HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Salif Keïta Traoré (born 8 December 1946), known as Keita, is a
Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...
an retired
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, rugb ...
who played as a striker.


Club career

Keita was born in
Bamako Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2022 population of 2.81 million. It is located on the Niger Rive ...
, playing in his country for AS Real Bamako and
Stade Malien Stade Malien is a Malian professional football and sports club based in Bamako. One of the two dominant clubs of Malian football, their eastern Bamako training grounds host other sports as well, including a successful basketball club. Football ...
. With the former, which he represented in two different spells, he was always crowned Première Division champion. In 1967, 20-year-old Keita left for France to join
AS Saint-Étienne Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire (), commonly known as A.S.S.E. () or simply Saint-Étienne, is a professional football club based in Saint-Étienne in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. The club was founded in 1933 and competes in ...
, where he won three consecutive
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. ...
titles, including the double in
1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * J ...
and 1970. In his last two seasons with ''Les Verts'' combined, he scored an astonishing 71 league goals – 42 alone in the 1970–71 campaign – but the team failed to win any silverware; in 1970, he was voted African Footballer of the Year. Keita joined fellow league side
Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club p ...
in the 1972 summer. After the club tried to force him to assume French nationality he opposed, leaving in the ensuing off-season for Valencia CF in Spain. Spanish newspapers were accused of racism when one headline read ''El Valencia va a por alemanes y vuelve con un negro'' ("Valencia goes out to buy Germans and comes back with a black man"), but he was always loved during his spell at the club, netting in his debut with the ''Che'', a 2–1
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Banco Santander, Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaL ...
home win against
Real Oviedo Real Oviedo is a Spanish football club based in Oviedo, Asturias. Founded on 26 March 1926 as a result of the merger of two clubs who had maintained a large sporting rivalry for years in the city: ''Real Stadium Club Ovetense'' and ''Real Club ...
, and being eventually nicknamed ''La perla negra de Malí'' (The black pearl of Mali); he complained, however, that he was constantly played out of position. In 1976, after three years with Valencia, Keita signed for
Sporting Clube de Portugal Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional f ...
, where he replaced another legendary goalscorer,
Héctor Yazalde Héctor Casimiro Yazalde (29 May 1946 – 18 June 1997) was an Argentine professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed ''Chirola'', Yazalde scored 46 goals in one single season with Sporting CP, being awarded that season's European ...
. In two of his three seasons with the
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...
side he scored in double digits, winning one domestic cup. He retired at the age of 34, after a couple of years with the
New England Tea Men The New England Tea Men were an American professional soccer team based in Greater Boston. They played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1978 to 1980. Their home venues for outdoor play were Schaefer Stadium (shared with the NFL's ...
in the United States.


International career

In 1963, at the age of only 16, Keita was selected to play for
Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...
. He was part of the squad that appeared at the 1972 African Cup of Nations in Cameroon, helping the national team finish second. In June 2005, Keita was elected president of the Malian Football Federation for a period of four years. Late into the following year, he was selected by the
Confederation of African Football The Confederation of African Football, or CAF for short (french: link=yes, Confédération Africaine de Football, ar, link=yes, الاتحاد الأفريقي لكرة القدم, al-Ittiḥād al-Afrīqī li-Kurat al-Qadam), is the administ ...
as one of the best 200 African football players of the last 50 years.


Career statistics


Club


Personal life

Keita's
nephew In the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a niece or nephew is a child of the subject's sibling or sibling-in-law. The converse relationship, the relationship from the niece or nephew's perspective, is that of ...
,
Seydou Keita Seydou Keïta (; anglicised to Keita; born 16 January 1980) is a Malian former footballer. A versatile midfielder, he operated as both a central or defensive midfielder. Keita most notably played for Lens (five seasons) and Barcelona (four), ...
, was also a footballer. He also played some years in France, and later represented, with great team and individual success,
FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...
.
Mohamed Sissoko Mohamed Lamine Sissoko (born 22 January 1985) is a former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Born in France, he could have elected to play for France internationally, but chose instead to play for the national side of ...
, who played namely for Valencia,
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
and Juventus FC, was also his nephew; both played similar roles as central midfielders; another nephew,
Sidi Yaya Keita Sidi Yaya Keita (born 20 March 1985) is a Malian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Club career Born in Bamako, Keita moved to France at 18, signing for RC Strasbourg and spending his first year with the reserv ...
, was also a footballer and a midfielder, who played most of his career in France with RC Lens.
Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
n film director Cheik Doukouré used the life of Keita as a starting point for his 1994 work ''Le Ballon d'or''. In 1994, he created the first training center for professional football players in Mali, which bore his name. From 2007, Keita acted as delegated minister of the
Prime Minister of Mali This is a list of prime ministers of Mali since the country gained independence from France in 1960 to the present day. A total of seventeen people have served as Prime Minister of Mali (not counting five acting prime ministers). Additionally ...
.POLITIQUE AFRICAINE N-104. Partis politiques d'Afrique – Retours 2007 – Page 74 "... du leader étudiant et journaliste Tiébélé Dramé (ministre des Affaires étrangères) ou encore du footballeur Salif Keïta (ministre délégué auprès du Premier ministre). C'est en grande partie la forme consensuelle privilégiée au cours de cette ..."


Honours

Real Bamako *
Malian Cup The Coupe du Mali Orange for sponsorship reasons is the top knockout tournament of the Malien football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, Kick (football), kicking a Football (ball), ball to score a Goal (sp ...
: 1963–64, 1965–66, 1966–67 *
African Cup of Champions Clubs The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club competition organized by the Confederation of African Football and cont ...
: runner-up
1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...
Stade Malien *
African Cup of Champions Clubs The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club competition organized by the Confederation of African Football and cont ...
: runner-up
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in for a full term ...
Saint-Étienne *
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. ...
: 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70; runner-up 1970–71 *
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 ...
: 1967–68, 1969–70 * Trophée des Champions: 1967, 1968, 1969 Sporting CP *
Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...
: Runner-up 1976–77 *
Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 sea ...
: 1977–78; runner-up 1978–79 Mali * African Games: runner-up
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in for a full term ...
*
Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internat ...
: runner-up 1972 Individual *
African Cup of Champions Clubs The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club competition organized by the Confederation of African Football and cont ...
: Best goalscorer
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in for a full term ...
,
1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...
* African Footballer of the Year: 1970 Decorations * FIFA Order of Merit: 1996


References


External links


OM profile
* *

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keita, Salif 1946 births Living people Sportspeople from Bamako Malian footballers Association football forwards AS Real Bamako players Stade Malien players Ligue 1 players AS Saint-Étienne players Olympique de Marseille players La Liga players Valencia CF players Primeira Liga players Sporting CP footballers North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players New England Tea Men players Mali international footballers 1972 African Cup of Nations players Malian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate soccer players in the United States Malian expatriate sportspeople in France Malian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Malian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Malian expatriate sportspeople in the United States African Footballer of the Year winners 21st-century Malian people African Games silver medalists for Mali African Games medalists in football Competitors at the 1965 All-Africa Games