Muhamed Keita (born 2 September 1990) is a Norwegian professional
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 a
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 ...
or
winger.
Club career
Early career
Born in
, Gambia, Keita began his career with Norwegian side
Drafn
Ski- og Ballklubben Drafn is a Norwegian multi-sports club from Drammen, founded in 1910.
The club, which takes its name from the Norse name of Drammen, was founded as a merger of the clubs Ulf (founded 1905) and Njord (founded 1906). In 1916 it ...
. While with Drafn he caught the attention of
Strømsgodset
Strømsgodset is a former municipality in Vestfold county (from 1964 Buskerud county), Norway, today a part of the city of Drammen. History
Strømsgodset was originally a small rural annex to the city parish of Bragernes (Drammen). But since th ...
, joining the club's youth system in 2006.
Strømsgodset
Keita made his first team debut for
Strømsgodset
Strømsgodset is a former municipality in Vestfold county (from 1964 Buskerud county), Norway, today a part of the city of Drammen. History
Strømsgodset was originally a small rural annex to the city parish of Bragernes (Drammen). But since th ...
away against
Brann, and followed this up with some notable performances: he scored a hat-trick after coming off the bench against
Pors Grenland
Pors Fotball is a Norwegian football club from Porsgrunn, currently playing in the 3. divisjon. Pors plays in blue jerseys, and their home ground is Pors Stadion. Notable former players include Jan Halvor Halvorsen and Erik Pedersen.
History
...
in the
Norwegian Cup
The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football ...
, and was impressive against
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
in the final match of the 2008 season. On 26 April 2009 Keita scored his first league goal for Godset, scoring on a free kick in a 1–0 victory over
Stabæk.
Keita's progress caught the eye of
Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
, and he attended trials with the Italian club in January 2009. However, he stayed in Norway for the next four years, winning the league with Strømsgodset in 2013.
Lech Poznań
On 2 July 2014, Keita joined Polish club
Lech Poznań
Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań S.A., commonly referred to as KKS Lech Poznań or simply Lech Poznań (), is a Polish professional association football, football club based in Poznań and currently competing in the Ekstraklasa, the nation' ...
of the
Ekstraklasa. On 20 July 2014, he made his league debut for Lech, starting in a 4–0 victory over
Piast Gliwice
Gliwicki Klub Sportowy Piast Gliwice () is a Polish football club based in Gliwice. In the 2018–19 season, Piast won its first Polish championship. As of 2022–23, it competes in the Ekstraklasa, Poland's top division.
History
The club wa ...
. On 26 October 2014, he scored an 80th-minute goal to lead his club to a 1–0 victory over
Górnik Łęczna Gornik may refer to one of the following.
* Gornik, Pleven Province, a village in Chechen Republic
* April Gornik, an American painter
*Górnik (means "Miner" in Polish) is a common name of Polish sports teams:
**Górnik Konin
**Górnik Łęczna
*** ...
. This was also his first goal with his new side. On 3 March 2015, Keita scored in a 5–1 victory over
Znicz Pruszków
Miejski Klub Sportowy Znicz Pruszków () is a football club based in Pruszków, Poland.
Famous players
The best known player from Znicz Pruszków is Robert Lewandowski
Robert Lewandowski (; born 21 August 1988) is a Polish professional f ...
in a
Polish Cup match. On 4 April 2015, he opened the scoring for Lech in a 2–1 victory over
GKS Bełchatów. In his first year in Poland, Keita helped his club capture the
2014–15 Ekstraklasa
The 2014–15 Ekstraklasa (currently named T-Mobile Ekstraklasa due to sponsorship reasons), is the 81st season of the highest level of football leagues in the Polish football league system since its establishment in 1927. It began on 18 July 20 ...
title. During the season he appeared in 28 matches and scored three goals.
Stabæk
On 22 June 2015, Keita returned to Norway joining
Stabæk on loan. On 25 July 2015, he made his debut for Stabæk in a 2–2 draw with
FK Haugesund. On 19 September 2015, Keita scored in extra time to help his club to a 2–1 victory over
Tromsø
Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø.
Tromsø lies ...
, the goal was his first for Stabæk. On 23 September, he continued his scoring form for Stabæk, scoring his team's opening goal in a 3–2 loss to
BK Rosenborg in the
Norwegian Cup
The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football ...
semi-finals. The following match day of 27 September he scored in his third straight match, this time leading Stabæk to a 1–0 victory over league rival
Molde
Molde () is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord.
The administrative centre of the m ...
. He ended the season appearing in 13 matches scoring three goals as Stabæk finished in third place qualifying for the
2016–17 UEFA Europa League
The 2016–17 UEFA Europa League was the 46th season of Europe's secondary club association football, football tournament organised by UEFA, and the eighth season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.
The 2017 UEFA Eu ...
.
Return to Strømsgodset
During January 2016, Keita returned to Strømsgodset on loan from Lech Poznań. During his second spell with the club he scored many key goals for Strømsgodset. On 22 May 2016, he helped his club to a 3–2 come from behind victory over
Vålerenga
Vålerenga () is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo. Vålerenga is located between the neighbourhoods of Gamlebyen, Jordal, Ensjø, Etterstad and Lodalen. Vålerenga is in particular known for it ...
, scoring the first goal of the match for Godset. On 4 July 2016, he opened the scoring for his club in a 4–2 victory over
Aalesund. Keita contributed with a game-winning goal the next matchday to help Godset to a 1–0 victory over
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
. On 17 July 2016, he was once again on the scoresheet as he scored a late goal to lead his club to a 1–0 victory over Tromsø. On 21 July 2016, he continued his fine form scoring a brace to help his side to a 2–2 draw against Danish club
SønderjyskE
SønderjyskE is a Danish sport corporation. They have a football team (SønderjyskE Fodbold, based in Haderslev), two handball teams (SønderjyskE Håndbold, one male based in Sønderborg, one female based in Aabenraa) and an ice hockey team (S ...
in a
Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
match.
Return to Stabæk
On 17 August 2016, it was announced that Keita would be returning on loan to Stabæk as the club was embroiled in a relegation battle. In his short stint with the club he scored three key goals to help Stabæk avoid relegation. On 21 August 2016, he made his return for Stabæk scoring in a 3–0 victory over Aalesund. On 18 September Keita scored another goal to lead Stabæk to a 1–0 victory over
Odd
Odd means unpaired, occasional, strange or unusual, or a person who is viewed as eccentric.
Odd may also refer to:
Acronym
* ODD (Text Encoding Initiative) ("One Document Does it all"), an abstracted literate-programming format for describing X ...
. On 16 October he scored from the penalty spot to help Stabæk gain a valuable point in a 1–1 draw against
Vålerenga
Vålerenga () is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo. Vålerenga is located between the neighbourhoods of Gamlebyen, Jordal, Ensjø, Etterstad and Lodalen. Vålerenga is in particular known for it ...
.
Vålerenga
On 25 March 2017, Keita was loaned to Norwegian side
Vålerenga
Vålerenga () is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo. Vålerenga is located between the neighbourhoods of Gamlebyen, Jordal, Ensjø, Etterstad and Lodalen. Vålerenga is in particular known for it ...
. During his short loan spell he appeared in 6 league matches scoring one goal. On 6 April 2017 he scored for the club in a 4–3 loss to
Haugesund
Haugesund () is a municipality on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. While the population is greater in the neighboring Karmøy municipality, the main commercial and economic centre of the Haugaland region in northern Rogaland and southern ...
.
New York Red Bulls
On 28 July 2017, Keita signed a multi-year deal with
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
side
New York Red Bulls
The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...
. On 2 September 2017, he made his debut for New York appearing in a 2–2 draw at
FC Dallas
FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...
. On 22 October 2017, in the last game of the regular season, Keita recorded an assist by finding defender Michael Murillo for a game-tying goal against DC United in a 2–1 win. He was released from the club on 3 February 2018.
Third spell at Strømsgodset
Keita returned to his first club, Strømsgodset for the 2019 season, but failed to impress. He was released from the club after the 2019 season.
Ohod Club
On 2 January 2020, Keita signed with
Ohod Club before being released the same month.
Career statistics
Club
Honours
Strømsgodset
*
Tippeligaen: 2013
*
Norwegian Football Cup
The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football ...
:
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
Lech Poznań
*
Ekstraklasa:
2014-15
References
External links
*
*
Keita at altomfotball.no
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keita, Muhamed
1990 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Drammen
Gambian emigrants to Norway
Naturalised citizens of Norway
Norwegian footballers
Strømsgodset Toppfotball players
Lech Poznań players
Stabæk Fotball players
Vålerenga Fotball players
New York Red Bulls players
Ohod Club players
Eliteserien players
Ekstraklasa players
Major League Soccer players
Saudi First Division League players
Norway under-21 international footballers
Norway youth international footballers
Norwegian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Poland
Expatriate soccer players in the United States
Expatriate footballers in Saudi Arabia
Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Poland
Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia
Association football forwards