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Malick Thiaw

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This article is about the German football player. For the Malian soldier and politician, see Malick Diaw.

Malick Thiaw
Thiaw with AC Milan in 2023
Personal information
Full name Malick Laye Thiaw
Date of birth (2001-08-08) 8 August 2001 (age 23)
Place of birth Düsseldorf, Germany
Height 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 AC Milan
Number 28
Youth career
2006–2009 TV Kalkum-Wittlaer
2009–2010 Fortuna Düsseldorf
2010–2011 Bayer Leverkusen
2011–2015 Borussia Mönchengladbach
2015–2020 Schalke 04
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020 Schalke 04 II 3 (0)
2020–2022 Schalke 04 57 (3)
2022– AC Milan 45 (0)
International career‡
2021–2023 Germany U21 11 (2)
2023– Germany 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:37, 2 November 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15:57, 18 October 2023 (UTC)

Malick Laye Thiaw (IPA: [ʄaɰ]; born 8 August 2001) is a German professional footballer who plays as a defender for Serie A club AC Milan and the Germany national team. Mainly a centre-back, he can also play as a right-back or defensive midfielder.

Club career

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In his childhood Thiaw played for TV Kalkum-Wittlaer, a club in his native Düsseldorf.[2] He then played for the youth teams of Fortuna Düsseldorf, Bayer Leverkusen, and Borussia Mönchengladbach. In 2015 he joined the youth academy of Schalke 04.[3] He made his professional debut with Schalke in a 1–1 draw against TSG Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on 7 March 2020.[4]

AC Milan

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On 29 August 2022, Thiaw moved to Italy joining Serie A club AC Milan on a contract until 30 June 2027, the transfer fee was believed to be €5 million paid upfront and €2 million on bonus-relating clauses.[5][6]

Having spent the first half of his debut season mostly on the sidelines, making only a few short appearances as a substitute, Thiaw emerged into the team's starting XI in February 2023 following his man of the match performance against Tottenham Hotspur in the round of 16 of the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League.[7] As the team's head coach Stefano Pioli opted to change the formation from 4–2–3–1 to 3–5–2, Thiaw began to start every forthcoming game in the middle of the defensive third, with Fikayo Tomori on the left and Pierre Kalulu on the right. However, when Pioli reversed his decision in March 2023 due to unsatisfactory results and went back to a four-man defense, Thiaw still kept his place as a starter, effectively becoming the team's second-choice center back after Tomori.[8]

Ahead of the 2023–24 season, Thiaw and Tomori were the team's starting duo in central defense, with Kalulu and Simon Kjær as backups.[9] The pair continued to play together until Thiaw's injury on 2 December 2023 in the game against Frosinone, which sidelined him for eight weeks.[10]

International career

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Thiaw was born in Germany to a Senegalese father and Finnish mother. He holds German and Finnish passports.[11]

In 2017, he was called up to represent the Finland U17s, however he did not make any appearance.[12]

On 15 March 2021, Thiaw was called up to represent the Germany U21s for the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[13]

Aged just 21, he was called up to the Germany senior team by head coach Hansi Flick for the friendly matches against Peru and Belgium on 25 and 28 March 2023.[14] He made his international debut for Germany on 16 June, starting in a 1–0 loss to Poland.[15] As of 2024, fans on the Finnish football forum Futisforum2 are still hoping that Thiaw will choose to play for Finland.[16]

Personal life

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Malick Thiaw is the son of a Senegalese father and a Finnish mother, originally from Oulu.[17] He identifies himself as a Muslim.[18] On 14 November 2023, his girlfriend Aminah gave birth to his daughter, Moussa Laye.[19]

Career statistics

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Club

[edit]
As of match played 2 November 2024[20]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Schalke 04 2019–20 Bundesliga 4 0 0 0 – – 4 0
2020–21 19 1 3 0 – – 22 1
2021–22 2. Bundesliga 31 2 1 0 – – 32 2
2022–23 Bundesliga 3 0 0 0 – – 3 0
Total 57 3 4 0 – – 61 3
AC Milan 2022–23 Serie A 20 0 0 0 4[b] 0 – 24 0
2023–24 21 0 0 0 9[c] 0 – 30 0
2024–25 4 0 0 0 1[b] 0 0 0 5 0
Total 45 0 0 0 14 0 0 0 59 0
Career total 102 3 4 0 14 0 0 0 120 3
  1. ^ Includes DFB-Pokal, Coppa Italia
  2. ^ a b Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  3. ^ Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

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As of match played 17 October 2023[21]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Germany 2023 3 0
Total 3 0

Honours

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Schalke 04

References

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  1. ^ "Malick Thiaw: Biography". AC Milan. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  2. ^ "Das ist Schalkes Top-Talent Malick Thiaw". weltfussball.de (in German). 28 April 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Malick Thiaw | Playerprofile | Bundesliga". bundesliga.com – the official Bundesliga website.
  4. ^ "Schalke 04 vs. Hoffenheim – 7 March 2020 – Soccerway". ca.soccerway.com.
  5. ^ "Malick Thiaw, new signing of the AC Milan transfer market: the official statement". AC Milan. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  6. ^ Zeevi, Meytar (29 August 2022). "Official: Thiaw joins Milan from Schalke on a five-year deal | Rossoneri Blog - AC Milan News". Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  7. ^ "AC Milan 1-0 Tottenham, Champions League 2022/2023: Malick Thiaw MVP". AC Milan. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  8. ^ "MN: How the Kalulu-Thiaw-Tomori defence can also benefit Milan in possession". OneFootball. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  9. ^ "GdS: Thiaw and Tomori the foundation of Milan – two goals in four games". OneFootball (in French). 14 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  10. ^ "Malick Thiaw set for long lay-off with hamstring tear: AC Milan". www.besoccer.com. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  11. ^ "Un talento al giorno, Malick Thiaw: l'erede finnico di Matip - TUTTOmercatoWEB.com". www.tuttomercatoweb.com (in Italian).
  12. ^ "U17-pojat nimetty Toto Cupiin Itävaltaan". www.palloliitto.fi (in Finnish).
  13. ^ "Kuntz calls up four debutants for U21 EURO". dfb.de (in German). 15 March 2021.
  14. ^ "Vier Rückkehrer und fünf Neulinge für Peru und Belgien" (in German). German Football Association. 17 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  15. ^ "Germany falter against Poland as France maintain perfect European Qualifying record". Sky Sports. 16 June 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  16. ^ "Malick Thiaw - AC Milan". futisforum2.org. 9 December 2019.
  17. ^ "Urheilulehti 50: Masennuksesta toipuva Justyna Kowalczyk ja ainutlaatuinen Mikko Rantanen". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). 13 December 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  18. ^ "L'importanza della religione per Thiaw: "Sono musulmano, prego 5 volte al giorno e osservo il Ramadan"". Milan News (in Italian). Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  19. ^ "Thiaw diventa papà: è nata la figlia Moussa Laye". Milan News (in Italian). Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  20. ^ "Malick Thiaw » Club matches". WorldFootball.net. 29 November 2023.
  21. ^ Malick Thiaw at DFB (also available in German) Edit this at Wikidata
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