Lassana Diarra
Diarra in 2014
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lassana Diarra | ||
| Date of birth | 10 March 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Paris, France | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
|
Current team
|
Free Agent | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Paris FC | |||
| Nantes | |||
| Le Mans | |||
| Red Star 93 | |||
| 2003–2004 | Le Havre | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2005 | Le Havre | 29 | (0) |
| 2005–2007 | Chelsea | 13 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | Arsenal | 7 | (0) |
| 2008–2009 | Portsmouth | 24 | (1) |
| 2009–2012 | Real Madrid | 87 | (1) |
| 2012–2013 | Anzhi Makhachkala | 18 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Lokomotiv Moscow | 17 | (1) |
| 2015–2017 | Marseille | 36 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2005–2006 | France U21 | 18 | (0) |
| 2007– | France | 34 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10:52, 28 November 2016 (UTC). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 30 May 2016 |
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Lassana Diarra (born 10 March 1985), nicknamed Lass, is a French footballer who currently is a free agent after being released by Ligue 1 club Marseille. His predominant position is defensive midfielder but he can also play in a more advanced role and has played at right back, which he occasionally has done for the France national football team. Diarra has, in his club footballing career, featured for Chelsea, Arsenal, Portsmouth and Real Madrid. The Frenchman has also played for Russian clubs Anzhi Makhachkala as well as that of Lokomotiv Moscow.
Diarra was turned down by football clubs as a youngster; Nantes deemed him too "small and lightweight" to succeed at 170 cm and 58 kg (5'7" and 9 stone). He admitted he thought his "football career was over." His next stop was Le Mans UC, where Diarra claimed they "didn't seem to care" about him.
Diarra's footballing career finally began at Le Havre, a former French top-flight football team. Outstanding in his defensive midfield role, his reputation started to grow and impressive performances saw his selection to the French under-21 squad. Along with the reputation came interest from other clubs, and Chelsea became potential suitors. With Chelsea's Claude Makélélé getting older, Chelsea's scouts tagged Diarra as the "new Makélélé" and the club paid £1 million for his services in July 2005.
Diarra was in Chelsea's first team squad in the 2005–06 season, but did not see much first-team football. His Chelsea debut came in the UEFA Champions League in October 2005, when he was given a brief run out as a substitute when Chelsea were 4–0 up against Real Betis. Learning from Claude Makélélé he played well against Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup third round, winning rave reviews from both managers, teammates, and media sources. He made his league debut when he came on as a substitute for Makélélé on 5 February 2006 in a 2–0 win over Liverpool. He became a bit part player in Chelsea's first team and also completed the full 90 minutes in Chelsea's last two games of the season at Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United respectively, as manager José Mourinho rotated his squad. This meant Diarra ended the season with three league appearances as Chelsea won the 2005–06 FA Premier League. Diarra was named Chelsea's Young Player of the Season for 2005–06.
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