Pape Diouf
Mababa Diouf, known as Papa Diouf or Pape Diouf (18 December 1951 – 31 March 2020) was a Franco-Senegalese football personality who was a sports journalist, agent for football players, and later president of Olympique de Marseille from 2005 to 2009. A descendant of a Senegalese military family, Pape Diouf arrived in France at the age of 18 and started after studying political science in the profession of sports journalism with the communist newspaper La Marseillaise in his football column and columnist of Marseille sports life including Olympique de Marseille during the 1970s and 1980s. At the end of the 1990s, he joined the daily ''Le Sport'', which was supposed to compete with ''L'Équipe'', but ultimately failed. Linked to many people in football, he then became an agent for several players in the 1990s until 2004. That year, he joined the Olympique de Marseille club as general manager, then became chairman of the executive board. He was appointed president in 2005, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Abéché
Abéché ( ar, أبشه, ''Absha'') is the fourth largest city in Chad and is the capital of Ouaddaï Region. It has within it the remnants of the ancient capital, including palaces, mosques, and the tombs of former sultans. History The city of Abéché was made capital of the Wadai Sultanate in the 1890s, after the wells at Ouara, the former capital, had dried out. In 1909, French troops invaded the Kingdom and established a garrison in Abéché. France took power, forcing the sultan to renounce his throne. At that time, Abéché was the largest city in Chad with 28,000 people, but major epidemics reduced the population to 6000 in 1919. In 1935, the sultanate was restored by orders of the French government, and Muhammed Ouarada, heir to the throne after his father became king. Once one of the strongholds of the Arabic slave trade route, the city is known today for its markets, mosques, church, square (the Place de l'Indépendance) and for its sultan's palace. Abéché has se ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Basile Boli
Basile Boli (born 2 January 1967) is a Ivorian-born French former professional footballer who played as a defender, and a current television sports presenter. He spent the majority of his career with Auxerre and Marseille before ending his career with spells at Scottish club Rangers, at Monaco, and at Japanese side Urawa Reds. At international level, he made 45 appearances and scored one goal representing the France national team. Career Born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Boli moved to France at an early age and began his career in local youth football in Paris before signing for AJ Auxerre in 1982. A powerful defender, Boli made his way into the Auxerre first team and soon made his debut for the France national team in 1986 for whom he went on to win 45 caps. His form meant that he soon became a transfer target for the leading clubs in France. Finally in 1990 Boli signed for Olympique de Marseille who, under Bernard Tapie, were fast becoming the leading club in France. Boli st ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Didier Drogba
Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team. He is best known for his career at Chelsea, for whom he has scored more goals than any other foreign player and is currently the club's fourth highest goal scorer of all time. Drogba was named Chelsea's greatest ever player in a poll of 20,000 fans conducted by Chelsea FC Magazine in 2012, and he was also named in the Chelsea team of the 2010–2020 decade by Chelsea's fans in 2020. He is regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time and was noted for his physical strength, speed, ability in the air, powerful and accurate strikes, and ball retention. Drogba was named African Footballer of the Year twice, winning the award in 2006 and 2009. He is also the player with the most runner-up appearances (4), most third place finishes (3), and most times in the top t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Noureddine Naybet
Noureddine Naybet ( ar, نور الدين نيبت; born 10 February 1970) is a Moroccan former professional footballer who played as a central defender. He played in Spain (Deportivo de La Coruña) and Portugal for Sporting CP and England for Tottenham Hotspur. He is considered one of the best defenders in La Liga of his generation. Naybet spent the longest and most successful period of his career with Deportivo La Coruña in Spain's La Liga, from 1996 to 2004. He was named the 44th greatest African player of all time by the African football expert Ed Dove. Naybet played a record 115 matches for the Morocco national team scoring four goals, representing the country in two World Cups and six Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. Early life Born in Casablanca on 10 February 1970, the young toddler, addicted to football, spent much of his time teasing the ball, in the streets of Derb Chorfa. Already talented and hardworking, he was quickly spotted by the Étoile de Casablanca, wh ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Frédéric Kanouté
Frédéric Oumar Kanouté (born 2 September 1977) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker for several top-tier clubs in Europe, enjoying his greatest success with La Liga side Sevilla. Kanouté was named the 2007 African Footballer of the Year, the first player born outside Africa to win the award. Kanouté began his career with Lyon in France before moving to West Ham United of the Premier League in 2000. After a spell at their London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, Kanouté moved to Spanish club Sevilla where he won two consecutive UEFA Cups in 2006 and 2007 in addition to various other European and domestic honours and remains the club's highest-scoring foreign player. He joined Beijing Goan in June 2012. Despite appearing 6 times for France U-21, Kanouté was a member of the Malian squad which reached the semi-finals of the 2004 African Cup of Nations and also featured in their selections for the tournament in 2006 and 2010. His international career en ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Marc-Vivien Foé
Marc-Vivien Foé (1 May 1975 – 26 June 2003) was a Cameroonian professional footballer, who played as a defensive midfielder for both club and country. Having initially played for Canon Yaoundé, Foé went on to play professionally in Ligue 1 and the Premier League with Lens, West Ham United, Lyon and Manchester City. On 26 June 2003, Foé died suddenly during an international match for Cameroon, an event which shocked the football community worldwide. The death was later ruled to be due to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. He was capped 62 times by his nation and had scored 8 goals. He was posthumously decorated with the Commander of the National Order of Valour and had his shirt number 23 retired by Manchester City. Club career Foé was born on 1 May 1975 in Yaoundé. He started as a junior with Elite Two side Union de Garoua. Moving to Canon Yaoundé, one of the biggest clubs in Cameroon, he won the Cameroonian Cup in 1993. After turning down Auxerre for a trainee position, he ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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David Sommeil
David Sommeil (born 10 August 1974) is a Guadeloupean former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played his entire career in France and England, beginning with Caen and later Rennes and Bordeaux. He then played in the Premier League for both Manchester City and Sheffield United that was separated by a loan spell back in Ligue 1 with Marseille, before retiring in 2008 with Valenciennes. He was capped eight times by the Guadeloupe national team and played in the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Career Born in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, Sommeil started his career with non-league Saint-Lô before turning professional with SM Caen, making his professional debut on 8 February 1994 against Le Havre AC. He subsequently played for Rennes before coming to prominence with Bordeaux, where he was capped by France at 'B' level. Sommeil was signed by Kevin Keegan for Manchester City in January 2003, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract for a fee of £3 million. Despite an init ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Abedi Pele
Abedi Ayew ( ; born 5 November 1964), known professionally as Abedi Pele, is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder and who served as captain of the Ghana national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest African footballers of all time. He played for several European clubs and found his fame in the French Ligue 1 with Lille and Marseille, the latter where he won the UEFA Champions League in 1993, among other titles. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation. Early life Abedi Ayew was born into a family in the town of Kibi and grew up in the town of Dome at the northern outskirts of the city Accra. He attended Ghana Senior High School in Tamale. He was given the nickname "Pelé" due to his ability in football, which evoked comparisons to the Brazilian athlete Pelé. Club career He was one of the first African players to make an impact on European club football. Abedi Pelé's nomadic career began with ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Roger Boli
Roger Zokou Boli (born 26 September 1965) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward for clubs in the French and British leagues. Born in Ivory Coast, he represented France at youth level. He is currently a sports agent. Career Roger Boli started his career with AJ Auxerre, where he spent four seasons. A season at Lille OSC followed, before a long spell with RC Lens. During his seven seasons with the club, Boli won promotion to Ligue 1, and finished joint-top scorer in the 1993–94 season. A season was spent with Le Havre AC before moving to England with Walsall in 1997. Boli's twelve league goals with the Saddlers drew attention from Scottish side Dundee United and Boli moved north in a £150,000 deal in 1998. Injuries restricted him to just three league appearances, although he did score once in the Scottish League Cup against Stirling Albion, and within three months a £100,000 move saw him head to AFC Bournemouth. Boli's seven appearances would be his l ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Laurent Robert
Pierre Laurent Robert (born 21 May 1975) is a French former professional footballer. He played as a left winger, and represented the France national team. Robert began his professional career in his native France before making a move to English side Newcastle United, where he made his reputation as a free-kick specialist. His career has been noted for a number of high-profile disagreements with club management.Laurent Robert Early life Robert was born in Saint-Benoît, Réunion.Club career Early career Robert started his career at[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sylvain Armand
Sylvain Armand (born 1 August 1980) is a French former professional footballer who played as a left-back for Rennes, Paris Saint-Germain, Nantes, and Clermont. Career Born in Saint-Étienne, Loire, Armand started playing youth team football for AS Saint-Étienne in 1994. He wasn't retained for the club's senior squad and thus moved to Clermont Foot in 1999, where he received his professional debut. Nantes In 2000, having impressed with his performances in Clermont, he switched to top-flight club FC Nantes. He staged his first appearance in Division 1 during the match between AJ Auxerre in Nantes (2–2) 9 September 2000. In a fairytale ending, he won the 2001 Division1 1 championship in his very first season with the "Canaris". He also scored as Nantes won the 2001 Trophée des Champions. The following three seasons were much less successful. He is also the author of a memorable goal in the UEFA Champions League against Lazio in 2001–02, following a lonely run on the left f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Grégory Coupet
Grégory Coupet (born 31 December 1972) is a French former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Throughout his playing career, he represented Saint-Étienne, Lyon, Atlético Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, as well as the France national team. He holds the record for most Ligue 1 titles won (seven), along with Hervé Revelli and Jean-Michel Larqué of Saint-Étienne, as well as Thiago Silva and Marco Verratti of Paris Saint–Germain, and his own club teammates, Juninho and Sidney Govou, of Lyon. Club career Coupet began his club career with hometown team Club Olympique Le Puy, before turning professional with Saint-Étienne in 1994. He made his Ligue 1 debut on 26 March 1994 in a 2–0 victory against Angers. After three seasons, he surprisingly moved to league rival Lyon (the two cities are only 80 kilometres apart, and are long-time local and national rivals) as a replacement for Pascal Olmeta in January 1997. His gamble paid off as Lyon have regularly dom ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |