Profile of Salif Diao on Famous Like Me

Salif Diao (born 10 February 1977 in Kedougou, Senegal) is a Senegalese football player, playing as a defensive midfielder. He currently plays for Portsmouth (on loan from Liverpool F.C.), and Senegal.

He began his career in his native Senegal before moving to France at the age of seventeen. He played for AS Monaco and won the French League with them in the 1999-2000 season. He also won a runner-up medal in the 2002 African Nations Cup, where Senegal lost in extra time to Cameroon.

He was signed by former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier from French club Sedan for £5 million after the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. While his natural position is that of defensive or central midfielder, Houiller often used him either as a centre back or as a right back. On January 18, 2005 Birmingham City took Diao, who had struggled to make Liverpool's first team, on loan for the rest of the season. Diao's future under Rafael Benítez looks bleak, especially with the arrival of fellow central midfielder Momo Sissoko. Ironically, while Sissoko has been branded the "new Vieira" by Benítez, Diao received this tag from Houiller on joining Liverpool. He joined Portsmouth on August 31, 2005 on a season long loan.

Diao has appeared 39 times for Senegal, netting 4 goals in the process.

Honours

• 1997/98 French Super Cup

This content from Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Salif Diao