Samba Diakité (born 24 January 1989) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in France, between 2012 and 2013 he made nine appearances for the Mali national team.
Club career
Early career Diakité played for Le Bourget and Torcy, before joining Nancy in 2007.
Nancy On 27 December 2009, he signed his first professional contract after agreeing to a two-year deal with Nancy. He made his professional debut on 27 January 2010 in a Coupe de France match against Plabennec.
Queens Park Rangers (loan) On 29 January 2012, he agreed a deal to join Premier League team Queens Park Rangers on loan for the remainder of the season with a view to a permanent switch in the summer of 2012. He made his debut on 25 February 2012 in a 1–0 defeat, at home against Fulham, where he was sent-off after just 33 minutes for a second bookable offence. Diakité scored his first goal, a winning goal, for Queens Park Rangers in a 2–1 victory over London rivals Arsenal on 31 March 2012.
Queens Park Rangers On 27 June 2012, it was announced by Queens Park Rangers that they had completed the permanent signing of Diakité on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee believed to be £3.5 million. Up until his loan move to Watford, he made 14 appearances for the R's that season.
Watford (loan) On 31 January 2014, Diakité joined Watford on loan for the remainder of the 2013–14 season.
Diakité made his Watford debut as an 88th-minute substitute for Cristian Battocchio in the 2-0 win over Brighton on 2 February 2014.
However, on his full debut against Middlesbrough on 15 February 2014, Diakité was shown a straight red card early in the second half for a two-footed lunge on Dean Whitehead.
Ittihad (loan) On 19 July 2014, Diakité joined Ittihad on a season long loan. He was recalled by Queens Park Rangers at the end of the January transfer window, having made seven appearances and scoring one goal during his time at the Saudi Arabian club.
Al Tadhamon In 2020, Diakité joined Kuwaiti club Al Tadhamon SC.Mercato d’hiver des joueurs maliens et d’origine malienne à travers le monde du 03/02/2020, reference14sport.blogspot.com, 3 February 2020Samba Diakité on his official Instagram account, instagram.com, 15 April 2020
International career On 24 January 2012, he made his senior international debut for Mali at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, in the 1–0 victory against Guinea.Report In total, he has made nineteen appearances for his country, scoring four goals. His form for his country in the tournament helped them reach the semi-finals, and helped earn him a move to Queens Park Rangers.
Career statistics
Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsNancy2009–10Ligue 1301010—502010–11Ligue 12301111—2522011–12Ligue 11500011—161Total4102132—463Queens Park Rangers (loan)2011–12Premier League91———91Queens Park Rangers2012–13Premier League1400010—1502013–14Championship000010—102014–15Premier League000000—002015–16Championship000000—00Total1400020—160Watford (loan)2013–14Championship60———60Al-Ittihad (loan)2014–15Saudi Pro League71—002091Red Star2017–18National1502010—1802018–19Ligue 21802010—210Total3304020—390Al Tadhamon2019–20Kuwaiti Premier League——Career total11026172201255
International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsMali201250201340Total90
Honours Mali Africa Cup of Nations bronze: 2013
References
External links