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Lassana Diarra

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Lassana Diarra
File:Lass Diarra.jpg
Personal information
Full name Lassana Diarra
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder / Right back
Team information
Current team
 Real Madrid
Number 10
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:22, 14 November 2009 (UTC)

Lassana Diarra (born 10 March 1985) is a French footballer who currently plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and the French national team. His predominant position is defensive midfielder but he can also play in a more advanced role and has played at right back, which he did for Chelsea and currently for France.[1] In Spain, he is known as Lass to distinguish him from Real Madrid teammate Mahamadou Diarra, with whom he is not related.

Club career

Early career

Diarra suffered rejection many times as a youngster. The first at FC Nantes, where he was deemed too "small and lightweight",[citation needed] at 170 cm and 58 kg (5'7" and 9 stone), to succeed. Diarra admitted to thinking he thought his "football career was over".[citation needed] His next stop was Le Mans UC, where Diarra claimed they "didn't seem to care"[citation needed] about him.

Le Havre

Diarra started his career at Le Havre AC, a French football team currently playing in the Second Division. A standout in his defensive midfield role, his reputation started to grow and impressive performances saw his selection to the French U-21 squad. Along with the reputation came club interest, and Chelsea became potential suitors. With Claude Makélélé getting ever older, Chelsea's wide network of scouts tagged Diarra as the "new Makélélé" and promptly paid £1 million for his services in July 2005.[2]

Chelsea

Diarra immediately became a member of Chelsea's first team squad for 2005-06, but did not get much first team football. His Chelsea debut came in the UEFA Champions League in October 2005, when he was given a brief run out as a substitute when Chelsea were 4-0 up against Real Betis. However, he was not expected nor was he expecting to come straight into the side. Learning behind a master of his position, he improved throughout the season, showing impressively when playing for the reserve team. He impressed against Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup third round, winning rave reviews from both managers, teammates, and media sources. He became a bit part player in Chelsea's first team and also completed the full 90 minutes in Chelsea's last two games of the season at Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United, as manager José Mourinho rotated his squad.

Diarra was named Chelsea's young player of the season for the season of 2005–06. Due to Chelsea's defensive injury setbacks during the 2006–07 season, he was often asked to play at right-back. He played full Premiership games against Blackburn Rovers, Charlton Athletic, and Middlesbrough, with some success, and also started in Chelsea's win over Arsenal in the League Cup Final at the Millennium Stadium. On 29 July, reports surfaced suggesting he could be on his way to Arsenal in pursuit of first-team football.[3] His contract with Chelsea was due to expire in January 2008, and having made no move to extend it he was sold to Arsenal on 31 August 2007, before he could leave on a free transfer.[4]

Arsenal

On 31 August 2007, transfer deadline day, Diarra completed a move to Arsenal for an undisclosed fee.[5] He wore the number 8 shirt, vacated by the departure of winger Fredrik Ljungberg. On his move across London, he cited Gunners manager Arsène Wenger as one of the main reasons for joining the club, along with the style of football Arsenal play. Wenger had called the young Frenchman a "multi functional player", adding that he is a good addition to the squad.[6]

Diarra made his Arsenal debut as a late substitute in the home leg of the 2007–08 Champions League group stage match against Sevilla FC, and his full debut against Newcastle United in the third round of the League Cup. Diarra started his first Premier League match for Arsenal against Aston Villa.

Due to the emergence of defensive midfielder Mathieu Flamini in the Arsenal side, Diarra saw limited action in the early months of Arsenal's season. Diarra began to get increasingly impatient at Arsenal and expressed concerns that he wanted a transfer in the January window because he has not seen enough first team football.[7] After only five months at Arsenal, Diarra signed for Portsmouth in January 2008 for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £5.5 million.[8]

Portsmouth

Diarra signed for Portsmouth on 17 January 2008, citing that the lack of first team football at Arsenal would harm his chances of selection for UEFA Euro 2008.[9][10] He was given his first start against Derby,[11] contributing to a 3-1 win at Fratton Park, wearing the number 6 shirt. He scored his first goal for the club in the following match, against FA Cup Fourth Round Championship opponents Plymouth Argyle,[12] and his first Premier League goal two weeks later, a late winner against Bolton Wanderers.[13] Diarra went on to play in every minute of Portsmouth's remaining FA Cup matches en route to claiming the trophy in the final.[14][15][16][17] He finished the season by being included in the France squad for Euro 2008; this and the FA Cup win arguably vindicated his decision to part company with Arsenal, Diarra himself saying that it had "more than justified my decision."[18] He played in the 2008 Community Shield against Manchester United, missing in the penalty shoot out which was won by United. On September 18, 2008 he scored Pompey's first ever goal in a major European competition. The first red card of Diarra's Premiership career came on 28 September 2008 when he was booked twice against Tottenham Hotspur at Fratton Park. In mid December 2008, Portsmouth agreed a fee with Real Madrid subject to medical that he would join them, on the 1 January 2009 for a fee of around €20 million (£18.88 million).[19]

Real Madrid

Portsmouth announced on 17 December 2008 that they had accepted a "substantial" offer from Real Madrid for Diarra's services[19] and £20 million transfer was agreed five days later.[20] He was assigned 6, the shirt number of Mahamadou Diarra for domestic competitions as the Malian midfielder would be out with a season-ending injury. He will, therefore, wear the name "Lass" on the back of his shirt to avoid comparison. His transfer was officially completed on 1 January 2009, the opening of the transfer window. He was assigned with the number 39 for the Champions League. He was then given the number 10 shirt after Wesley Sneijder moved to Inter Milan and his namesake Mahamadou came back from injury.

Diarra scored his first official goal for Real in the 2009-2010 La Liga season opener against Deportivo, providing his side with the game-winning goal in a 3-2 win.

International career

Diarra has been capped eight times for the France U-21s. Perhaps his most notable performance came in a UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualifying match against England in November 2005. With the game deep into stoppage time and seemingly destined for extra time (the aggregate score was 2–2), Diarra received the ball in the England penalty area. A challenge from Kieran Richardson saw Diarra go down, and a penalty was given. His French teammate Jimmy Briand scored the penalty past Scott Carson and France qualified.[21][22]

Diarra was selected for the France national football team by coach Raymond Domenech for a 2008 Euro qualifier away to Lithuania on 24 March 2007. He started the match, alongside Claude Makélélé and Jérémy Toulalan also in midfield, and played the full 90 minutes.[23] He was also selected that year for a friendly match against Austria on 28 March 2007.[24] Diarra's consistent club performances in 2008 meant that he was picked for the France squad for Euro 2008 - ahead of other high-calibre players such as Djibril Cissé and Mathieu Flamini.[25] However, with France failing to progress beyond the group stages, Diarra did not feature in any of their three matches.[26][27][28] However, following the international retirement of fellow defensive midfielder Makélélé, he was called up for Raymond Domenech's France squad for a 20 August 2008 friendly with Sweden.[29]

Career statistics

(correct as of 10 November 2009)[30]
Club Season League Cup Europe Total
Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists
Le Havre 2003–04 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2004–05 29 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 29 0 0
Chelsea 2005–06 3 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 7 0 0
2006–07 10 0 0 8 0 0 5 0 1 23 0 1
Arsenal 2007-08 7 0 0 3 0 0 3 0 0 13 0 0
Portsmouth 2007-08 22 1 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 27 2 0
2008-09 12 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 14 1 0
Real Madrid 2008–09 21 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 23 0 2
2009–10 8 1 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 12 1 0

Honours

Chelsea

Portsmouth

References

  1. ^ Wilson, Chris Lassana Diarra factfile: 10 things you need to know about the Manchester City target The Mirror
  2. ^ Chelsea FC Official Transfer Statement
  3. ^ Sky Sports - Gunners line up Diarra deal
  4. ^ L'Equipe - Arsenal piste Lassana Diarra
  5. ^ Wenger: 'All of them can play in the first team' - Arsenal.com
  6. ^ "Arsenal sign Lassana Diarra from Chelsea". Arsenal.com. 2007-08-31. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
  7. ^ "Lassana Diarra: I want to leave Arsenal". Telegraph. 2007-12-06. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
  8. ^ "French midfielder leaves Arsenal for the south coast". Arsenal.com. 2008-01-17. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
  9. ^ "Diarra agrees Pompey deal". Sky Sports. 2008-01-17. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  10. ^ "Backtracking Diarra commits to Portsmouth". The Times. 2008-01-18. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  11. ^ "Portsmouth 3-1 Derby Match Report". BBC. 2008-01-19. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  12. ^ "Portsmouth 2-1 Plymouth Match Report". BBC. 2008-01-26. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  13. ^ "Bolton 0-1 Portsmouth Match Report". BBC. 2008-02-09. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  14. ^ "Preston 0-1 Portsmouth Match Report". BBC. 2008-02-17. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  15. ^ "Man Utd 0-1 Portsmouth Match Report". BBC. 2008-03-08. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  16. ^ "West Brom 0-1 Portsmouth Match Report". BBC. 2008-04-05. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  17. ^ "Portsmouth 1-0 Cardiff Match Report". BBC. 2008-05-17. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  18. ^ "France leave out Cisse & Flamini". BBC. 2008-05-28. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  19. ^ a b "Real Madrid unveil new boy Diarra". BBC. 22 December 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2008.
  20. ^ "Real Madrid unveil new boy Diarra". BBC Sport Online. 2008-12-22. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
  21. ^ "Ambrose strike saves England". UEFA. 2005-11-11. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  22. ^ "England undone by brave Briand". UEFA. 2005-12-15. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  23. ^ "Anelka to the rescue for France". UEFA. 2007-03-24. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  24. ^ Diarra receives France call - Chelsea FC.com
  25. ^ "France leave out Cisse & Flamini". BBC. 2008-05-28. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  26. ^ "Romania 0-0 France Match Report". BBC. 2008-06-09. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
  27. ^ "Netherlands 4-1 France Match Report". BBC. 2008-06-13. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
  28. ^ "France 0-2 Italy & Netherlands 2-0 Romania Match Reports". BBC. 2008-06-17. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
  29. ^ "Les Blues omit Nasri". Sky Sports. 2008-08-12. Retrieved 2008-08-12.
  30. ^ History, soccernet.espn.go.com, accessed October 5, 2007.

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