Salif Diao
| Date of birth | 10 February 1977 |
| Place of birth | 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.
Club history
| Team | Joined | Left | Loan / Trialist |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAS 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 | 30 Jun 2012 |
Club stats
| Season | Team | Competition | Apps | Subs | Goals | Y | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-01 | Sedan | French Championnat | 16 | 10 |
7
|
||
| 2001-02 | Sedan | French Championnat | 22 |
8
|
1
|
||
| 2001-02 | Sedan | UEFA Cup | 2 | ||||
| 2002-03 | Liverpool | FA Cup | 1 | 1 |
|||
| 2002-03 | Liverpool | League Cup | 3 | 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
|
||
| 2003-04 | Liverpool | League Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2003-04 | Liverpool | Premier League | 2 | 1 |
1
|
||
| 2003-04 | Liverpool | UEFA Cup | 2 | 1 |
|||
| 2004-05 | Birmingham City | Premier League | 2 |
1
|
|||
| 2004-05 | Liverpool | League Cup | 3 | 1 |
2
|
||
| 2004-05 | Liverpool | Premier League | 4 | 4 |
1
|
||
| 2004-05 | Liverpool | UEFA Champions League | 1 | 2 |
|||
| 2005-06 | Portsmouth | FA Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2005-06 | Portsmouth | League 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 | League 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 | FA Cup | 2 |
2
|
|||
| 2010-11 | Stoke City | League Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2010-11 | Stoke City | Premier League | 3 | 5 |
3
|
||
| 2011-12 | Stoke City | League 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.
Club matches
| Date | Match | Result | Competition | Round | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Sep 2005 | Everton v Portsmouth | W | 0-1 | Premier League | |
| 17 Sep 2005 | Portsmouth v Birmingham City | D | 1-1 | Premier League | |
| 20 Sep 2005 | Gillingham v Portsmouth | L | 3-2 | League Cup | 2nd round |
| 24 Sep 2005 | Bolton Wanderers v Portsmouth | L | 1-0 | Premier League | |
| 01 Oct 2005 | Portsmouth v Newcastle United | D | 0-0 | Premier League | |
| 05 Nov 2005 | Portsmouth v Wigan Athletic | L | 0-2 | Premier League | |
| 26 Nov 2005 | Portsmouth v Chelsea | L | 0-2 | Premier League | |
| 03 Dec 2005 | Manchester United v Portsmouth | L | 3-0 | Premier League | |
| 02 Jan 2006 | Blackburn Rovers v Portsmouth | L | 2-1 | Premier League | |
| 07 Jan 2006 | Ipswich Town v Portsmouth | W | 0-1 | FA Cup | 3rd round |
| 14 Jan 2006 | Portsmouth v Everton | L | 0-1 | Premier League | |
| 04 Feb 2006 | Newcastle United v Portsmouth | L | 2-0 | Premier League | |
| 22 Apr 2006 | Portsmouth v Sunderland | W | 2-1 | Premier League | |
Please note: Match history is complete for the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.
International stats
| Season | Team | Competition | Apps | Subs | Goals | Y | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-97 | Senegal | Africa Cup of Nations | 1 | ||||
| 1997-98 | Senegal | Africa Cup of Nations | 1 | ||||
| 2000-01 | Senegal | FIFA World Cup | 4 | ||||
| 2001-02 | Senegal | Africa Cup of Nations | 5 | 1 |
2 |
||
| 2001-02 | Senegal | FIFA World Cup | 4 | 1 |
1
|
||
| 2001-02 | Senegal | International Friendly | 5 |
1
|
|||
| 2002-03 | Senegal | International Friendly | 3 | 1 |
|||
| 2002-03 | Senegal | Joola Disaster Charity Match | 1 | ||||
| 2003-04 | Senegal | Africa Cup of Nations | 4 | ||||
| 2003-04 | Senegal | International Friendly | 2 | ||||
| 2004-05 | Senegal | FIFA World Cup | 2 | ||||
| 2004-05 | Senegal | International Friendly | 1 | ||||
| 2008-09 | Senegal | FIFA World Cup | 1 |
Please note: Career stats are based on performances in the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.
International matches
| Date | Match | Result | Competition | Round | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Jun 1997 | Senegal v Ethiopia | W | 3-0 | Africa Cup of Nations | Group 3 |
| 27 Jul 1997 | Morocco v Senegal | L | 3-0 | Africa Cup of Nations | Group 3 |
| 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 Friendly | |
| 30 Dec 2001 | Senegal v Algeria | W | 1-0 | International Friendly | |
| 20 Jan 2002 | Egypt v Senegal | W | 0-1 | Africa Cup of Nations | Finals Group D |
| 26 Jan 2002 | Senegal v Zambia | W | 1-0 | Africa Cup of Nations | Finals Group D |
| 31 Jan 2002 | Senegal v Tunisia | D | 0-0 | Africa Cup of Nations | Finals Group D |
| 04 Feb 2002 | Senegal v Congo DR | W | 2-0 | Africa Cup of Nations | Finals quarter-final |
| 07 Feb 2002 | Nigeria v Senegal | W | 1-2 | Africa Cup of Nations | Finals semi-final |
| 10 Feb 2002 | Cameroon v Senegal | L | 0-0 (2-3) | Africa Cup of Nations | Finals final |
| 27 Mar 2002 | Senegal v Bolivia | W | 2-1 | International Friendly | |
| 14 May 2002 | Saudi Arabia v Senegal | L | 3-2 | International Friendly | |
| 23 May 2002 | Ecuador v Senegal | W | 0-1 | International Friendly | |
| 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 Friendly | |
| 30 Apr 2003 | Tunisia v Senegal | L | 1-0 | International Friendly | |
| 31 May 2003 | Senegal v Cape Verde Islands | W | 2-1 | International Friendly | |
| 10 Sep 2003 | Japan v Senegal | W | 0-1 | International Friendly | |
| 17 Jan 2004 | Senegal v South Africa | W | 2-1 | International Friendly | |
| 26 Jan 2004 | Burkina Faso v Senegal | D | 0-0 | Africa Cup of Nations | Finals Group B |
| 30 Jan 2004 | Kenya v Senegal | W | 0-3 | Africa Cup of Nations | Finals Group B |
| 02 Feb 2004 | Mali v Senegal | D | 1-1 | Africa Cup of Nations | Finals Group B |
| 07 Feb 2004 | Tunisia v Senegal | L | 1-0 | Africa Cup of Nations | 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 Friendly | |
| 11 Oct 2008 | Senegal v Gambia | D | 1-1 | FIFA World Cup | Africa 1st round group 6 |
Please note: Match history is complete for the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.