Mahamadou Diarra
Diarra in 2007.
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mahamadou Diarra | ||
| Date of birth | 18 May 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Bamako, Mali | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1997–1998 | Centre Salif Keita | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–1999 | OFI | 21 | (2) |
| 1999–2002 | Vitesse Arnhem | 69 | (9) |
| 2002–2006 | Lyon | 123 | (7) |
| 2006–2011 | Real Madrid | 90 | (3) |
| 2011 | AS Monaco | 11 | (0) |
| 2012–2014 | Fulham | 25 | (1) |
| Total | 339 | (22) | |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2001–2012 | Mali | 69 | (6) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:37, 20 September 2016 (UTC). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:37, 20 September 2016 (UTC) |
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Mahamadou Diarra (born 18 May 1981) is Malian former footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He was the captain of the Mali national team.
Diarra started his career with Greek side OFI Crete. Then he went to Vitesse Arnhem. He played for French club Lyon from 2002 until 2006 and formed a successful midfield partnership with Michael Essien. He won four Ligue 1 titles during his time at Lyon, playing a key role in the teams success.
After Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello asked President Ramón Calderón to sign three players, "Diarra, Diarra and Diarra", Real Madrid joined Manchester United in the race to sign Mahamadou Diarra. Lyon said that Diarra could not leave and put a €40 million price tag on him. On 18 May 2006, Real Madrid agreed a fee of €26 million. On 22 May, Diarra was unveiled at the Santiago Bernabéu by Calderón and was assigned the number 6 shirt.
In 2006–07, Diarra was a staple player in Fabio Capello's two-defensive midfielder system. He played in 33 of Madrid's 38 matches, scoring three times. On 18 June 2007, with Real Madrid needing to win against Real Mallorca to win the league title for the first time since 2003, Diarra scored an 81st-minute header to give Madrid a 2–1 lead. In the 84th minute, José Antonio Reyes scored a third goal to ensure Real Madrid were champions.
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