Salif Diao

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Salif Diao
Sali Diao Arsenal v Stoke City FC.jpg
Salif Diao (2009)
Personnel
Surname Salif Alassane Diao
birthday February 10, 1977
place of birth Kédougou ,  Senegal
size 183 cm
position midfield
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1996-2000 AS Monaco 27 (0)
1996-1997 →  SAS Épinal  (loan) 2 (0)
2000-2002 CS Sedan 49 (0)
2002-2005 Liverpool FC 37 (1)
2005 →  Birmingham City  (loan) 2 (0)
2005-2006 →  Portsmouth FC  (loan) 11 (0)
2006-2007 →  Stoke City  (loan) 16 (0)
2007–2012 Stoke City 72 (1)
National team
Years selection Games (goals)
1997-2009 Senegal 41 (4)
1 Only league games are given.

Salif Alassane Diao (born February 10, 1977 in Kédougou ) is a former Senegalese football player .

Career

AS Monaco and others

Salif Diao was born in Kédougou . He went to France at an early age , where he learned the footballing trade as a youth at AS Monaco . There he was also champions of Ligue 1 in the 1999/00 season .

In 1996 he moved to SAS Épinal on loan for a year , but there he only played two games. After the loan period ended, he played at AS Monaco until 2000 . Then he decided to move to CS Sedan , where he was able to secure a regular place and played there until 2002.

Liverpool FC

In 2002 he made his big breakthrough in international football and so he moved to top English club Liverpool . His transfer fee is said to have been around 7.5 million euros (five million pounds). The decisive factor in Diao's transfer to Liverpool FC were the good games at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea , which convinced Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier . He was used as a defensive midfielder, although he had previously preferred to act in the position of right midfielder. Therefore, he could not show his strengths as expected, although he prepared many goals in this position with his long and precise passes. He scored his first goal for Liverpool in the Champions League game against Spartak Moscow . In the league he only scored one goal in the 1-0 win against Leeds United in October 2008. Both he and his compatriot El Hadji Diouf , who both moved to Liverpool after the World Cup, did not live up to their expectations and quickly stamped as wrong purchases.

He played his usual position under Rafael Benítez , but after several worse games he was replaced by Xabi Alonso in the game against Fulham FC . At the time they were 2-0 down and Diao was not entirely innocent of both goals. After the substitution, Liverpool turned the game to a 4-2. Although he had not played for months, he was taken to the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul , where Liverpool furiously won 3-0 down on penalties against AC Milan . Liverpool fans expressed their displeasure because Diao was seen in most of the photos with the trophy, although he did not contribute in the least. His only appearance was in the group stage against Olympiacos . His last goal for Liverpool was in the 2004/05 season in the Carling Cup against Millwall and his last game was against Norwich City in January 2005 .

Loan periods at Birmingham City & Portsmouth FC

In January 2005 Diao was loaned to Birmingham City , but after only two games he was seriously injured and therefore Birmingham did not take the purchase option. After Rafael Benítez signed the much younger Mohamed Sissoko , it was clear to Diao that his career at Liverpool FC was over.

For the 2005/06 season he was only a reserve player and he had to give up his shirt number 15 to the then newcomer Peter Crouch . In August 2005 he was awarded for a year with an option to buy at Portsmouth FC , but fell out for most of the season due to injuries. Just like Birmingham City , Portsmouth FC failed to take the purchase option due to its many injuries and Diao returned to Liverpool .

In June 2006 he negotiated with Charlton Athletic , but after failing the medical examination, Charlton Athletic broke off negotiations.

Stoke City

On October 10, 2006, Diao was awarded a six-month loan to Stoke City . He was one of the experienced players on the team there and kept the team together. Some fans have compared his style of play with that of Claude Makélélé because he took the pace out of the game. They also claim that Stoke City has been "resurrected" and that is thanks to the performance of Salif Diao. On January 25, 2007, the loan period was extended for a further six months and Stoke City then took up the option to buy.

In December 2007 he signed a new 6 month contract.

In June 2009 he signed a one-year contract and stayed at the Britannia Stadium . In February 2010 he scored his first goal for Stoke City against his ex-club Portsmouth FC . It was only the second league goal in his career and his first goal in almost six years.

National team

Diao is 39 times Senegal's national team . He also took part in the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea .

titles and achievements

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Liverpool trounce Spartak . BBC . October 2, 2002. Retrieved November 3, 2009.
  2. ↑ Liverpool go top . www.bbc.co.uk. October 19, 2002. Retrieved December 12, 2007.
  3. ^ Olympiacos 1-0 Liverpool . BBC . September 28, 2004. Retrieved August 14, 2009.
  4. ^ Millwall 0-3 Liverpool . BBC . October 26, 2004. Retrieved October 26, 2009.
  5. ^ Stoke City complete Diao signing . In: BBC . BBC Sports. Retrieved February 21, 2010.
  6. ^ Diao joy at Stoke return , Sky Sports . December 11, 2007. Retrieved June 1, 2008. 
  7. ^ Stoke offer new contract to Diao . In: BBC Sport . June 2, 2009. Retrieved June 2, 2009.
personal data
SURNAME Diao, Salif
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Diao, Salif Alassane (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Senegalese soccer player
DATE OF BIRTH February 10, 1977
PLACE OF BIRTH Kédougou , Senegal