Papa Bouba Diop (28 January 197829 November 2020) was a Senegalese 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, rugb ...

. His preferred position was defensive midfield but he could also play as a centre back, where he previously played at

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements ...

. Diop was considered a strong and aggressive player. His playing style and ability drew comparisons to

Patrick Vieira Patrick Vieira (born 23 June 1976) is a French professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Crystal Palace. He is widely considered as one of the greatest midfielders of his generation. Vieira began his career at ...

. Diop spent much of his career in England, where fans nicknamed him "The Wardrobe" for his stature. He played for

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswor ...

and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

in the

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 Fo ...

, and won the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...

with the latter club in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. He also played top-flight football in Switzerland for

Neuchâtel Xamax , neighboring_municipalities= Auvernier, Boudry, Chabrey (VD), Colombier, Cressier, Cudrefin (VD), Delley-Portalban (FR), Enges, Fenin-Vilars-Saules, Hauterive, Saint-Blaise, Savagnier , twintowns = Aarau (Switzerland), Besançon (Fra ...

and

Grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshopp ...

, in France for

and in Greece for

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadel ...

. Diop's second of a total of 11 international goals for

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

came in a 1–0 victory over then-world champions

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in the opening match of the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

, in Senegal's first match at the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

. He also played at four

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 ...

tournaments, finishing as runners-up in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

Club career

Early career

Diop was born in

Rufisque Rufisque ( ar, روفيسك; Wolof: Tëngeéj) is a city in the Dakar region of western Senegal, at the base of the Cap-Vert Peninsula. It has a population of 179,797 (2002 census). In the past it was an important port city in its own right, ...

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

. He began his football career with junior team Ndeffann Saltigue before joining

ASC Diaraf Association Sportive et Culturelle Jaraaf is a Senegalese football club based in Dakar. They play in the top division in Senegalese football. Their home stadium is Stade de Diaraf. The club name is sometimes spelt ASC Jaraaf. The word ''Diaraf'' ...

of the

Senegal Premier League Senegal Premier League is the top division of the Senegal Football Association, it was founded in 1966. The league also hosts a domestic cup, the Coupe de la Ligue. Football clubs from the Senegal Premier League also compete for the Senegal FA C ...

in 1996. He left Senegal for Switzerland, where he spent a few months with third-tier club

Vevey Vevey (; frp, Vevê; german: label=former German, Vivis) is a town in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used. It was the seat of the district of ...

before signing as a professional for Ligue Nationale A club

in the 2000 close season. In December that same year, he joined fellow top-flight club

Grasshoppers Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshoppe ...

, whom he helped win the championship title in his first half-season and made his first appearance in UEFA competitions the next.
He moved to France in January 2002 to join

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. ...

on a five-and-a-half-year contract.

Fulham

After his impressive performances for Lens, Papa Boupa Diop signed with

team

for £6 million, signing a four-year deal in July 2004. Diop made his debut against

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

on 14 August 2004, playing the full 90 minutes. Diop scored his first goal for Fulham against

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, scoring Fulham's only goal in a 4–1 home defeat. In his first season at Fulham, Diop made such an impressive display for the club that he was named Fulham's Opta player of the season award for 2004–05. Former Fulham manager

Lawrie Sanchez Lawrence Philip Sanchez (born 22 October 1959) is a Northern Irish football manager and former international footballer. The defining moment of his playing career came in the 1988 FA Cup Final, when he scored the winning goal for Wimbledon a ...

said that Diop had all the attributes to become one of the best midfielders in the Premiership. He said, "There's no reason why Bouba can't get himself up to being one of the best centre midfield players in the Premiership and that's where I see his long-term position. I've seen Diop play over the years and he has all the attributes to be a top-class midfielder". For his performances during the 2005–06 season, Diop was nominated for the Fulham "Player of the Year" award. Diop would then sign a new deal keeping him until 2009. Diop then said that he made a right decision to sign a contract with Fulham. Diop became a fans' favourite. An injury due to hamstring, foot, and back problems resulted in him missing part of the 2006–07 season and losing the captaincy to Danny Murphy. In January 2007

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

made a £5 million bid for the midfielder, but Diop decided against the move and stayed with Fulham, helping them to avoid relegation. After Diop's three years at

Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football ground in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 22,384; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game agains ...

Fulham manager Lawrie Sanchez allowed him to move on, and he transferred to

on transfer deadline day. Diop finished his Fulham career having played 84 matches for the side, scoring nine goals.

Portsmouth

Diop signed a five-year deal with Portsmouth for a fee of £3.5 million. He made his debut against

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 ...

on 15 September 2007 in a 0–0 draw. Diop was a key player in Portsmouth's victorious 2008 FA Cup campaign, playing a solid, defensive game and making some crucial tackles against

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

. Following Portsmouth's relegation, Diop was considered likely to be released. Portsmouth's administrator, Andrew Andronikou, stated that Diop would only be leaving for a fee of £1 million, but Portsmouth eventually agreed to an undisclosed fee (reported as around £750,000) to transfer Diop to

in July 2010. He played 72 games for Portsmouth without scoring.

AEK Athens

On 13 July 2010, Diop agreed terms with

signing a two-year deal earning €900,000 per season, despite interest from

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

and

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

. Diop made his debut for AEK Athens against

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

on 19 August 2010 in a Europa League play-off first-leg game. Diop appeared as a substitute at the 81st minute of the 1–0 victory. Diop scored his first Super League goal against PAOK on 3 June 2011, the match finished 4–0 to AEK. Bouba Diop finished the season having played in only 19 league games. On 30 April 2011, Diop won the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most ...

with AEK in a 3–0 win against

Atromitos Atromitos (Greek: Ατρόμητος, "fearless") may refer to: * Atromitos F.C. Atromitos Football Club (, ''PAE APS Atromitos Athinon''), also simply known as Atromitos (literally meaning "Fearless"), is a Greek professional football club ba ...

. Diop also scored two goals against PAOK in the Superleague Greece play-offs giving AEK the 3–0 lead.

West Ham United

On 30 August 2011, West Ham announced the signing of Diop on a one-year deal. He joined on a free transfer after leaving AEK Athens. The deal included an option to sign for a further year. He made his debut for West Ham on 1 October 2011 in a 2–2 away draw with

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

. He scored his first and only goal for West Ham, against

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough ha ...

on 17 December 2011. His goal proved to be the winner in a 1–0 win. He made 16 appearances for West Ham in the league and was a popular member of the squad. Although not a team member on the day, Diop celebrated on the pitch with the team as they won promotion to the Premier League via the 2012 Football League Championship play-off Final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

on 19 May 2012. On 30 June 2012, Diop was released by West Ham on expiry of his contract.

Birmingham City

In October 2012, he agreed terms to join former teammate Lee Clark's

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

on a short-term contract, subject to successful application for a working visa, and the deal was completed on 19 October. He then signed for a further month, and finally made his Birmingham debut as a second-half substitute in a 1–1 draw away to

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...

on 27 November. He was booked within minutes of entering the game. With

Hayden Mullins Hayden Ian Mullins (born 27 March 1979) is an English former professional footballer and current manager. He played primarily as a defensive midfielder, but he also played as a sweeper and at right-back. He was most recently the head coach at ...

suspended and

Jonathan Spector Jonathan Michael Paul Spector (born March 1, 1986) is an American former soccer player who played as a defender. In his 16-year career playing first-team soccer he played over 400 games for club and country, and helped the United States win the ...

injured for the visit of

on 15 December, Diop made his first start for Birmingham, alongside League debutant Callum Reilly in central midfield. He scored the equalising goal, a powerful header from Rob Hall's corner, as Birmingham came back from 2–0 down to draw, and was rewarded with another month's contract. He injured a hamstring soon afterwards, and despite his imminent return to fitness, the club's financial difficulties meant they could not offer him a further contract extension. He left the club in January 2013.

International career

Bouba Diop received his first call-up to the Senegal national squad in 1999, at the age of 21, while playing for

in the

Swiss Super League The Swiss Super League (known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a Swiss professional league in the top tier of the Swiss football league system and has been played in its current format since the 2003–04 seaso ...

. He was part of their squad that finished runners-up at the

2002 Africa Cup of Nations The 2002 African Cup of Nations was the 23rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by Mali. Just like in 2000, the field of sixteen teams was split into four groups of four. ...

in Mali, and scored the opening goal of a 2–1 win over

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

in the semi-finals. He is perhaps best known for scoring the first goal of

against

, which resulted in the 1–0 defeat of the defending world champions and, ultimately, their early elimination from the tournament, in which Senegal reached the quarter-finals. He ended as his team's best scorer of the tournament with three goals, having also scored twice against

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. Diop celebrated his goal against France by running to the corner of the pitch, laying his shirt on the floor, and having his teammates dance around it. Diop played at three more

tournaments: in

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 ...

he scored in a 3–0 group win over

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

in Tunisia, and in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

he netted in a 3–2 victory against

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 ...

in the quarter-finals. His last appearances were in a group-stage elimination in Ghana in

, in which Senegal manager

Henryk Kasperczak Henryk Wojciech Kasperczak (born 10 July 1946) is a Polish football manager and a former player who most recently managed the Tunisia national football team. As a player, Kasperczak took part in two FIFA World Cups with Poland, achieving third ...

resigned during the tournament due to the team's ill discipline. Diop played 63 times for Senegal, scoring 11 goals. During the

2022 World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022; it is the first ...

, Senegal dedicated their win over

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

to Diop on the second anniversary of his death.

Style of play

His manager at Fulham, Chris Coleman, described him as a player with "great feet, scores goals, defends well, tackles, has got good pace", and that his "stature and ability" were unique in the Premier League at the time, similar to that of

. Former

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

midfielder

Paul Scholes Paul Scholes (born 16 November 1974) is an English football coach, pundit, former player, and co-owner of Salford City. He spent his entire professional playing career with Manchester United, for whom he scored over 150 goals in more than 700 ...

described him as one of the most "awkward" players he had played against, and noted that "you get involved physically with him and you're wasting your time". During his playing career in England, Diop was nicknamed "The Wardrobe" for his stature (he was in height).

Death

Diop died in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

on 29 November 2020 following a long illness. It was reported by ''

L'Équipe ''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby, motorsport, and cycling. Its predecessor ...

'' that he had

ALS Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most comm ...

. Diop's funeral was held in Dakar on 4 December before burial in his hometown. In attendance were his widow Marie Aude, their son and daughter, President of Senegal

Macky Sall Macky Sall (, wo, Maki Sàll, fuc, 𞤃𞤢𞤳𞤭 𞤅𞤢𞤤‎, italic=no, Maki Sal; born 11 December 1961) is a Senegalese politician who has been President of Senegal since April 2012. He was re-elected President in the first round vot ...

and teammates from the 2002 World Cup.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Senegal's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Diop goal.''

Honours

Grasshoppers *

: 2000–01 Portsmouth *

: 2007–08 AEK Athens *

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

Senegal *

runner-up:

References

External links

* *
Profile, stats and pictures of Bouba Diop
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diop, Papa Bouba 1978 births 2020 deaths Sportspeople from Dakar Association football midfielders Senegalese footballers Senegal international footballers FC Vevey United players Neuchâtel Xamax FCS players Grasshopper Club Zürich players RC Lens players Fulham F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players AEK Athens F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Swiss Super League players Ligue 1 players Premier League players English Football League players Super League Greece players 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2002 African Cup of Nations players 2004 African Cup of Nations players 2006 Africa Cup of Nations players 2008 Africa Cup of Nations players FA Cup Final players Senegalese expatriate footballers Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate footballers in Switzerland Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate footballers in France Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England Neurological disease deaths in France Deaths from motor neuron disease