Profile-Mahamadou Diarra

Full name	Mahamadou Diarra
Date of birth	May 18, 1981
Place of birth	Bamako, Mali
Height	1,83 m
Position	Defensive Midfield

A talented midfielder, he has played for his current team Olympique Lyonnais since 2002, winning three national league titles. He had previously been with Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem and Greek side OFI Crete. Diarra has played several international matches for Mali.

Diarra has been compared to top european Midfielders like Patrick Vieira and Claude Makelele. Many people who have worked with him including Dutch Football Legend Ronald Koeman feels that Diarra has the potential but that he needs to learn how to control his strong temperament.

On August the 18th Real Madrid has reached an agreement with Lyon for Diarra for about 26 million Euro. A deal with the player himself is still pending. This has been confirmed by the Lyon homepage, and the Real Madrid president, Ramón Calderón, at a radio show in Spain[1].

Playing career

• -/1998 : CSK Bamako (?/?)
• 1998/1999 : OFI Crete (21/2)
• 1999/2000 : Vitesse Arnhem (16/2)
• 2000/2001 : Vitesse Arnhem (29/4)
• 2001/2002 : Vitesse Arnhem (24/3)
• 2002/2003 : Olympique Lyonnais (France) (28/1)
• 2003/2004 : Olympique Lyonnais (France) (27/1)
• 2004/2005 : Olympique Lyonnais (France) (33/2)
• 2005/2006 : Olympique Lyonnais (France) (31/3)
• 2006/2007 : Olympique Lyonnais (France) (2/0)
• 2006- currently: Real Madrid Spain

[edit]

Honours

• French Ligue 1 championship in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 with Olympique Lyonnais.
• Trophée Des Champions in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 with Olympique Lyonnais.
• FIFA World Youth Championship 3rd place in 1999 with Mali under-20 team