Amara Salim Diané (born 19 August 1982) is an Ivorian former 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 played as a forward.

Club career

Born in

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

, Diané started his career training at the famous youth academy at ASEC Abidjan, before moving to the Parisian suburbs, where he joined the French side FC Mantes. Following his spell there, he moved to French fifth-tier club Roye in December 2000. In the 2002–03 season, he found his feet, scored 26 goals in 34 games, and earned a transfer to Ligue 2 club

Stade de Reims Stade de Reims () is a French professional football club based in Reims. The club was formed in 1931 and plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of football in France. Reims plays home matches at the Stade Auguste Delaune. Reims is one of the mo ...

. After another fine season, he was signed by Ligue 1 club

RC Strasbourg Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace, commonly known as RC Strasbourg (, ; RCS) or simply just Racing, is a French professional association football club founded in 1906 and based in the city of Strasbourg, Alsace. It became a professional club in ...

. Another impressive season for the young striker followed, and after the eventual relegation of Strasbourg at the end of the season, he was linked with a number of clubs throughout Europe. Eventually,

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

paid £2,300,000 for his services, signing him on a four-year deal. At the end of the

2007–08 Ligue 1 The 2007–08 Ligue 1 season was the seventieth since its establishment, and started in August 2007 and ended on 17 May 2008. The fixtures were announced in June 2007. Lyon became French champions, having won a record seventh consecutive title. ...

season PSG came close to being relegated, but on the final day of the season Diané scored twice in a 2–1 win over

Sochaux Sochaux () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Geography Sochaux lies east of Montbéliard, and southeast of Paris. Population Inhabitants are known as ''Sochaliens''. Economy ...

to help secure their Ligue 1 status. In May 2008, it was reported that English Premiership sides

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

were interested in signing the Ivorian, who was the season's top scorer at his club in the

season. In July 2008, Diané was transferred from PSG to Qatari club

Al-Rayyan Sports Club Al-Rayyan Sports Club () is a Qatari multi-sports club fielding teams in a number of sports such as football, futsal, basketball, volleyball, handball, athletics, table tennis, and swimming. It is based at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Umm ...

for a fee believed to be in the region of €8 million. He signed a contract worth €10 million over four years. Then, he signed a contract with Al Gharafa Sports Club. Diané cited mainly financial reasons for his decision to move to Qatar stating "From now I want to ensure my family's financial future. And only a Qatari club can permit me to do it." On 26 October 2011, Diané switched team from Gharafa to

UAE Pro-League The UAE Pro League (), also known as the ADNOC Pro League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the highest level of the Emirati football league system. The first team to w ...

side Al-Nasr SC for Ecuadorian striker Carlos Tenorio. After a short spell in Belgium's second division

Tubize Tubize (; ) is a municipality and city of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006 Tubize had a total population of 22,335. The total area is 32.66 km2 which gives a population density of 684 inhabita ...

, he retired.

International career

Diané was called up to the Ivory Coast national team for their friendly against

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

on 18 August 2006. However, due to a groin injury, he missed out on playing, also missing the

African Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

qualifier against

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

, where the Elephants won 5–0, with Arouna Koné scoring a hat-trick. He was again called up to the national squad for the friendly against Sweden on 15 November 2006, along with fellow PSG player and former Ivory Coast captain Bonaventure Kalou. However, he was an unused substitute in the game. In March 2007, he was one of four players to receive a late call-up for the Ivorians to participate in the African Cup of Nations qualifier against

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

Antananarivo Antananarivo (Malagasy language, Malagasy: ; French language, French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known ...

, due to injuries to other members of the squad.Late Call-up for Diané
/ref> Amara made his presence felt in the tie against Madagascar with the third goal, and his first for the Elephants, in the team's 3–0 victory. Amara was named in the Elephants provisional squad for the

2008 African Cup of Nations The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the MTN Africa Cup of Nations due to the competition's sponsorship by MTN, was the 26th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football tournament for nations affiliated with the Confeder ...

in Ghana, but was left out of the final squad, with the Ivorian's wealth of attacking options limiting his chances.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Ivory Coast's goal tally first.''

Honours

Paris Saint-Germain *

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France ...

: 2007–08 Al-Rayyan Sports Club *

Emir of Qatar Cup Emir of Qatar Cup (), also known as the Emir Cup, but changed to Amir Cup starting in 2019, is an association football tournament played every season by all first and second division teams in Qatar. The tournament is played in a knockout system, ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Al-Gharafa Sports Club *

Qatar Crown Prince Cup The Qatar Cup (formerly known as Qatar Crown Prince Cup) is a tournament in men's football. It is played by the top 4 teams of the Qatar Stars League after each season. In 2013, the tournament was renamed Qatar Cup. Previous winners All-time ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

References

External links

Profile on PSG Official Site
(French) * *
Amara Diané Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diane, Amara 1982 births Living people Footballers from Abidjan Men's association football forwards Ivorian men's footballers Ivory Coast men's international footballers Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players UAE Pro League players Stade de Reims players RC Strasbourg Alsace players Paris Saint-Germain FC players ASEC Mimosas players Al-Rayyan SC players Al Dhafra FC players Qatar Stars League players Al-Nasr SC (Dubai) players Al-Gharafa SC players Ivorian expatriate men's footballers Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in France Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates 21st-century Ivorian sportsmen