Lass is a football player. The mystery of the separation of Diarra and the "locomotive"

Lassana Diarra began his professional football career in France at the Le Havre club, from where, after successful performances as a defensive midfielder, he was able to join the France U-21 national team. He was noticed in the national team by Chelsea scouts, who considered him as a replacement for Claude Makelele, who had already become an older footballer and was in need of a replacement in the near future. In July 2005, Diarra moved to Chelsea for £1 million.

Chelsea

Despite not receiving much first-team practice in his first season at Chelsea, Diarra was named the team's best young player for the 2005–06 season. In the 2006–07 season, due to an epidemic of injuries in the team's defensive line, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho began using Diarra as a right-back. Meanwhile, London Arsenal, led by the Frenchman Arsene Wenger, began to show interest in the football player, and Chelsea, taking into account that the contract with the football player ended in January 2008, agreed to Diarra's transfer to the camp of their competitors on August 31, 2007.

"Arsenal"

Having moved to Arsenal for £2,000,000, Diarra took the number eight, which became available after Frederic Ljungberg left the team. Wenger, the Arsenal coach, called the Frenchman a very useful player for the team due to his “versatility.”

However, Diarra did not receive enough playing time that he expected and demanded a transfer. So, just 5 months after his arrival at Arsenal, Diarra moved to Portsmouth for £5.5 million.

"Portsmouth"

Diarra moved to Portsmouth on 11 January 2008, stating that the main reason for the move was that he did not have enough match experience at Arsenal, which would not allow him to take part in the 2008 European Football Championship. In Portsmouth he became a first-team player, and his performances for club and national team attracted the interest of European giants. So, in mid-December, Portsmouth agreed with Real Madrid to transfer the footballer for about 20 million pounds.

"Real Madrid"

Diarra's official transfer to Real Madrid took place on January 1, 2009, on the opening day of the transfer window. In the new team, the player received a jersey with the number of another Real Madrid player - Mammadou Diarra, who at that time was out due to injury until the end of the season. To avoid confusion, the name Lass was written on the T-shirt.

", from where, after successful performances as a defensive midfielder, he was able to get into the French youth team.

After playing for the national team, he was noticed by London Chelsea scouts, who were looking for a replacement for Claude Makelele, who was already an older football player and in the near future required a replacement. In July 2005, Diarra moved to Chelsea for 4.5 million euros. Despite the fact that Diarra did not receive much match practice at Chelsea, he was named the team's best young player in the 2005/06 season. In the 2006/07 season, due to an epidemic of injuries among defensive line players, head coach Jose Mourinho began using Diarra as a right-back. Meanwhile, the London Arsenal, led by the Frenchman Arsene Wenger, began to show interest in the football player. Chelsea, taking into account that the contract with the footballer ended in January 2008, agreed to Diarra's transfer to the camp of their competitors on August 31, 2007.

Having moved to Arsenal for 3 million euros, Diarra took the number 8, which was vacated after the departure of Swede Frederik Ljungberg from the team. Arsene Wenger called Lassane a very useful player for the team due to his "versatility". However, Diarra played little and eventually demanded a transfer.

On January 11, 2008, 5 months after Diarra arrived at Arsenal, he moved to Portsmouth for 7 million euros. The main reason for the transfer, according to the player, was insufficient playing practice in the previous club, which cast doubt on his participation in the 2008 European Football Championship. At Portsmouth he became a first-team player, and his performances for both club and national team attracted the interest of European giants.

In mid-December 2008, Portsmouth reached an agreement with Real Madrid to transfer the player for about 20 million euros. Diarra's transfer to Real Madrid officially took place on January 1, 2009, the opening day of the transfer window. In the new team, the player received a jersey with the number of Mammadou Diarra, who was out until the end of the season due to injury. To avoid confusion with the namesake, the player's nickname was written on the jersey, based on his name - “Lass”.

On September 1, 2012, the football player signed a contract with Anzhi Makhachkala under the “3+1” system. The transfer cost about 5 million euros. The Frenchman made his debut with Anzhi on September 16 in the eighth round game against Krasnodar, which the Makhachkala team won 5:2. On October 20, 2012, in the Anzhi - Spartak match, he received a serious knee injury as a result of a rough tackle by Kirill Kombarov and was out for two months.

As a result of a change in the development strategy of the Anzhi Makhachkala club and the abandonment of expensive players, on August 20, 2013, he signed a 4-year contract with Lokomotiv Moscow. The transfer amount was 12 million euros. In the new team I chose number 85. He made his debut on August 26 in a home match against Rostov, coming on as a substitute in the second half with the score 3:0 in favor of Lokomotiv. The match ended with a score of 5:0 in favor of the “railroad workers”. In the 6th round match against Zenit St. Petersburg, he was sent off the field for the “foul of last resort.” On September 26, he scored his first goal for Lokomotiv against Ural Yekaterinburg (3:0). For playing for Lokomotiv in 2013 he received 3 red cards.

Before the start of the 2014/15 season, Diarra and Mbark Boussoufa, who also moved from Anzhi to Lokomotiv in 2013, refused to start training with Lokomotiv, citing their unsettled relationship with the head coach -

Lassana Diarra was born on March 10, 1985 into a Malian family in Paris. After playing at youth and youth levels in various French clubs, he signed his first professional contract with Le Havre.

This club became a springboard for Diarra into big football. Here he received his first call-up to the French youth team, and here he was noticed by Chelsea scouts. At the London club, the 20-year-old midfielder quickly made a name for himself: the very next season he was named the team's best young player and won the championship with the Blues.

In 2007, Diarra moved to Arsenal, but failed to become the Gunners' main player, although he received flattering reviews from the Londoners' head coach Arsene Wenger. After playing at Arsenal for exactly a year, the Frenchman moved to Portsmouth. And it was here that his career received new development.

At Portsmouth, Diarra quickly attracted the attention of European giants, who became even more active after Pompey's victory in the FA Cup. The most persistent of the clubs turned out to be Real Madrid, which acquired Diarra in December 2008.

In Madrid, Lass, as he was often called in Spain, spent several of the brightest years of his career. He played more than 100 matches for Real, became the champion of Spain, winner of the Spanish Cup and Super Cup.

In 2012, Diarra moved to Anji. In the Makhachkala club, he quickly became a player in the “base” and the main leader of the team in the center of the field, making a great contribution to the successful performance of Anzhi in the 2012/13 season.

Lassana Diarra was a main player in the French youth team, and in 2008 he received his first call-up to the main national team. In total, Diarra played 28 matches for the national team.

In August 2013, Diarra signed a contract with Lokomotiv.

May Having fully recovered from the injury, he took part in three May games. He was most remembered for his actions in the match against Zenit, in which Diarra’s performance delighted football experts and fans.

April Due to injury, he played in only one Lokomotiv match, coming on as a substitute for Taras Mikhalik in the game against Anzhi.

March In the match against Amkar, he appeared in the starting lineup, forming a pair of defensive midfielders along with Alexander Sheshukov.

February Took part in five control matches of Lokomotiv. He scored an assist for Pavlyuchenko in the match against Stromsgodset.

December Despite being sent off at the end of the match with Rubin, he was one of the most useful players for Lokomotiv in the December games. He completely won duels against such strongmen of the support zone as Kabore from Kuban and M’Vila from Rubin, and was remembered for several impressive feints. The highest level of play and invaluable usefulness for the team was confirmed by winning two consecutive votes for the best player of the month: Loko fans gave the majority of votes for Diarra in both November and December.

November Played a key role in victories over Spartak and Dynamo. In the match against the blue and white, he scored an assist on Dame N’Doye, making another interception in the center of the field. He was among the contenders for the title of player of the month.

October Played two matches - both times in the team's starting lineup. In the meeting against Rubin he was replaced by Yan Tigorev.

September Took part in four Lokomotiv matches, scoring a goal against Ural. Twice in a month he was sent off the field: in games with Zenit and Tom.

August On August 20, he signed a four-year contract with Lokomotiv. He made his debut for the “railroad workers” in the match against “Rostov”, replacing Taras Mikhalik.

Lassana Diarra is a French professional footballer (also a Mali national) who plays as a midfielder for the United Arab Emirates club Al Jazeera. His predominant role on the field is as a defensive midfielder, however, the player is also capable of acting as a right midfielder, which he did when playing for

During his career, Lassana Diarra played for such famous European clubs as Chelsea, Arsenal, Portsmouth and Real Madrid. The Frenchman also played in the Russian championship - he played for Anzhi Makhachkala and Lokomotiv Moscow.

Biography of a football player

Lassana Diarra was born on March 10, 1985 in Paris (France). He began his career in the Paris youth club (the main team plays in the French third division) in 1999. Until 2004, he also played for such French youth clubs as Nantes, Le Mans and Red Star.

Start of career at Le Havre

He began his professional career with the Le Havre club in 2004. Here he received a T-shirt with number 21 and quickly gained authority among his teammates and fans.

In the 2004/05 season, he played 29 matches for the Sky and Dark Blues, in which he scored countless goals. Thanks to his phenomenal defensive abilities in midfield, the Frenchman has become a target of interest for many top-rated European clubs. One of these was the English Chelsea, here he was compared to which he also played as a defensive midfielder. Chelsea's scouts gave him the nickname "the new Makelele".

Careers at Chelsea

In the 2005/06 season he joined the London club for 4.5 million euros. Chelsea's scouts have identified Lassana Diarra as the ideal candidate to replace aging player Claude Makelele. He made his debut with the “pensioners” in the Champions League match against Real Betis (4-0 win). Despite the fact that at first Diarra did not receive sufficient playing experience at Chelsea, at the end of the 2005/06 season he was recognized as the best young football player in the Premier League championship. It is noteworthy that in the FA Cup, Diarra made his debut in the match against Huddersfield Town, in which he replaced the same Claude Makelele.

It is worth noting that while playing matches for the “blues” (and there were only 13 of them in two seasons), Lassana Diarra demonstrated his best football qualities, thanks to which he later became a star of European football.

However, despite a short period of stay at the London club, Diarra won three trophies: the Football League Cup, the FA Cup and winning the Premier League championship.

Season at Arsenal

On August 31, 2007, on the last transfer day, Lassana Diarra, whose statistics were one of the best in Chelsea, signed an agreement with Arsenal in London. The transaction amount was three million euros. As part of the Gunners, he received a T-shirt with game number 8, which winger Frederik Ljunberg previously wore. In an interview, Diarra said that one of the main reasons for moving to Arsenal is the coach Arsène Wenger, whom the player considers one of the best in Europe. He made his debut for the club in the Champions League against Sevilla. In total, he played 7 matches for the Gunners and after 5 months he moved to Portsmouth (with whom he won the 2008 FA Cup) for 7 million euros. The fact is that the Frenchman felt that he was given too little playing practice, which would not be enough for him to be called up to the national team to participate in the 2008 European Championship.

Career at Real Madrid

In January 2009, French midfielder Lassana Diarra became a Los Blancos player for 20 million euros. On his number 8 jersey he went by the name Lass.

He played for the Galacticos until 2012. In three seasons at the Spanish club, he won the following trophies: Primera League, Super Cup and Spanish Cup. In total, he played 87 matches and scored one goal.

Career after leaving Real Madrid

After leaving the Madrid club, Lassana Diarra moved to Anzhi from the Russian Premier League. Initially, the player was transferred on loan, but the Makhachkala team decided to buy the full rights to the player for 5 million euros. He spent only one season here, in which he played 18 matches in the RFPL and scored one goal.

In the 2013/14 season he played for Lokomotiv Moscow, in which he played 17 matches and scored one goal.

From 2015 to 2017 played for the French “Marseille” from Ligue 1. He played 37 matches for the “Provencals” and recorded one goal in his statistics.

On April 19, 2017, he signed a contract with the Al Jazeera club from the UAE as a free agent.

Full name: Lassana Diarra

Height: 173 cm

Weight: 73 kg

Role: defensive midfielder (right back, central attacking midfielder)

Club career of Lassana Diara

Diarra was born in Paris to a family from Mali. He started playing football at the Julien-Lacroix sports center, which is located in the 20th arrondissement of the French capital. In 1998, he joined the ranks of Paris, but did not stay in this team for long and began to change clubs en masse. He spent two seasons at Nantes, then played one year at Le Mans, and from 2002 to 2004 he studied at the Red Star academy. He began his professional football career with Le Havre as a defensive midfielder. Here he played 29 matches during the 2004/05 season and earned a call-up to the French youth team.

Chelsea

While playing at the international level, he was noticed by Chelsea scouts, who were looking for a replacement for their veteran Claude Makelele, who planned to end his football career. As a result, after the first season at Le Havre, Lassana was promoted, signing a multi-year contract with the Londoners. Le Havre received a respectable 4.5 million euros for their pupil. Diarra was included in Jose Mourinho's Chelsea starting squad, but rarely appeared on the field. The Frenchman mainly played in cup matches, replacing Makelele. An experienced compatriot helped Diara develop his qualities as a free defensive midfielder and gradually become one of the best young players in England.

In the 2005/06 season, he played only seven matches on the field, but was recognized as the best young player of the “aristocrats” and received gold medals in the English championship. Due to the large number of injured players, Mourinho was shifted to the right flank of defense. Thanks to this, he began to get more playing practice, playing 26 matches in all tournaments. He also began to be called up to the French national team. During the 2007 winter transfer window, Arsenal began to show interest in Diarra. Arsene Wenger wanted to see a talented compatriot for his team, promising him more playing practice. By the end of the season, Chelsea finally decided to release the footballer to the camp of their most important rivals, since his contract was expiring in six months.

"Arsenal"

Wenger was very happy with Diarra's transfer to his club, but failed to secure him a place in the team. After his debut in the Champions League match against Sevilla, the Frenchman played seven more matches in an Arsenal shirt before requesting a transfer. In the winter of 2008, he signed an agreement with Portsmouth, where he quickly became one of the key players in the midfield. In one of his first matches as a member of Pompey, he scored a goal against Bolton, which turned out to be victorious. On May 17, 2008, he helped Portsmouth win the FA Cup, playing all 90 minutes of the final match against Cardiff.

"Real Madrid"

He also started the next season in Portsmouth, but by mid-December 2008 he had a verbal agreement with Real Madrid. On January 1, 2008, the Madrid club officially announced the transfer of Diarra for 20 million euros. In the new team, he took the T-shirt of his namesake Mammadou Diarra, who was out with an injury until the end of the season. In Spain he received the nickname Lass to avoid confusion with his teammate. Diarra surprisingly easily established himself in the Real Madrid team, playing 25 matches in six months. The following season she played in another 37 matches, scoring the winning goal in her debut match against Deportivo.

In the 2010/11 season he began working again under the leadership of Jose Mourinho. This time the Portuguese specialist trusted Lassana, using him in 40 matches in all tournaments. He finally won his first trophy at the Madrid giants - the Copa del Rey. In the 2011/12 season he became the champion of Spain, but was no longer considered a starter, having played only 11 full matches. Several European clubs tried to take advantage of Diarra's sad situation in the Madrid giants. In particular, Milan tried to buy him, but things did not come to concrete proposals. Moscow's Spartak claimed the player, but Diarra delayed his response and, as a result, the “red-whites” refused his transfer. But still, Diarra ended up in Russia, signing an agreement with Anzhi.

Russia

Diarra became one of the many star newcomers of the Makhachkala club. A modest 5 million euros were paid for him, but his salary amounted to as much as 3.5 million euros per season. Lassana himself made it clear that he did not move to this team for the money:

“During my career, I played enough in serious European clubs - and believe me, I made good money there, so this is not a case where money was the decisive factor. Come to our matches, see how I will give my best in each of them - and then you’ll tell me why I came to Anji.”

He made his debut in the new team on September 16, 2012 in a match against Krasnodar (5-2). Without any problems, he gained a foothold in the Makhachkala club and helped it reach the Europa League playoffs. He scored his first goal in the Russian Cup final, but Anzhi lost in a penalty shootout. In the summer of 2013, Anji lost its sponsor and announced a massive sale. Even then, Diarra could have returned to his homeland, where Monaco, Saint-Etienne and Lyon had bids for him, but he chose to stay in Russia, signing a four-year contract with Lokomotiv on August 20.

"Locomotive"

According to the Frenchman, Lokomotiv was the first and most persistent team that approached him that summer:

“There were options, but I’ve been living in Russia for a year now, and Lokomotiv was the first team to approach me with an offer. I spoke with the head coach and president of the club. They told me how the work here is structured, what position they want to use me in, everything that concerns the team. It was a good meeting. They really wanted me to come here. I already live in Moscow, I’m used to this city. It was a great choice for me, so I said, “Okay.” And he continued to play in Moscow"

He made his Loko debut on August 26 in a home match against Rostov (5-0). In the next match against Zenit, he was injured and was out for three weeks. At the end of September, he scored his debut goal, hitting the Ural goal, and seven weeks later he was sent off, which became his second in a month. That season, Diarra helped Lokomotiv fight for the championship title and was even recognized as the team's best player in November and December, but already in January he announced that he would leave the team at the end of the season.

By April, the first contenders for the experienced Frenchman began to appear. In particular, Atlético Madrid wanted to rent him. At the end of July, the director of “locomotives” Olga Smorodskaya officially announced the sale of Diarra. The main contender for the player was Napoli, but the parties could not agree on a personal contract. In August, representatives of QPR approached Lokomotiv and offered 2.5 million euros to rent the player, but the capital club firmly decided to sell the defensive midfielder. As a result, Lassana terminated his contract with Lokomotiv and was left without playing practice for some time.

14 months of oblivion

Diarra's next club had to pay a penalty to Loko. In mid-September, Arsenal was ready to sign the player. At that time, the Gunners were experiencing big problems in the support zone, but the emerging talent of Francis Coquelin eliminated the need for this transfer. Diarra was subsequently linked with Tottenham, Celtic and Marseille. In November, Diarra filed a complaint with UEFA due to the unilateral early termination of his contract. In the winter, Inter, Borussia Dortmund, Besiktas and Lyon could have signed Diarra, but all the teams could not reach an agreement with the player. In addition, in April, UEFA decided to pay Lokomotiv Diarra a penalty of 12 million euros, which has not yet been paid.

"Marseilles"

Almost a year after the last official match, Diarra finally found a new team. It was Olympique Marseille, which offered the player a four-year contract. On August 23, Lassana played his first match since May 2014. He came on from the first minutes of the match against Troyes and scored a goal. At the end of the month he was recognized as the best player in France. Diarra established himself in the starting lineup of Olympic without any problems and even returned to the ranks of the French national team. In the winter, leading English clubs tried to buy the footballer: Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester United, but the midfielder himself chose to stay in Marseille in order to get regular playing practice.

International career of Lassana Diarra

From 2005 to 2006 he played 19 matches as part of the French youth team. It was thanks to his confident play in this team that he was noticed by leading European giants. He made his debut in the main team on May 15, 2007 in a friendly match against Lithuania. Subsequently, he was included in the final squad for Euro 2008, but did not appear on the field here. Diarra was supposed to go to the world championship in South Africa, but missed it due to acute intestinal pain. After that tournament, Diarra was practically not called up to the team and soon announced the end of his international career. But in 2016, Didier Deschamps again began to count on the football player and promised him a place in the national team for the home European Championship.

Achievements of Lassana Diarra

Chelsea

• Champion of England 2006
• Winner of the Football League Cup 2005
• FA Cup Winner 2007
• Finalist of the 2007 English Super Cup

"Portsmouth"

• FA Cup Winner 2008

"Real Madrid"

• Champion of Spain 2012
• Winner of the Spanish Super Cup 2012
• Winner of the Spanish Cup 2011
• Finalist of the Spanish Super Cup 2011

"Anji"

• Finalist of the Russian Cup 2012/13

"Locomotive"

• Bronze medalist of the Russian Championship 2012/13

Individual awards Lassana Diara

• Chelsea Young Player of the Year 2006
• Member of the list of 33 best players of the Russian Championship 2012/13 (No. 2)
• Ligue 1 Player of the Month: September 2015