1. Alou Diarra was born on 15 July 1981 and is a French former professional footballer.
81 Facts About Alou Diarra
1. 2.
Alou Diarra was a France international from 2004 until 2012.
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Alou Diarra primarily played as a defensive midfielder, but could deputise as a centre-back if necessary.
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Alou Diarra is known for his leadership ability and has served as captain of both Bordeaux domestically and France internationally.
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Alou Diarra began his career playing for clubs based in Seine-Saint-Denis, such as Aulnay and hometown club Villepinte.
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In 2000, Alou Diarra was recruited by German club Bayern Munich.
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Alou Diarra spent two years playing on the club's reserve team, Bayern Munich II.
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Alou Diarra spent two seasons at the club amassing over 70 appearances before signing with the then five-time defending champions Lyon.
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At Lyon, Alou Diarra struggled for playing time and left the club to join Bordeaux after one year.
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Alou Diarra has won two Trophee des champions while playing for the club.
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Alou Diarra made his senior international debut in October 2004 in a friendly match against the Republic of Ireland.
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Alou Diarra has participated in both the 2006 and 2010 editions of the FIFA World Cup.
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Alou Diarra was born in the commune of Villepinte in the department of Seine-Saint-Denis to Malian parents.
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Alou Diarra had previously played for the reserve team of professional club Paris Saint-Germain, but was released in 2010.
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On 28 May 2010, ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Alou Diarra departed the national team's training camp to be beside his wife as she gave birth to his second child.
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Alou Diarra was ultimately denied several opportunities, most notably by Le Mans and, according to his brother, the struggle made the elder Alou Diarra "very motivated to succeed".
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In 1997, Alou Diarra was signed to an amateur contract by professional club Louhans-Cuiseaux who were playing in Ligue 2, the second level of French football, and was inserted into the club's youth academy.
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Alou Diarra refused the deal and was available to sign with any club on a free transfer.
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Alou Diarra was a regular within the team playing alongside the likes of Owen Hargreaves, Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Zvjezdan Misimovic.
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Alou Diarra made the bench for the match, but did not feature as Bayern won the match courtesy of an extra time goal from Samuel Kuffour.
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Alou Diarra rejoined the team in March 2002 under new manager Hermann Gerland and made nine more appearances.
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Alou Diarra agreed to a five-year contract and made his club debut against Le Havre during the club's pre-season.
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Alou Diarra was a frequent starter for the majority of the fall season, but, following the winter break, began appearing primarily as a substitute.
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Louhans-Cuiseaux reported the situation to FIFA the organization ruled in favor of Alou Diarra who was allowed to continue his career with Le Havre.
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However, in July 2003, Houllier confirmed that Alou Diarra would remain in France on loan, this time with Corsican club Bastia.
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Alou Diarra ultimately finished the campaign with 38 total appearances and four goals.
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Similar to his stint at Bastia, Alou Diarra was included in the team as a starter by coach Joel Muller.
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Alou Diarra served as captain for a majority of the season.
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Alou Diarra scored the goal in the opening minute of the match.
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Alou Diarra finished the campaign with 37 total appearances and two goals.
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However, in April 2005, Alou Diarra revealed that he wanted to stay with Lens for the long-term.
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Alou Diarra finished his Liverpool career with no first-team appearances and only one club appearance, which came in a pre-season friendly.
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Alou Diarra remained a starter at Lens and retained his consistency appearing in a career-high 44 matches, scoring two goals, and providing four assists.
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Alou Diarra made his European debut on 3 July 2005 in a UEFA Intertoto Cup second round tie against Polish club Lech Poznan.
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Alou Diarra struggled to make an impact at the club as Houllier preferred the younger Jeremy Toulalan and Tiago Mendes as his starting defensive midfielder and box-to-box midfielder, respectively.
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Alou Diarra scored his first goal for the club on 6 December 2006 in the club's final UEFA Champions League group stage match against Romanian club Steaua Bucuresti.
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Alou Diarra refused the orders and Houllier responded by reportedly threatening not to play him for the rest of the season.
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Alou Diarra repeated this feat in three of the team's last five matches as Lyon were crowned champions for the sixth consecutive season.
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However, Aulas revealed that Alou Diarra refused the move and preferred to stay in France and join Bordeaux.
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Alou Diarra stated his primary reason for joining Bordeaux over Portsmouth was because Bordeaux "wants to play for the first positions in Ligue 1 and I am attracted to that".
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Alou Diarra was signed as a replacement for the departed Rio Mavuba who ventured to Spain.
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Alou Diarra was a regular within the starting lineup for the entire season starting all 36 league matches he appeared in.
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Alou Diarra formed excellent midfield partnerships with box-to-box midfielders Alejandro Alonso and Fernando Menegazzo who gave Diarra the freedom to distribute the ball and dismantle impending attacks from the opposition.
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Alou Diarra participated in European competition with Bordeaux during the season.
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Alou Diarra played in four matches during the club's UEFA Cup campaign.
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Alou Diarra appeared in all four matches the team contested, which included playing 120 minutes in back-to-back rounds.
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Alou Diarra scored two more goals for the club; both of which came in the league in wins over Metz and Rennes.
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Alou Diarra finished the season with 44 total appearances and four goals.
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Alou Diarra finished the season with a career-high 45 total appearances and three goals.
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Alou Diarra missed the first leg of the team's Round of 16 tie with Greek club Olympiacos.
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Alou Diarra returned to league play on 13 March 2010 and played the rest of the league campaign missing only one match.
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Alou Diarra later stated that he was happy to remain at Bordeaux and see out the rest of his contract.
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On 16 October 2010, Alou Diarra was involved in a controversial dispute, which resulted in the player being banned from playing league football for six matches.
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Alou Diarra was immediately shown a red card and dismissed from the match.
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Alou Diarra was supported by his former coach Laurent Blanc who stated that Diarra made a simple mistake that he immediately regretted as soon as he realized what he did.
56.
On 4 July 2011, Alou Diarra completed his much-anticipated move from Bordeaux to league rivals Marseille agreeing to a three-year contract.
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On 10 August 2012, Alou Diarra moved back to England to join West Ham United on a three-year contract, for an undisclosed fee.
58.
Alou Diarra said that his time at West Ham United has become a waste of time.
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Alou Diarra criticized West Ham United for his pre-season training schedule, having finished Euro 2012.
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Alou Diarra was expected to miss the whole of the season due to this injury.
61.
On 31 January 2013, Alou Diarra joined Rennes, on loan until the end of season.
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Several days after returning to France, Alou Diarra made his debut, coming on as a substitute and providing assist for debutant Axel Ngando, who scored his first goal for the club to settle a draw with Lorient.
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Alou Diarra made twelve appearances before returning to West Ham United after manager Frederic Antonetti publicity criticised him, claiming "he has not been able to give all that he could give".
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Alou Diarra later signed an extension till the summer of 2016, with the option of an extra year.
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Alou Diarra left the club at the end of the season.
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Alou Diarra is a former French youth international having earned caps at under-20 and under-21 level.
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Alou Diarra earned his first international youth call up in 2001 by coach Raymond Domenech ahead of the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship.
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The injury was deemed severe and Alou Diarra missed the rest of the tournament.
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Alou Diarra earned his first call up to the under-21 team in August 2002 for a friendly match against Cyprus.
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Alou Diarra featured regularly within the team as France attempted to qualify for both the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship and the football tournament at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
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In December 2003, Alou Diarra was called up to the Mali national team to participate in the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations.
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Alou Diarra turned down the opportunity to represent the nation of his parents in order to continue his career with his home country France.
73.
On 13 August 2004, Alou Diarra was named to the senior national team for the first time by Domenech to participate in a friendly match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
74.
Alou Diarra did not make his debut in the match, but was named to the team again in October for 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against the Republic of Ireland and Cyprus.
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Alou Diarra featured with the team heavily in World Cup qualification primarily as a substitute for either Patrick Vieira or Claude Makelele and, following France's qualification for the tournament, was named to the team to participate in the competition.
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Alou Diarra appeared as a substitute for Vieira in the team's final group stage match against Togo and repeated this in the final match against Italy.
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Alou Diarra was later selected to participate in his second consecutive FIFA World Cup.
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Alou Diarra was one of several players retained by incoming coach Laurent Blanc, his former manager.
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In 2018, Alou Diarra joined French club Lens as an assistant coach for the club's under-19 side.
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Alou Diarra eventually became an assistant for the reserve team, and in 2020, for the club's senior team coached by Franck Haise.
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Alou Diarra left Lens in 2022, joining Troyes as manager of the under-19 side in the Championnat National U19.