finals.[3] He ended the tournament with three goals, having also scored twice against Uruguay.[3] Diop has played 63 times for Senegal scoring 11 goals.[15]

[edit] Statistics

Last updated 30 August 2011

Season Club Competition Apps Goals
1996/97 Neuchâtel Xamax Switzerland Swiss Challenge League 2 0
1997/98 Neuchâtel Xamax Switzerland Swiss Challenge League 21 3
1998/99 Neuchâtel Xamax Switzerland Swiss Challenge League 23 2
1999/00 Neuchâtel Xamax Switzerland Swiss Challenge League 23 4
2000/01 Grasshoppers Switzerland Swiss Super League 38 5
2002/03 Lens France Ligue 1 35 2
2003/04 Lens France Ligue 1 36 4
2004/05 Fulham England Premier League 36 3
2005/06 Fulham England Premier League 32 5
2006/07 Fulham England Premier League 36 0
2007/08 Portsmouth England Premier League 31 0
2008/09 Portsmouth England Premier League 32 0
2009/10 Portsmouth England Premier League 32 0
2010/11 AEK Athens Greece Greek Super League 24 1
2011/12 West Ham United England The Championship 10 1
Total 418 41

[edit] International

National team Season Apps Goals
 Senegal 2001 05 01
2002 14 05
2003 07 01
2004 14 03
2005 05 00
2006 11 01
2007 02 00
2008 03 00
Total 63 11

Last updated: 2010-06-08
Source: Papa Bouba Diop at National-Football-Teams.com

Papa Bouba Diop: International goals
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
02 2002-02-07 Stade Modibo Kéïta, Bamako, Mali  Nigeria 0–1 1–2 2002 African Cup of Nations
03 2002-05-31 Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea  France 0–1 0–1 2002 FIFA World Cup
04 2002-06-11 Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon, South Korea  Uruguay 2–0 3–3 2002 FIFA World Cup
05 2002-06-11 Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon, South Korea  Uruguay 3–0 3–3 2002 FIFA World Cup
08 2004-01-30 Stade 15 Octobre, Bizerte, Tunisia  Kenya 2–0 3–0 2004 African Cup of Nations
09 2004-06-20 Stade de Kégué, Lomé, Togo  Togo 2–1 3–1 2006 WCQ
10 2004-10-10 National Complex (Liberia), Paynesville, Liberia  Liberia 0–1 0–3 2006 WCQ
11 2006-02-03 Harras El-Hedoud Stadium, Alexandria, Egypt  Guinea 1–1 2–3 2006 Africa Cup of Nations

[edit] Honours

[edit] References

  1. ^ Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2009). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2009–10. Mainstream Publishing. p. 119. ISBN 9781845964740. 
  2. ^ "Diop tipped for the top - Fulham Football Club News from". football.co.uk. 2010-08-31. http://www.football.co.uk/fulham/diop_tipped_for_the_top_245279.shtml. Retrieved 2011-08-31. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Hammers snap up Papa". West Ham United. http://www.whufc.com/articles/20110830/hammers-snap-up-papa_2236884_2436128. Retrieved 30 August 2011. 
  4. ^ a b "Pape Bouba Diop | Football Stats | West Ham | Season 2004/2005". Soccer Base. http://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=29687&season_id=134. Retrieved 2011-08-31. 
  5. ^ "Papa Bouba Diop Bio, Stats, News - Football / Soccer - - ESPN Soccernet". Soccernet.espn.go.com. 1978-01-28. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/players/profile?id=4645&cc=5739. Retrieved 2011-08-31. 
  6. ^ "Sanchez allows Bouba Diop to move on | Mail Online". Dailymail.co.uk. 2007-08-20. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-476591/Sanchez-allows-Bouba-Diop-on.html. Retrieved 2011-08-31. 
  7. ^ "POMPEY SIGN DIOP FROM FULHAM | Sporting Life - Sports News | Live Football Scores, Live Racing Results, Football Transfer News". Sporting Life. http://www.sportinglife.com/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/07/08/31/SOCCER_Portsmouth_Diop.html. Retrieved 2011-08-31. 
  8. ^ a b "Pape Bouba Diop | Football Stats | West Ham | Age 33". Soccer Base. http://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=29687. Retrieved 2011-08-31. 
  9. ^ "Pape Bouba Diop | Football Stats | West Ham | Season 2007/2008". Soccer Base. http://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=29687&season_id=137. Retrieved 2011-08-31. 
  10. ^ "Pompey warn AEK over Diop | Portsmouth News, Fixtures, Results, Transfers". Sky Sports. 2010-06-23. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11674_6225066,00.html. Retrieved 2011-08-31. 
  11. ^ "AEK Athens Snap Up Papa Bouba Diop". Insidefutbol.com. 2010-07-12. http://www.insidefutbol.com/2010/07/12/aek-athens-snap-up-papa-bouba-diop/27062/. Retrieved 2011-08-31. 
  12. ^ "Η συμφωνία με Πόρτσμουθ - 10/7/2010". Aek365.gr. http://www.aek365.gr/a-68664/%CE%B7-%CF%83%CF%85%CE%BC%CF%86%CF%89%CE%BD%CE%B9%CE%B1-%CE%BC%CE%B5-%CF%80%CE%BF%CF%81%CF%84%CF%83%CE%BC%CE%BF%CF%85%CE%B8.htm. Retrieved 2011-08-31. 
  13. ^ "Pape Bouba Diop | Football Stats | West Ham | Season 2010/2011". Soccer Base. http://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=29687&season_id=140. Retrieved 2011-08-31. 
  14. ^ Mail, Simon. "Arsenal goalkeeper makes West Ham debut at Crystal Palace". www.thisislocallondon.co.uk. http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/sport/football/footballnews/9283083.Almunia_makes_Hammers_debut/?ref=rss. Retrieved 3 October 2011. 
  15. ^ Diop's international statistics

[edit] External links

West Ham United F.C. – current squad
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Papa_Bouba_Diop&oldid=474577502"
Personal tools
Namespaces
Variants
Actions
Navigation
Interaction
Toolbox
Print/export
Languages