Sega Keïta (born 3 March 1992, in

Orsay Orsay () is a Communes of France, commune in the Essonne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. A fortifie ...

) is a French

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player of

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

ese descent, who last played for French club

Troyes Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near to ...

. He was a French youth international and has played for the under-19 team. Keïta plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an 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 central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Career

Early career

Keïta was born in the

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, and began his football career at age eight, playing for local club

CO Les Ulis Le Club Omnisports des Ulis is a French association football club founded in 1977. They are based in Les Ulis, Essonne and are currently playing in the Championnat National 3, the fifth tier of the French football league system. They play at the ...

, the same club that produced France national team's all-time leading goalscorer

Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best players ...

. Keïta joined the club and trained alongside fellow youth starlet

Yaya Sanogo Yaya Sanogo (born 27 January 1993) is a French professional footballer who last played as a striker for Championship side Huddersfield Town. He has also played for Auxerre, Arsenal and Toulouse, and spent loan spells with Crystal Palace, Ajax a ...

, before securing a move to

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

outfit

Troyes AC Espérance Sportive Troyes Aube Champagne (ESTAC), commonly known as Troyes, is a French association football club, based in Troyes, who play in Ligue 1, the highest level of France's football league system, and plays its home matches at the ...

. Upon his arrival at the club during the 2007–08 season, he struggled due to ongoing

groin In human anatomy, the groin (the adjective is ''inguinal'', as in inguinal canal) is the junctional area (also known as the inguinal region) between the abdomen and the thigh on either side of the pubic bone. This is also known as the medial comp ...

injuries during his first year, which saw him only appear in eight games, scoring one goal in the ''Championnat National des 16 ans''. The following season, due to full health, his statistics improved. He appeared in 28 games, scoring 15 goals, and also made seven assists. On 29 May 2009, with Troyes' relegation to third-tier

Championnat National The Championnat de France National ( en, French National Championship), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, serves as the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, t ...

already confirmed, Keïta made his professional debut in a

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

match against

Bastia Bastia (, , , ; co, Bastìa ) is a commune in the department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest population of any commune on the is ...

, appearing as a substitute in the 59th minute for

Claudio Beauvue Claudio Benoît Beauvue (born 16 April 1988) is a Guadeloupean professional footballer who plays for Championnat National 2 club Boulogne. Mainly a left winger, he can also play as a forward. Club career Troyes Beauvue joined Troyes from Nantes' ...

. Troyes lost the match 2–1.

Professional career

On 15 August 2009, Keïta made his Championnat National debut in the 5–0 victory over Plabennec, appearing as a substitute. He drew considerable interest from several clubs before signing his professional contract with Troyes. Notable clubs that sought his services included

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, Italian clubs

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is ...

, and

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

club

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

. French football legend

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the most ...

personally recommended the player to Spanish giants

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

. However, despite the interest, on 14 October 2009, Keïta agreed to a three-year professional contract with Troyes. Four days later, he earned his first start in a

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

match against amateur club SA Sézanne. In the match, Keïta scored two goals. Five days later, he earned his first league start, playing 70 minutes in a 1–0 victory over

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

. After Troyes were promoted to Ligue 1 from

in the 2011–12 season, in July he was loaned to the

side

FC Rouen Football Club de Rouen 1899 (; commonly referred to as simply FC Rouen) is a French association football club based in Rouen, Normandy. The club was formed in 1899 and currently plays in Championnat National 2, the fourth level of French foot ...

for the 2012–13 season.

Career statistics

''(Correct as of 30 June 2013)''

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Keita, Sega 1992 births Living people French footballers Men's association football midfielders Senegalese footballers ES Troyes AC players Ligue 2 players Championnat National players French sportspeople of Senegalese descent Footballers from Essonne