Salif Alassane Diao (born 10 February 1977) is a Senegalese former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. Diao moved from Senegal to France when he was seventeen and started his career at

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

, with whom he helped with the

Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the Super cup, super cups found in many other count ...

and Division 1. He failed to hold down a regular place at Monaco and moved to Sedan in 2000. Diao then had an impressive

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

with

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

, which attracted the attention of several

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

sides. It was

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

who won the race and signed Diao for £5 million in 2002. His time at Liverpool was unsuccessful and he was sent out on loan to

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

and Stoke City. He joined the latter Stoke permanently on a free transfer in 2007 and helped the club to promotion to the Premier League in 2008.

Career

Monaco

Diao was born in

Kédougou Kédougou ( Wolof: Keédugu) is a town in the Kédougou Region of south-eastern Senegal near the border with Mali and Guinea. It lies at an elevation of above sea level. Founded by the Malinké people, Kédougou means the "Land of Man". The t ...

, Tambacounda Region. He began his career in his native country before moving to France at the age of seventeen. He begin his professional career playing for

in 1996, but did not feature for the club at all in the 1996–1997 season and was loaned out the Ligue 2 side

Épinal Épinal (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in northeastern France and the prefecture of the Vosges (department), Vosges Departments of France, department. Geography The commune has a land area of . It is situated on the river Moselle, so ...

, where he played two matches for the club. He returned to Monaco for the 1997–98 season, where he played 12 times in his second season at the club. He was also part of the Monaco side that won Division 1 in the 1999–2000 season. He also won a runner-up medal in the

2002 African Cup of Nations The 2002 African Cup of Nations was the 23rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by Mali. Just like in 2000, the field of sixteen teams was split into four groups of four. Ca ...

, where Senegal lost in extra time to

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

Sedan Ardennes

In 2001, he signed for Sedan. He played 32 games in all competitions in his first season at Sedan in the 2001–02 season, including three matches in the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

. He made his first start of the on 28 July 2001 in their 1–1 draw away at

Bastia Bastia ( , , , ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest popu ...

. He made 22 appearances for Sedan in his second season at the club, with an extra two games in the UEFA Cup. His last game for Sedan came in their 1–1 draw with

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

on 6 April 2002, before joining English club

Liverpool

He was signed by former Liverpool manager

Gérard Houllier Gérard Paul Francis Houllier (; 3 September 194714 December 2020) was a French professional football manager and player. Clubs he managed include Paris Saint-Germain, Lens and Liverpool, where he won the FA Cup, League Cup, FA Charity Shield, ...

from French club Sedan for £5 million (€7.5m) just before the

in South Korea and Japan. He helped

reach the quarter-finals, most notably in scoring a memorable goal against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

in the first round, although he was subsequently red-carded. At the club, he tended to be used out of position by Houllier, often played at

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

or full back, and as a result never had the chance to demonstrate whether he was capable of playing a central midfield role for the club, although the evidence did suggest he was somewhat out of his depth. His first Liverpool goal came against Spartak Moscow in the Champions League. He scored a total of three goals, only one coming in the league, in a 1–0 win at

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

in October 2002. He was left out of Liverpool's squad for the victorious 2003 Football League Cup Final despite playing often in the earlier rounds, including the semi-final first leg against Sheffield United. Diao was played in his correct position by Rafa Benítez, but several poor displays saw him displaced by

Xabi Alonso Xabier Alonso Olano (, ; born 25 November 1981) is a Spanish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the head coach of La Liga club Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid. He is regarded as o ...

, notably after a 4–2 win at

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

. Liverpool were 2–0 down when Diao was substituted; he had been at fault for one of the goals Fulham scored whilst attempting a bizarre back heel. Despite not having featured for months, Diao was present in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

when Liverpool won the Champions League in 2005. He appeared only once in the campaign, coming on as a substitute away at

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

in the group stage. It was during the 2004–05 season that Diao scored his last Liverpool goal against

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

in the League Cup; he played his last game for Liverpool at

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

in January 2005. In January 2005,

took Diao, who had struggled to make Liverpool's first team, on loan for the rest of the season, but he had his spell at Birmingham ended by injury almost immediately. The arrival of

Rafael Benítez Rafael Benítez Maudes (born 16 April 1960) is a Spanish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player. He was most recently the manager of La Liga club RC Celta de Vigo, Celta Vigo. Beníte ...

and defensive midfielder Mohamed Sissoko signalled the end of his Liverpool career. Although Sissoko was branded the "new Vieira" by Benítez, Diao had received this same tag from Houllier upon his arrival at Liverpool. Diao was not issued a squad number by Liverpool for the 2005–06 season, with his number 15 being given to new signing

Peter Crouch Peter James Crouch (born 30 January 1981) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. He was Cap (sport), capped 42 times by the England national football t ...

. He joined

in August 2005 on a season-long loan, but spent much of the season out injured. At the end of the season, Pompey manager

Harry Redknapp Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former association football, football manager (association football), manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United F.C., West Ham United, Portsmouth F.C., ...

decided not to take up the option to sign him permanently because of his injury-proneness. In July 2006, Diao was taken on trial by Premiership side Charlton Athletic. He failed a medical at the club, thus ending his chances of signing.

Stoke City

On 10 October 2006, Diao joined Stoke City on loan. He made his debut for Stoke four days later in a 4–0 win away at

. He became a consistent player for Stoke, holding the team together, slowing down the tempo and speed of the game. It is thought that the revival of Stoke City during the 2006–07 season was in a large part due to Diao's hard-working performances. On 25 January 2007, his contract at Stoke was extended until the end of the season. At the end of the 2006–07 season, Diao was released by Liverpool and was expected to sign for Stoke, but did not sign a deal with the club because he was worried about his fitness levels. He eventually signed permanently for Stoke on a one-and-a-half-year deal in December 2007. Diao put in some decent performances for Stoke, including games against former club

and man of the match performances against Chelsea and

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

. In June 2009, he was offered a new one-year contract to stay at the

Britannia Stadium The bet365 Stadium is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England and the home of EFL Championship club Stoke City. The stadium was previously called the Britannia Stadium but was renamed on 1 June 2016 when the cl ...

, which he accepted. He scored his first goal for the club in an away win at

in February 2010. It was only Diao's second ever league goal, with his first coming six years before. Diao left Stoke after he rejected a new contract, which would have given a joint role as a club ambassador and player. However, Diao changed his mind and agreed to sign a new contract with Stoke. During the 2010–11 season, Diao played eleven times for Stoke and was an unused substitute in the 2011 FA Cup Final. In the 2011–12 season, Diao was used sparingly by Pulis, with Diao playing mostly in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

; he left the club at the end of the 2011–12 season, after turning down a coaching role.

International career

Diao has appeared 39 times for Senegal, scoring four goals in the process since 2000, including a strike against

at the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

after a series of quick passes by his teammates to set him up. He was later sent off in the same match for a high tackle. Diao was in the Senegal squad that went to the

where Senegal finished second after losing in the final to Cameroon and was part of the Senegal side that went to the

2004 African Cup of Nations The 2004 African Cup of Nations was held from 24 January to 14 February 2004 in Tunisia. It was the 24th edition of the biennial international men's football championship of Africa, organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Tun ...

. He was also in the side that reached the quarter-finals of the

and played games including their 1–0 win over then current champions

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, as well as scoring in their 1–1 draw with

before being sent off which meant he missed their next two games but returned for their quarter final exit to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. He has also been involved in Senegal's qualification campaigns for the past three World Cups in 2002, 2006 and 2010. After Senegal failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup Senegal fans went on a rampage, Diao, along with Stoke City team-mates

Abdoulaye Faye Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye (born 26 February 1978), known as Abdoulaye Faye, is a Senegalese former footballer who played as a defender. Faye began his career playing for ASEC Ndiambour and Jeanne d'Arc in his native Senegal before moving to Fren ...

and Ibrahima Sonko, were caught up in crowd trouble in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

Personal life

Diao a founder of non-profit organisation, Sport4Charity. He is also involved with Caap-Afrika.

Post-retirement

In 2015, Diao began taking his coaching badges, working at the Liverpool Academy while doing so.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Senegal's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Diao goal''.

Honours

Club

:Source: Monaco * Division 1: 1999–2000 *

: 1997–98 Liverpool *

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

: 2002–03 Stoke City *

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

runner-up: 2007–08 *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

runner-up: 2010–11

National

Senegal *

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

runner-up:

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

References

External links

*
Player profile at LFChistory.netBBC Profile of Salif Diao
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diao, Salif 1977 births Living people People from Kédougou Men's association football midfielders Senegalese men's footballers Senegal men's international footballers Senegalese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in France French men's footballers Naturalized citizens of France Expatriate men's footballers in England AS Monaco FC players SAS Épinal players CS Sedan Ardennes players Liverpool F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Premier League players English Football League players Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in England 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2002 African Cup of Nations players 2004 African Cup of Nations players Liverpool F.C. non-playing staff 21st-century Senegalese sportsmen