Baba Diawara

Papa Babacar "Baba" Diawara (born 5 January 1988) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a striker.

Baba Diawara
Personal information
Full name Papa Babacar Diawara[1]
Date of birth (1988-01-05) 5 January 1988[1]
Place of birth Dakar, Senegal[1]
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2007 Jeanne d´Arc 24 (9)
2007–2008 Marítimo B 23 (6)
2008–2012 Marítimo 103 (37)
2012–2015 Sevilla 30 (3)
2013–2014 → Levante (loan) 20 (3)
2014–2015 → Getafe (loan) 21 (1)
2015–2016 Marítimo 25 (4)
2017–2019 Adelaide United 23 (7)
2019–2020 Mohun Bagan 12 (10)
2021 Punjab 9 (5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:24, 26 August 2021 (UTC)

Club career

Marítimo

Born in Dakar, Diawara started his career with Senegal Premier League club ASC Jeanne d'Arc, moving to Europe aged just 19 to sign for C.S. Marítimo in Portugal due to his friendship with former footballer Paul Tisdale.[2] Having risen to prominence in their reserves, he made his debut for the main squad late into the 2007–08 season, appearing in the second half of a 1–1 Primeira Liga home draw against C.F. Estrela da Amadora.[3]

Promoted to the first team the following summer, Diawara scored ten goals in the 2008–09 campaign from 25 league games.[4][5] His form attracted the attention of several clubs, including Sporting CP,[6] Olympiacos F.C. from Greece and Scotland's Heart of Midlothian, with the latter however being put off by Marítimo's £2.5 million (€2.75 million) valuation of the player.[7]

Diawara bettered his individual totals to 11 goals in 2010–11, with Marítimo finishing in ninth position. Celtic came close to signing him in August 2011, but the deal collapsed on the last day of the transfer window due to visa issues.[8]

Diawara netted ten goals in only 15 matches in the first half of the 2011–12 season, including the last-minute winner at Sporting in a 3–2 win.[9]

Sevilla

Diawara signed with Sevilla FC on 17 January 2012, penning a 4+1⁄2-year contract.[10] He made his La Liga debut on the 29th, coming on as a substitute for José Antonio Reyes late into the first half of a 2–1 loss at Málaga CF.[11] His first goal came on 3 March, starting the first time due to Álvaro Negredo's injury and equalising in a 1–1 draw against Atlético Madrid at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium.[12]

On 17 April 2012, Diawara scored the opening goal in the new National Stadium in Warsaw, during a friendly with local Legia Warsaw, adding another in a 2–0 win.[13] He netted twice on 5 May as Sevilla won 5–2 in their final home match of the season, against Rayo Vallecano.[14] In the following campaign he did not find the net in the league, featuring mainly from the bench.[15]

In July 2013, Diawara was one of three Sevilla players deemed surplus to requirements by coach Unai Emery.[16] On 19 August, he was loaned to fellow Spaniards Levante UD for the duration of 2013–14.[17]

Adelaide United

In February 2017, after one and a half seasons with former club Marítimo, Diawara joined Adelaide United FC in the Australian A-League.[18] He scored three goals in only seven matches in his first season (five in all competitions),[19] the first coming on 19 March in the 2–1 home defeat of Brisbane Roar FC.[20]

Diawara agreed to a new two-year deal on 11 May 2017.[21]

Mohun Bagan

In December 2019, Diawara signed a one-year contract with India's Mohun Bagan AC.[22] He scored his first I-League goal for his new team the following 19 January, heading home from a corner kick in the 65th minute to help the hosts defeat East Bengal F.C. 2–1.[23]

Punjab

Diawara joined Punjab FC of the same country and league on 1 February 2021.[24] On his debut eight days later, he scored twice in a 2–1 away victory over Indian Arrows.[25]

Career statistics
As of 1 June 2013[26]
Club League Season League Cup League Cup Europe Total
AppsGoalsAssistsAppsGoalsAssistsAppsGoalsAssistsAppsGoalsAssistsAppsGoalsAssists
Marítimo Primeira Liga 2007–08 400000——400
2008–09 25103201201—29105
2009–10 3066320210—3596
2010–11 2911521010062338148
2011–12 15102410340—22152
Maritimo Total 103371611418516231284821
Sevilla La Liga 2011–12 1130000000—1130
2012–13 1900411000—2311
Sevilla Total 30304110000003441
Career Total 133401615528516231625222

Honours

Mohun Bagan

References
  1. "B. Diawara" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  2. "Un inglés en Dakar: la historia de Babá, un jugador diferente" [An Englishman in Dakar: the story of Babá, a different player] (in Spanish). Misitio. July 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  3. "Marítimo-E. Amadora, 1–1 (Bruno 72 G.P.; Maurício 20)" [Marítimo-E. Amadora, 1–1 (Bruno 72 P.K.; Maurício 20)]. Record (in Portuguese). 2 March 2008. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  4. "Djalma e Baba lançam Marítimo para a Europa" [Djalma and Baba propel Marítimo toward Europe]. Correio da Manhã (in Portuguese). 5 January 2009. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  5. "Baba e Djalma rendem 15 golos" [Baba and Djalma equal 15 goals]. Record (in Portuguese). 9 March 2009. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  6. "Djalma e Baba na mira do Sporting" [Djalma and Baba coveted by Sporting] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 22 December 2009. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  7. "Hearts can't afford to move for Baba Diawara". Daily Record. 8 March 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  8. "Celtic step up interest in striker as chief scout makes personal check". STV News. 12 December 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  9. Cole, Richard (28 August 2011). "Maritimo stun Sporting at the Alvalade". PortuGOAL. Archived from the original on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  10. "El Sevilla ficha a Babá" [Sevilla sign Babá]. Marca (in Spanish). 18 January 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  11. "Sevilla sunk by Boquerones". ESPN Soccernet. 29 January 2012. Archived from the original on 2 February 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  12. "Sevilla y Atlético de Madrid empataron por miedo a perder" [Sevilla and Atlético Madrid drew for fear of losing] (in Spanish). ESPN. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  13. "Beckham survives Olympic cut; Warsaw Stadium stages first club match". World Football Insider. 18 April 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  14. Olmedo, Álvaro (5 May 2012). "Navas acerca al Rayo al precipicio" [Navas brings Rayo closer to the abyss]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  15. Pinilla, Daniel (8 February 2013). "Negredo tiene una cuenta pendiente" [Negredo has score to settle]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  16. "El Sevilla no cuenta con Babá, Botía ni Alexis" [Sevilla do not need Babá, Botía or Alexis]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 6 July 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  17. "Babá: "Quiero recuperarme aquí y volver a ser Babá"" [Babá: "I want to recuperate here and be Babá again"]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 19 August 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  18. "Reds sign former Korean international". FourFourTwo. 7 February 2017. Archived from the original on 7 February 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  19. Huguenin, Michael (11 May 2017). "STATS: Diawara could match A-League's best strikers". Goal. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  20. "Adelaide United steal controversial A-League win over Brisbane Roar with 98th-minute penalty". ABC. 19 March 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  21. "Reds sign Baba Diawara to two-year deal". Adelaide United. 11 May 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  22. "Mohun Bagan rope in new striker". Mohun Bagan. 17 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  23. Das Sharma, Amitabha (19 January 2020). "Mohun Bagan defeats East Bengal in penultimate Kolkata derby of I-League". The Hindu. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  24. "RoundGlass Punjab sign former Mohun Bagan ace Papa Babacar Diawara". Khel Now. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  25. @RGPunjabFC (9 February 2021). "90' | FULL TIME!! A terrific team performance & a brilliant brace on his debut by our star Senegalese forward 𝐏𝐀𝐏𝐀 𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐀 help RGPFC to secure our second consecutive win!" (Tweet). Retrieved 9 February 2021 – via Twitter.
  26. "B. Diawara". Soccerway. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  27. Das Sharma, Amitabha (10 March 2020). "Mohun Bagan wins second I-League title with win over Aizawl FC". The Hindu. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  28. Mergulhao, Marcus (19 April 2020). "AIFF concludes season, Mohun Bagan declared I-League champions". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
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