Aliu Djaló (born 5 February 1992) is a Bissau-Guinean 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 lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for Portuguese cub

Pedras Rubras Pedras Rubras (Portuguese for ''Reddish stones'') is a Portugal, Portuguese locality and suburb in the Moreira (Maia), Moreira parish, in the Maia Municipality of the Grande Porto Subregion, Greater Porto subregion. The Porto Airport (OPO) (Sá Car ...

. Beside Aliu Djaló, he is also widely known as ''Kaby Djaló'', or even simply ''Kaby''. He has represented the Guinea-Bissau national team but also has Portuguese citizenship.

Club career

Born in

Bissau Bissau () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Guinea-Bissau. it had a population of 492,004. Bissau is located on the Geba River estuary, off the Atlantic Ocean, and is Guinea-Bissau's largest city, major port, its administr ...

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau b ...

, he spent his early career in Portugal, playing in the youth teams of Boavista since 2003. In 2007, he moved to England to join

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side Chelsea where he played in their youth team until 2011. Afterwards, he was promoted to the Chelsea reserve squad in the first half of the 2011–12 season. During the winter break of the 2011–12 season, he moved to Cyprus and made his debut as a senior while playing with

AEL Limassol Athlitiki Enosi Lemesou () is a Cyprus, Cypriot sports club based in the city of Limassol, most famous for its football team. AEL Limassol also maintains a AEL Limassol B.C., men's and AEL Limassol B.C. (women), women's basketball teams, a wom ...

in the

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

contributing for AEL's championship winning squad. On 13 August 2012, Djaló arrived in Serbia and spent a period on trial at

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

. In December 2012 Djaló spent a period on trial with League One side Yeovil Town but failed to earn a contract. On 18 July 2013, Djaló signed with Marítimo. On 31 August 2016, Djaló returned to England after spells in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

to join League Two side

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1896 as Crawley Foo ...

on a two-year deal. On 17 September 2016, Djaló made his Crawley debut in a 2–0 home victory against

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

, featuring for the entire 90 minutes. On 15 October 2016, Djaló scored his first goal for Crawley in their 2–1 away defeat against

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...

, netting in the 78th minute. On 14 May 2019, it was announced that Djaló would leave Crawley at the end of his current deal in June. In July 2019, Djaló joined Icelandic club

Njarðvík Njarðvík () is a town in southwestern Iceland, on the peninsula of Reykjanes. As of 2009, its population was 4,400. History In 1995 it merged with the town of Keflavík and the village of Hafnir to form the new municipality of Reykjanesbær. ...

and the following year he remained in the country to play for Víðir.

International career

Despite being born in Guinea-Bissau, Djaló has represented Portugal at U-17 and U-18 levels.Aliu Djaló
at ForadeJogo Djaló was called up to the

Guinea-Bissau national football team The Guinea-Bissau national football team ( Portuguese: Seleção nacional de futebol da Guiné-Bissau) represents Guinea-Bissau in men's international association football and it is controlled by the Football Federation of Guinea-Bissau, The ...

and made his debut in a

2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches were organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to decide the participating teams of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, the 31st edition of the international men's football champions ...

match 3–2 win over

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

Career statistics

Honours

;AEL Limasol *

: 2011–12 ;PS Kemi *

Ykkönen ''Ykkönen'' (Finnish language, Finnish for 'Number One'; , previously I divisioona) is the third highest level of the Finnish football league system (after the Veikkausliiga and Ykkösliiga), managed by the Football Association of Finland. Until ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Djalo, Aliu 1992 births Living people Footballers from Bissau Bissau-Guinean men's footballers Guinea-Bissau men's international footballers Bissau-Guinean emigrants to Portugal Portuguese men's footballers Portugal men's youth international footballers Portuguese sportspeople of Bissau-Guinean descent Men's association football midfielders Boavista F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players AEL Limassol players C.S. Marítimo players CS Gaz Metan Mediaș players MKP Pogoń Siedlce players Kemi City F.C. players Crawley Town F.C. players Aliu Djaló Aliu Djaló F.C. Infesta players F.C. Pedras Rubras players Cypriot First Division players Liga I players I liga players III liga players Veikkausliiga players Ykkönen players English Football League players 1. deild karla players 2. deild karla players 3. deild karla players Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Bissau-Guinean expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Expatriate men's footballers in Romania Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Expatriate men's footballers in Finland Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Iceland Bissau-Guinean expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Bissau-Guinean expatriate sportspeople in Romania Bissau-Guinean expatriate sportspeople in Poland Bissau-Guinean expatriate sportspeople in Finland Bissau-Guinean expatriate sportspeople in England Bissau-Guinean expatriate sportspeople in Iceland 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen