Alou Diarra

Alou Diarra (born 15 July 1981) is a French former professional footballer. He was a France international from 2004 until 2012. As of the 2022–23 season, he is the manager of Troyes' under-19 side in the Championnat National U19.

He primarily played as a defensive midfielder, but could also deputise as a centre-back if necessary. Diarra is described as a player who is "strong, athletic and very powerful" and possesses a "combative edge" similar to former French international Patrick Vieira. He is also known for his leadership ability and has served as captain of both Bordeaux domestically and France internationally.

Diarra began his career playing for clubs based in Seine-Saint-Denis, such as Aulnay and hometown club Villepinte. In 1997, he joined Louhans-Cuiseaux and made his professional debut with the club in the 1999–2000 season while the club was playing in the second division. In 2000, Diarra was recruited by German club Bayern Munich. He spent two years playing on the club's reserve team, Bayern Munich II. In 2002, he was signed by compatriot Gérard Houllier as part of the manager's ''French Revolution'' to play for English club Liverpool. Diarra's stint at the club was deemed a disappointment as he spent both years at the club on loan in France playing for Le Havre, Bastia and Lens.

After a successful 2004–05 season with Lens, Diarra made a permanent return to France joining the club from Liverpool on a permanent deal. He spent two seasons at the club amassing over 70 appearances before signing with the then five-time defending champions Lyon. At Lyon, Diarra struggled for playing time and left the club to join Bordeaux after one year. He did earn a winner's medal as a result of the club winning the 2006–07 Ligue 1 title. With Bordeaux, Diarra was ever-present within the team under manager Laurent Blanc. He was a prominent figure on the Bordeaux team that won the league and league cup double in the 2008–09 season. Diarra has also won two Trophée des champions while playing for the club.

Diarra is also a France international. Prior to playing at senior level, he played at under-20 and under-21 level. With the under-20 team, Diarra played on the team that participated in the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship. He made his senior international debut in October 2004 in a friendly match against the Republic of Ireland. Diarra has participated in both the 2006 and 2010 editions of the FIFA World Cup. In the 2006 competition, he appeared in a group stage match against Togo and the final match against Italy as a substitute. In the 2010 edition, Diarra captained France for the first time in the team's final group stage match against South Africa.

Personal life

Diarra was born in the commune of Villepinte in the department of Seine-Saint-Denis to Malian parents. He has three younger brothers and one sister. One of his brothers, Zanké, is also a footballer and currently plays for French club Quevilly in the Championnat National, the third division of French football. He had previously played for the reserve team of professional club Paris Saint-Germain, but was released in 2010. Another brother, Idrissa, assists in running a social networking site that helps amateur footballers find a club. Diarra and his siblings were raised in the neighborhood of Rose des Vents located in the nearby commune of Aulnay-sous-Bois, where his parents still reside. He is currently married and has two children. On 28 May 2010, ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Diarra departed the national team's training camp to be beside his wife as she gave birth to his second child.

Club career

Early career

Diarra began his football career at hometown club Aulnay. After six years in Aulnay, Diarra moved back to his birth city to join Villepinte. While in the youth academy of Villepinte, he struggled to attract the attention of professional clubs often personally contacting clubs in order to earn trials. Diarra was ultimately denied several opportunities, most notably by Le Mans and, according to his brother, the struggle made the elder Diarra "very motivated to succeed".

In 1997, Diarra was signed to an amateur contract by professional club Louhans-Cuiseaux who were playing in Ligue 2, the second level of French football, and was inserted into the club's youth academy. In the 1998–99 season, Diarra was promoted to the club's reserve team and spent two seasons playing there. In the latter part of the 1999–2000 season, he was called up to the senior team by manager Philippe Hinschberger. On 15 April 2000, Diarra made his professional debut in a 2–1 defeat to Toulouse picking up a yellow card. Two weeks later, he made his first professional start in the team's 3–2 loss to Niort. In his final appearance with Louhans-Cuiseaux, Diarra received his first red card of his career after incurring two yellow card infractions in a 2–1 defeat to Le Mans. Louhans-Cuiseaux finished the campaign in last place and were relegated to the semi-professional Championnat National, the third division of French football. After the season, Louhans-Cuiseaux attempted to tie down Diarra on a long-term deal and offered the player a trainee contract. Diarra refused the deal and was subsequently available to sign with any club on a free transfer.

Bayern Munich

During the summer of 2000, Diarra was signed by German club Bayern Munich after the club saw him play one match with Louhans-Cuiseaux. Upon his arrival to the club, he was immediately placed onto the club's reserve team, Bayern Munich II, in the Regionalliga Süd, the (then) third level of German football. Diarra was a regular within the team playing alongside the likes of Owen Hargreaves, Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Zvjezdan Misimović. In his first season with the reserve team, he appeared in 28 matches scoring four goals. Diarra's influence in the team was immediate as he scored his first goal for the team in the first league match of the season against VfR Mannheim in a 4–2 defeat. His combative style of play also began to take shape as he collected nine yellow cards during the campaign with seven of them coming in the team's first 17 matches. The season was ultimately a success for Diarra partly due to the player being promoted to the senior team for the 2001–02 season by manager Ottmar Hitzfeld. He was assigned the number 30 shirt.

Diarra began the 2001–02 season by making the bench in several of the team's league matches in August and September, but failing to make an appearance. In October 2001, he was dropped back down to the club's reserve team and appeared in four matches before earning promotion back to the senior team for its 2001 Intercontinental Cup showdown with Argentine club Boca Juniors. Diarra made the bench for the match, but did not feature as Bayern won the match courtesy of an extra time goal from Samuel Kuffour. The victory gave Diarra his first major honour of his career. Afterwards, he returned to the reserve team and later suffered an injury, which required a lengthy absence. Diarra rejoined the team in March 2002 under new manager Hermann Gerland and made nine more appearances. Following the season, Diarra was offered a new three-year contract with the club, but rejected it citing his limited playing time. Despite his disappointing stint with Bayern, which included failing to make an appearance with the club's senior team, in 2009, Diarra stated "I have very fond memories of my time in Bayern". Following Diarra's success at Bordeaux, Bayern's general manager Uli Hoeneß admitted that Diarra's rise to prominence as a footballer is "one of the seven wonders of the world". Hoeneß admitted that he was surprised by Diarra's resurgence, stating: "If somebody had told me e would return for a UEFA Champions League gamefive years ago and made a bet with me, I would have lost a fortune". Since Diarra departing the club in 2002, due to FIFA compensation laws, Bayern have recouped over €800,000 as a result of the player's future transfers.

Liverpool

On 3 July 2002, English club Liverpool confirmed its interest in signing Diarra under the guidance of manager Gérard Houllier, who had likened the player to Patrick Vieira. Liverpool were also in competition with Italian club Juventus and several French clubs. On 9 July, Liverpool confirmed that the club had signed the player from Bayern Munich. Diarra agreed to a five-year contract and made his club debut against Le Havre during the club's pre-season. A day after the match against Le Havre, it was reported that Diarra was on a verge of a loan move to the same club. On 1 August, the loan was confirmed.

Loan stints in France

Diarra made his debut for Le Havre on 17 August 2002 in the team's 1–1 draw with Strasbourg appearing as a substitute. He was a frequent starter for the majority of the fall season, but, following the winter break, began appearing primarily as a substitute. In September 2002, Diarra's contract dispute with Louhans-Cuiseaux came into the spotlight after his former club admitted that the player was reportedly banned from playing in France professionally for three years due to moving abroad without Louhans-Cuiseaux receiving a trainers' compensation fee. Louhans-Cuiseaux reported the situation to FIFA, however, the organization ruled in favor of Diarra who was allowed to continue his career with Le Havre. Diarra scored his first professional goal on 25 January 2003 in a 2–1 defeat to Laval in the Coupe de France. He finished the campaign with 28 total appearances.

In the 2003 off-season, Diarra admitted that he would love to return to Liverpool stating "I'm someone who is ambitious and I hope to win my place at Anfield next season". However, in July 2003, Houllier confirmed that Diarra would remain in France on loan, this time with Corsican club Bastia. Upon his arrival to the club, Diarra was inserted as a starter by manager Gérard Gili and paid immediate dividends scoring in back-to-back weeks in a 4–2 win against Guingamp and a 4–1 loss to Auxerre in September. On 7 March 2004, he scored a goal in Bastia's surprising 4–1 win over Marseille. Diarra ultimately finished the campaign with 38 total appearances and four goals. After the season, Diarra returned to Liverpool for pre-season training, however, not under the guidance of his recruiter Houllier, but under Spanish coach Rafael Benítez. As a result, he was, for the third consecutive season, linked with a loan move. His non-inclusion on the club's roster for its North America tour meant a loan move was inevitable and, on 27 July 2004, he was loaned to Lens.

Similar to his stint at Bastia, Diarra was included in the team as a starter by coach Joël Muller. The season was a major success for Diarra as he was the only player in the team to start every league match he played for the club. He also served as captain for a majority of the season. His consistent performances led to his call up to the senior national team. Diarra scored his first goal of the campaign in a 1–1 draw with Ajaccio. He scored the goal in the opening minute of the match. On 6 February 2005, Diarra scored the opener in team's 2–0 win over Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes. He finished the campaign with 37 total appearances and two goals. Diarra also collected 11 yellow cards.

Lens

After establishing himself as a premier player in France and an international during the 2004–05 campaign, Benítez declared that Diarra still had a future at Liverpool stating "I think it's still early days for him, but it's good news for us to see a young player doing so well. If he continues to play well for his club and is in the national team, we will be reminding everyone he is our player". However, in April 2005, Diarra revealed that he wanted to stay with Lens for the long-term. After finishing the season, on 24 June 2005, Liverpool granted his request after Lens reached an agreement with the club on a transfer fee, purported to be €3.2 million. Diarra finished his Liverpool career with no first-team appearances and only one club appearance, which came in a pre-season friendly.

Diarra remained a starter at Lens and also retained his consistency appearing in a career-high 44 matches, scoring two goals, and providing four assists. His two goals came in a 2–1 away win over Nancy and a 2–2 draw with Nice

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