Mahamadou Diarra

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Mahamadou Diarra
Personal information
Full name	Mahamadou Diarra
Date of birth	18 May 1981 (1981-05-18) (age 28)
Place of birth	Bamako, Mali
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Defensive Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Real Madrid
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1998–1999 1999–2002 2002–2006 2006–	OFI Crete Vitesse Lyon Real Madrid	021 (2) 069 (9) 121 (7) 073 (3)
National team2
2001–	Mali	0 52 (5)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:12, 18 May 2008 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 3 September 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Mahamadou Diarra (born 18 May 1981 in Bamako, Mali) is a Malian football defensive midfielder who signed for Real Madrid in the summer of 2006. Diarra has played over 50 international matches for the Mali national team.

[edit] Club career

[edit] Early career

Diarra started his career with Greek side OFI Crete. He played for French club Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon) from 2002 until 2006, winning four Ligue 1 titles. Diarra was compared to top French midfielders like Patrick Vieira and Claude Makélélé and established himself as one of the top defensive midfielders in the game. Many people who have worked with him, including former Vitesse manager Ronald Koeman, felt that Diarra had the potential to succeed at the highest sporting level, but that he needed to learn how to control his strong temperament.

[edit] Real Madrid

He was rated very highly by Lyon manager Gérard Houllier, who said that Diarra would not be leaving Lyon cheaply. His €40 million price tag matched the price Chelsea F.C. paid Lyon for Michael Essien in the summer 2005. Real Madrid joined in the race to sign Diarra, along with Manchester United, and on 18 August 2006 Real Madrid reached an agreement with Lyon for €26 million. On 22 August, he was unveiled at the Santiago Bernabeu by Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón, and he was assigned the number 6 shirt; Iván Helguera's prior season shirt number.

In the 2006-2007 season, Diarra was a staple player in Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello's 2-defensive midfielder system. He played a pivotal role in the 2007-08 league success under coach Bernd Schuster, and established himself as the first-choice defensive midfielder, causing teammate Fernando Gago to play higher up field.

In October of 2008, while playing an international fixture against Chad, Diarra was stretched off the field after receiving a blow to his knee. He was rested for a month and made another appearance in late November, but was forced to go under the knife after he aggrevated his knee once more. He has since been ruled out for the rest of the season due to his injury. He was de-registered from Real Madrid's first team and his number 6 was given to new signing Lassana Diarra.

[edit] International career

Diarra first represented Mali at the youth levels. He was in the squad that took 3rd place at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship in Malaysia and shared the Golden Boot award with Pablo as top scorer with 5 goals.

Having impressed at the U-20 tournament, Diarra was given his debut in 2001 and is currently the team captain. Diarra is known as a hard-tackling defensive midfielder and often partners with Seydou Keita of Barcelona or Mohamed Sissoko of Juventus in the midfield. Diarra has become famous for his excellent strength and strong running and tackling. Combined with good passing and a tremendous ability to read the game he has become one of the most sought after holding midfielders in world football.

[edit] Career stats

[edit] Honours

• French Ligue 1 (4 titles): 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06 with Olympique Lyonnais.
• Trophée Des Champions (4 titles): 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 with Olympique Lyonnais.
• Spanish La Liga (2 titles): 2006-07, 2007-08 with Real Madrid.
• Supercopa de España (1 title): 2008-09.
• 3rd place, 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship with Mali under-20 team

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• (Spanish) Real Madrid biography
• (French) Olympique Lyonnais biography
• FootballDatabase profile and career statistics
• AC Milan keen on Real Madrid midfielder Diarra
• About Diarra on rus

v • d • e Mali squad – 2004 Africa Cup of Nations 1 Mahamadou Sidibè • 2 Diamoutèné • 3 Diawara • 4 A. Coulibaly • 5 Thiam • 6 Diarra • 7 Mamady Sidibé • 8 B. Touré • 9 Abouta • 10 S. Coulibaly • 11 D. Sidibé • 12 Keita • 13 Kone • 14 D. Coulibaly • 15 Demba • 16 Bathily • 17 S. Traoré • 18 Sissoko • 19 Kanouté • 20 D. Traoré • 21 M. Traoré • 22 Tangara • Coach: Stambouli

v • d • e Mali squad – 2008 Africa Cup of Nations 1 Mahamadou Sidibè • 2 Koné • 3 Tamboura • 4 A. Coulibaly • 5 Diamoutene • 6 Diarra • 7 Mamady Sidibé • 8 B. Touré • 9 A. Sidibé • 10 D. Traoré • 11 D. Sidibé • 12 Keita • 13 Diallo • 14 Diakite • 15 Kanté • 16 Diakite • 17 S. Traoré • 18 Dembélé • 19 Kanouté • 20 M. Sissoko • 21 Dissa • 22 O. Sissoko • 23 M. Coulibaly • Coach: Jodar