Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye

Football player infobox
playername = Abdoulaye Faye


fullname = Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye
height = height|meters=1.88
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1978|2|26
cityofbirth = Dakar
countryofbirth = Senegal
currentclub = Stoke City
clubnumber = 25
position = Defender, Defensive midfielder
years = 1999–2001
2001–2002
2002–2005
2004–2005
2005–2007
2007–2008
2008–
clubs = ASEC Ndiambour
Jeanne d'Arc
Lens
→ Istres (loan)
Bolton Wanderers
Newcastle United
Stoke City
caps(goals) = 59 (8)
32 (4)
35 (0)
28 (0)
60 (3)
22 (1)
02 (0)
nationalyears = 2004–
nationalteam = Senegal
nationalcaps(goals) = 14 (3)
pcupdate = 20:26, 5 September 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate = 17:36, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye (born February 26, 1978 in Dakar, Dakar Region) is a Senegalese professional footballer. He plays primarily as a defender but can also operate as a defensive midfielder and currently plays for Stoke City in the Premier League.

Early career

Faye began his career at Senegalese club ASEC Ndiambour, before leaving the then top-three team to go to Jeanne d'Arc. He then went on to join Lens in July 2002, integrating into a squad which at that time included fellow Senegalese Papa Bouba Diop, currently a member of the Premier League team Stoke City F.C.

Bolton Wanderers

Faye made his debut for Bolton Wanderers against Newcastle United where he enjoyed a memorable debut in a 2–0 home win in which, he aerially out-muscled Alan Shearer. He came on as a substitute for the injured Radhi Jaïdi and never looked back after an angry yet dominant display.

In the 2006–07 season Faye operated almost exclusively as a central defender following the departures of Bruno N'Gotty and Jaïdi to Birmingham City. Over the course of the season he developed a formidable partnership with Ivorian Abdoulaye Méïté, ensuring that Bolton had a strong home defensive record before the new year. Soon after they fell away in the second half of the season only just qualifying for the UEFA Cup with sides finding a way through Faye and Meite's dominance. Faye managed to score two goals against Arsenal in successive seasons helping Bolton to a 2–0 and 3–1 victories due to his definite aerial prowess which the Arsenal defenders had no answer to. He was known for his dominant displays at central defence throughout the season and became a favourite amongst Bolton fans. Also, Faye was noted for having produced the tackle upon Matt Derbyshire which forced the ball vertically up into the air, reaching the peaks of the Reebok Stadium.

Newcastle United

On 15 August, there were stories in several newspapers stating that Faye would be moving to Newcastle United for around £2m to join up with former Manager Sam Allardyce. On 30 August, Allardyce admitted that Faye was currently having a medical but yet to finish off the minor details of the deal with Bolton. The transfer was completed in the final moments of transfer deadline day on 31 August. Faye signed a three-year contract at Newcastle United. [ [http://www.nufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10278~1103821,00.html Faye Signs for Magpies] ] . Faye was presented to the Newcastle fans at half-time during the home game against Wigan Athletic on 1 September. On 24 February, 2008, Faye scored his only goal for Newcastle United during the 5–1 defeat at home to Manchester United. [cite news
date=2008-02-24
url=http://icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/newcastleunited/sundaysun/tm_headline=newcastle-1-manchester-united-5%26method=full%26objectid=20516280%26siteid=50081-name_page.html
title=Newcastle 1, Manchester United 5
publisher=icNewcastle
accessdate=2008-02-24]

Stoke City

On 15th August 2008, Faye joined new Premier League side Stoke City from Newcastle United for £2.25 million on a three-year contract.cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/stoke_city/7564263.stm |title=Stoke sign Magpies defender Faye |date=August 15, 2008|publisher=BBC Sport|accessdate=2008-08-15]

References

Links

*soccerbase|id=32207|name=Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye
* [http://www.sitercl.com/Fichejo/F/fayea.htm Diagne-Faye's profile on Sitercl.Com]