Mandjou Keita (born 28 November 1979) is a Guinean international

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

Career

Club

Keita began his professional career in Malaysia with

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...

, making his debut on 12 September 2004 against

PKNS FC Selangor Football Club II ( Malay: ''Kelab Bola Sepak Selangor 2''), commonly referred to as Selangor F.C. II, is a professional Malaysian football reserve team club of Selangor F.C., based in Shah Alam, in the state of Selangor. The club ...

. He impressed Perak FA's fans so much that he was carried off the pitch by two jubilant fans after the match He went on to play a key role in Perak FA's

Malaysian FA Cup The Malaysia FA Cup ( ms, Piala FA) is an annual national knock-out football tournament in Malaysia. The cup was first held in 1990. The competition was previously managed by Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), before being transferred to Fo ...

winning team, which led to his contract being renewed for the 2005 season. Keita won the Golden Boot award for the 2006 season, scoring 17 goals. He was one of the three nominees for the Favourite Import Player award in the inaugural Malaysian football awards but he did not win. He was linked with a move away from the club to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

n team Persija Jakarta in 2007, but did not let those rumours affect his on-pitch performance, and ended up Perak's top scorer once again for the 2006/2007 season. Keita was released from his contract at the end of the 2007 season due to "family issues", and after attending trials with

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

side FC Lorient. signed with

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

an side

Brunei DPMM FC Duli Pengiran Muda Mahkota Football Club (His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Brunei Football Club in English, commonly known as DPMM FC) is a professional football club based in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. The club played in the Brunei Pr ...

, and played one season for them in the Singaporean

S. League The Singapore Premier League, commonly abbreviated as SPL, officially known as the AIA Singapore Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a men's professional football league sanctioned by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), which re ...

. In January 2009, Keita signed with

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

in the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system b ...

. Keita's preferred playing position is as a striker, but he can also operate in midfield behind the front two. Following the 2009 USL-1 season, Portland loaned Keita to

Salgaocar S.C. Salgaocar Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Vasco, Goa, that competes in the Goa Professional League. They have also played in the I-League, then top flight of Indian football league system. Founded in 1956, the c ...

of the Indian

I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...

. Keita returned to Portland in April, 2010. After returning to the Timbers from loan, Keita failed to find his form in the 2010 season. Keita appeared in 10 league games and scored just one goal. On 1 September, Keita was transferred to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n club

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

Pune FC

On 3 December 2010 Keita started his

journey with

Pune FC Pune Football Club was an Indian professional football club based in Pune, Maharashtra. The club has competed in the I-League, then top flight of Indian football league system. The club was one of the most professional clubs in Indian foot ...

first game of the season, a tie 1-1 against

Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, its football section is one of the oldest in India and Asia. The club is most notable for its victory over East Yorkshire Regiment ...

. On 30 January 2011 Keita scored his first hat-trick for the club against

JCT Mills Jagatjit Cotton & Textile Football Club (formerly known as JCT Mills FC; abbreviated as both JCT FC, or simply JCT) was an Indian professional football club based in Phagwara, Punjab. Founded in 1971, the club was sponsored by Jagatjit Cotton ...

in the

Kelantan FA

After two season with Pune FC, Keita returned to

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

to join Malaysian club Kelantan FA as the fourth import player for the

2012 AFC Cup The 2012 AFC Cup was the ninth edition of the AFC Cup, a football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for clubs from "developing countries" in Asia. Al-Kuwait from Kuwait won their second AFC Cup title in four year ...

competition. However, he was not eligible to play in the AFC Cup because of problems with regard to his International Transfer Certificates (ITC).

International career

Keita was a member and captain of the Guinea U-23 national team.

Honors

Perak

FA Cup Malaysia The Malaysia FA Cup ( ms, Piala FA) is an annual national knock-out football tournament in Malaysia. The cup was first held in 1990. The competition was previously managed by Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), before being transferred to ...

(1):

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

Portland Timbers

*USL First Division Commissioner's Cup (1):

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

Individual

Super League Malaysia The Malaysia Super League ( ms, Liga Super Malaysia) is the men's top professional football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP), now known as the Malaysi ...

Golden Boot (2): 2005-06, 2006-07 *USL First Division All-League First Team (1):

References

External links

Portland Timbers bio

Perak FA bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keita, Mandjou 1979 births Living people Guinean footballers Guinean expatriate sportspeople in Malaysia Expatriate footballers in Malaysia Portland Timbers (2001–2010) players Salgaocar FC players USL First Division players USSF Division 2 Professional League players Expatriate footballers in Brunei Expatriate soccer players in the United States Expatriate footballers in India Guinean expatriate footballers Liberian expatriate footballers Liberian expatriate sportspeople in India People from Nzérékoré Pune FC players Perak F.C. players I-League players DPMM FC players Kelantan F.C. players Men's association football forwards