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	1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)[1]
Playing position	Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current club	Real Madrid
Number	6
Youth career
1997–1998	Centre Salif Keita
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1998–1999 1999–2002 2002–2006 2006–	Crete Vitesse Lyon Real Madrid	021 (2) 065 (9) 123 (6) 080 (3)
National team2
2001–	Mali	0 55 (2)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19 December 2009. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 30 December 2009. * Appearances (Goals)

Mahamadou Diarra (born 18 May 1981 in Bamako, Mali) is a Malian footballer who currently plays as a defensive midfielder for Real Madrid, and the Mali national football 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.

[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 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 2006-07 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 2008, while playing an international fixture against Chad, Diarra was stretchered 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 undergo surgery after he aggravated his knee once more. He was 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. Lass took over as the starting defensive midfielder, and Mahamadou Diarra began the 2009-10 season as his backup.

[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 often partners with Seydou Keita of Barcelona or Mohamed Sissoko of Juventus in the midfield.

[edit] International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	30 January 2004	Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia	Burkina Faso	2 – 0	3 – 1	2004 African Cup of Nations
2.	7 February 2004	Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia	Guinea	2 – 1	2 – 1	2004 African Cup of Nations

[edit] Career stats

(correct as of 12 December 2009)

[edit] Honours

[edit] Lyon

• French Ligue 1 (4): 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06
• Trophée Des Champions (4): 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006

[edit] Real Madrid

• Spanish La Liga (2): 2006-07, 2007-08
• Supercopa de España (1): 2008-09

[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

Category:Malian expatriates in Spain