Kaba Diawara

Kaba Diawara (born 16 December 1975) is a media pundit and former professional footballer who played as a striker. Diawara played for French teams Sporting Toulon, Bordeaux, Rennes, Olympique de Marseille, Nice Paris Saint-Germain, and Arles-Avignon, for English clubs Blackburn Rovers, West Ham United and Arsenal and for clubs in Spain and Turkey. Diawara was born in France and represented the country at under-21 level before playing senior international football for Guinea. He features as a footballing pundit with French network Canal +.

Kaba Diawara
Personal information
Full name Kaba Diawara
Date of birth (1975-12-16) 16 December 1975
Place of birth Toulon, France
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1994 Toulon 40 (11)
1994–1999 Bordeaux 60 (14)
1998 → Rennes (loan) 12 (1)
1999 Arsenal 12 (0)
1999–2000 Marseille 15 (0)
2000–2003 Paris Saint-Germain 14 (0)
2000 → Blackburn Rovers (loan) 5 (0)
2000–2001 → West Ham United (loan) 11 (0)
2002 → Racing de Ferrol (loan) 15 (5)
2002–2003 → Nice (loan) 37 (12)
2003–2004 Al-Gharrafa ? (?)
2005 Al-Kharitiyath ? (?)
2005–2006 Ajaccio 20 (2)
2006–2007 Gaziantepspor 27 (8)
2008 Ankaragücü 12 (1)
2008–2009 Alki Larnaca 11 (3)
2009–2011 Arles-Avignon 50 (8)
Total 341 (65)
National team
France U-21
2004–2009 Guinea 13 (6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Beginnings in France

Born in Toulon, Diawara at first played in 1993 for Toulon and then journeyed to Bordeaux a year later. With Bordeaux he played in the 1997 Coupe de la Ligue Final. After six years at the club he moved to Premier League club Arsenal in January 1999.[1] Six months after he left Bordeaux they won the 1999 Ligue 1 title.

Premier League

He made his debut for Arsenal on 31 January 1999 in a league match against Chelsea. He went on to make 15 appearances for Arsenal, 12 of which were in the league, but failed to score as Arsenal were involved in an ultimately unsuccessful title race with Manchester United.[2][3]

Return to France

During the summer of 1999 Diawara returned to France and signed for Marseille.[4] He stayed at Marseille for six months and in January 2000 he signed for club rival Paris St Germain[5] with whom he played in the 2000 Coupe de la Ligue Final.

Return to England

In the summer of 2000 he was linked with a return to England with Premier League side Everton, however they re-signed Duncan Ferguson instead.[6] However he did return to England when in August 2000 he joined Division One side Blackburn Rovers on loan.[7] At Blackburn he scored his first and only goal in English football, in a League Cup tie with Rochdale.[8] After his loan at Blackburn finished he then joined Premier League side West Ham United on loan for the rest of the 2000-01 season.[9]

Later career

After returning to Paris St Germain he had further loan spells at Racing de Ferrol and Nice.[10][11][12]

In the 2006–07 season, he transferred to Süper Lig team Gaziantepspor. At Gaziantepspor he got little playing time. As such in January 2008 he signed a six-month contract with fellow Turkish side Ankaragücü. On August 2008, he moved to Alki Larnaca of Cyprus. He was eventually released by Larnaca in December of that year. Diawara then signed for French side AC Arles-Avignon on a free transfer in 2009. At Avignon Diawara went on to bring an end to his playing days.[11]

International career

Diawara played for the French national U-21 team,[13] but chose to represent Guinea at senior level. Diawara was then called up to Guinea's squad for the 2006 African Cup of Nations. Guinea went on to the quarterfinals of the tournament against where Diawara scored in an eventual 3-2 defeat to Senegal.[14]

Personal life

Diawara became a football pundit with French network Canal +.[15]

Honours

Bordeaux[10]

Paris Saint-Germain

References
  1. "Football: Diawara joins Arsenal's French contingent". Independent. 29 January 1999. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  2. "Games played by Kaba Diawara in 1998/1999". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  3. "Gunners' title hopes spiked". BBC. 11 May 1999. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  4. "Diawara in Marseille move". BBC. 1 June 1999. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  5. "AC Milan's Weah to make Marseille move". iol.co.za. 11 January 2000. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  6. "TOFFEES WAIT ON FERGIE - CONSIDER KABA". Sky. 1 June 2000. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  7. "Diawara added to Ewood arsenal". BBC. 22 August 2000. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  8. "Blackburn 6-1 Rochdale (agg: 7-2)". BBC. 6 September 2000. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  9. "West Ham secure Diawara to bolster attack". Independent. 21 September 2000. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  10. Kaba Diawara at L'Équipe Football (in French)
  11. "Kaba Diawara". Eurosport.com.
  12. "PSG loan out Diawara". UEFA.com. 31 January 2002. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
  13. "FIFA rule change boosts African nations". Rediff.com.
  14. "Guinea 2-3 Senegal". BBC.co.uk.
  15. Tanzi, Loic (13 September 2016). "Paris Saint-Germain can beat Arsenal in Champions League opener, says Diawara". Goal.com. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
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