Salif Diao
| Born | 10 February 1977, Kedougou |
| Nationality | Senegalese |
| Weight | 73 kg |
| Height | 1.84 m |
| Position | Midfielder |
A young midfield player who developed with Epinal and Monaco, it was only when Diao joined Sedan in the 2000 close season that he began to establish himself as a regular in the first team.
He won his first cap in 1997 but did not return to the national squad until Bruno Metsu made him one of a large group of European-based players introduced to the Senegal squad at the start of the second round of the World Cup qualifiers.
He is the defensive midfield shield in front of the back four and was one of the teams outstanding performers at the African Nations' Cup Finals in Mali scoring the winning goal in the semi final against Nigeria.
With a fee already agreed with Sedan, Salif's first task after the 2002 World Cup finals was to agree personal terms with Liverpool.
Salif scored Senegal's equaliser in their draw with Denmark in Daegu but then was sent-off for a reckless tackle.
After a loan spell, he joined Stoke City in January 2007 with a contract to the end of the season.
He re-signed for the Potters in December 2007 with a contract to June 2009 that was extended to June 2010 in July 2009 and to June 2012 in August 2010.
Career stats
| Season | Team | Competition | Apps | Subs | Goals | Y | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-97 | Senegal | African Nations Cup | 1 | ||||
| 1997-98 | Senegal | African Nations Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2000-01 | Sedan | French Championnat | 16 | 10 |
7
|
||
| 2000-01 | Senegal | FIFA World Cup | 4 | ||||
| 2001-02 | Sedan | French Championnat | 22 |
8
|
1
|
||
| 2001-02 | Sedan | UEFA Cup | 2 | ||||
| 2001-02 | Senegal | African Nations Cup | 5 | 1 |
2 |
||
| 2001-02 | Senegal | FIFA World Cup | 4 | 1 |
1
|
||
| 2001-02 | Senegal | International | 5 |
1
|
|||
| 2002-03 | Liverpool | FA Cup | 1 | 1 |
|||
| 2002-03 | Liverpool | Premier League | 13 | 13 |
1 |
3
|
1
|
| 2002-03 | Liverpool | UEFA Champions League | 3 | 2 |
1 |
||
| 2002-03 | Liverpool | UEFA Cup | 2 | 1 |
1
|
||
| 2002-03 | Liverpool | Worthington Cup | 3 | 1 |
1
|
||
| 2002-03 | Senegal | International | 3 | 1 |
|||
| 2002-03 | Senegal | Joola Disaster Charity Match | 1 | ||||
| 2003-04 | Liverpool | Carling Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2003-04 | Liverpool | Premier League | 2 | 1 |
1
|
||
| 2003-04 | Liverpool | UEFA Cup | 2 | 1 |
|||
| 2003-04 | Senegal | African Nations Cup | 4 | ||||
| 2003-04 | Senegal | International | 2 | ||||
| 2004-05 | Birmingham City | Premier League | 2 |
1
|
|||
| 2004-05 | Liverpool | Carling Cup | 3 | 1 |
2
|
||
| 2004-05 | Liverpool | Premier League | 4 | 4 |
1
|
||
| 2004-05 | Liverpool | UEFA Champions League | 1 | 2 |
|||
| 2004-05 | Senegal | FIFA World Cup | 2 | ||||
| 2004-05 | Senegal | International | 1 | ||||
| 2005-06 | Portsmouth | Carling Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2005-06 | Portsmouth | FA Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2005-06 | Portsmouth | Premier League | 7 | 4 |
3
|
||
| 2006-07 | Stoke City | FA Cup | 1 | 1 |
|||
| 2006-07 | Stoke City | League Championship | 27 |
10
|
|||
| 2007-08 | Stoke City | FA Cup | 1 |
||||
| 2007-08 | Stoke City | League Championship | 8 | 3 |
1
|
||
| 2008-09 | Stoke City | Carling Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2008-09 | Stoke City | Premier League | 18 | 2 |
4
|
||
| 2009-10 | Stoke City | FA Cup | 2 | 1 |
|||
| 2009-10 | Stoke City | Premier League | 11 | 5 |
1 |
7
|
|
| 2010-11 | Stoke City | Carling Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2010-11 | Stoke City | FA Cup | 2 |
2
|
|||
| 2010-11 | Stoke City | Premier League | 3 | 5 |
3
|
||
| 2011-12 | Stoke City | Carling Cup | 1 |
||||
| 2011-12 | Stoke City | Premier League | 2 | 4 |
1
|
||
| 2011-12 | Stoke City | UEFA Europa League | 6 | 1 |
2
|
Please note: Career stats are based on performances in the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.
Match history
| Date | Match | Result | Competition | Round | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Jun 1997 | Senegal v Ethiopia | W | 3-0 | African Nations Cup | Group 3 |
| 27 Jul 1997 | Morocco v Senegal | L | 3-0 | African Nations Cup | |
| 24 Feb 2001 | Morocco v Senegal | D | 0-0 | FIFA World Cup | Africa group C |
| 11 Mar 2001 | Senegal v Namibia | W | 4-0 | FIFA World Cup | Africa group C |
| 22 Apr 2001 | Senegal v Algeria | W | 3-0 | FIFA World Cup | Africa group B |
| 06 May 2001 | Egypt v Senegal | L | 1-0 | FIFA World Cup | Africa group C |
| 14 Jul 2001 | Senegal v Morocco | W | 1-0 | FIFA World Cup | Africa group C |
| 04 Oct 2001 | Senegal v Japan | W | 2-0 | International | |
| 30 Dec 2001 | Senegal v Algeria | W | 1-0 | International | |
| 20 Jan 2002 | Egypt v Senegal | W | 0-1 | African Nations Cup | Finals group D |
| 26 Jan 2002 | Senegal v Zambia | W | 1-0 | African Nations Cup | Finals group D |
| 31 Jan 2002 | Senegal v Tunisia | D | 0-0 | African Nations Cup | Finals group D |
| 04 Feb 2002 | Senegal v Congo DR | W | 2-0 | African Nations Cup | Finals quarter-final |
| 07 Feb 2002 | Nigeria v Senegal | L | 2-1 | African Nations Cup | Finals semi-final |
| 10 Feb 2002 | Cameroon v Senegal | D | 0-0 | African Nations Cup | Finals final |
| 27 Mar 2002 | Senegal v Bolivia | W | 2-1 | International | |
| 14 May 2002 | Saudi Arabia v Senegal | L | 3-2 | International | |
| 23 May 2002 | Ecuador v Senegal | W | 0-1 | International | |
| 31 May 2002 | France v Senegal | W | 0-1 | FIFA World Cup | Finals group A |
| 06 Jun 2002 | Denmark v Senegal | D | 1-1 | FIFA World Cup | Finals group A |
| 22 Jun 2002 | Turkey v Senegal | L | 1-0 | FIFA World Cup | Finals quarter-final |
| 12 Oct 2002 | Senegal v Nigeria | D | 2-2 | JOOLA DISASTER CHARITY MATCH | |
| 12 Feb 2003 | Morocco v Senegal | L | 1-0 | International | |
| 30 Apr 2003 | Tunisia v Senegal | L | 1-0 | International | |
| 31 May 2003 | Senegal v Cape Verde Islands | W | 2-1 | International | |
| 10 Sep 2003 | Japan v Senegal | W | 0-1 | International | |
| 17 Jan 2004 | Senegal v South Africa | W | 2-1 | International | |
| 26 Jan 2004 | Burkina Faso v Senegal | D | 0-0 | African Nations Cup | Finals group B |
| 30 Jan 2004 | Kenya v Senegal | W | 0-3 | African Nations Cup | Finals group B |
| 02 Feb 2004 | Mali v Senegal | D | 1-1 | African Nations Cup | Finals group B |
| 07 Feb 2004 | Tunisia v Senegal | L | 1-0 | African Nations Cup | Quarter-final |
| 05 Sep 2004 | Mali v Senegal | D | 2-2 | FIFA World Cup | Africa group 1 |
| 10 Oct 2004 | Liberia v Senegal | W | 0-3 | FIFA World Cup | Africa group 1 |
| 17 Nov 2004 | Algeria v Senegal | W | 1-2 | International | |
Please note: Match history is complete for the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.
Club history
| Team | Joined | Left | Loan / Trialist |
|---|---|---|---|
| Epinal | 01 Dec 1996 | 01 Jul 1997 | |
| AS Monaco | 01 Jul 1997 | 01 Jul 2000 | |
| Sedan | 01 Jul 2000 | 09 Aug 2002 | |
| Liverpool | 09 Aug 2002 | 23 Jan 2007 | |
| Birmingham City | 18 Jan 2005 | 31 May 2005 | L |
| Portsmouth | 31 Aug 2005 | 31 May 2006 | L |
| Stoke City | 10 Oct 2006 | 14 Jan 2007 | L |
| Stoke City | 23 Jan 2007 | 30 Jun 2007 | |
| Stoke City | 10 Dec 2007 |