Amara Diané

Football player infobox| playername= Amara Diané


fullname = Amara Diané
nickname =
dateofbirth = Birth date and age|1982|8|19|df=y
cityofbirth = Abidjan
countryofbirth = Cote d'Ivoire
height = 181 cm
currentclub = Al-Rayyan Sports Club
clubnumber = TBA
position = forward
youthyears =
youthclubs = ASEC Abidjan
FC Mantes
years = 2000 - 2003 2003 - 2005 2005 - 2006 2006 - 2008 2008 -
clubs = US Roye Reims Strasbourg Paris Saint-Germain Al-Rayyan Sports Club
caps(goals) = 34 (26)
69 (27)
34 (9)
71 (17)
0 (0)
nationalyears = 2006 -
nationalteam = Cote d'Ivoire
nationalcaps(goals) = 2 (1)
pcupdate = 14 May 2008
ntupdate = 22 May 2008

Amara Diané (born August 19, 1982 in Abidjan) is an Ivorian football striker who plays for Qatari club Al-Rayyan Sports Club and the Côte d'Ivoire national team.

Club career

At the start of his career Amara trained at the famous youth academy at Ivory Coast club ASEC Abidjan, before moving to the Parisian suburbs, where he joined French Club FC Mantes. Following his spell here, he moved to French fifth-tier club Roye in December 2000. In the 2002/2003 season, he found his feet, scored 26 goals in 34 games, and earning a transfer to Ligue 2 club Reims. After another fine season he was signed by Ligue 1 club RC Strasbourg. 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 [ [http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=384707&plid=53577&clid=153&cpid=24 Big Guns eye New Drogba] ] . Eventually, Paris Saint-Germain paid £2,300,000 for his services, signing him on a 4 year deal [ [http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=388678&plid=53577&clid=149&cpid=24 PSG Make Second Capture] ] .

In May 2008 it was reported that English Premiership sides Newcastle United [ [http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_3564888,00.html Newcastle chase Amara] ] and Portsmouth [ [http://www.mtnfootball.com/live/content.php?Item_ID=14756 Diane potential for Portsmouth] ] were interested in signing the Ivorian, who was the seasons top scorer at his club in the 2007/08 Ligue 1 season. He scored two goals in PSG's last game of the season to ensure they stayed in the top flight of French football, in what would be his last game for the club.

In July 2008 Diané was transferred from PSG to Qatari club Al-Rayyan Sports Club for a fee believed to be in the region of €8 million [ [http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=768888 Toon Target Diané Leaves PSG For Qatar] ] . He signed a contact worth €10 million over four years. Diané cited mainly financial reasons for he 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.” [ [http://www.setantasports.com/en/Sport/News/Football/2008/07/04/Prem-Diane-on-future/?facets/sport-space/football/great-britain-locale/ Prem: Diane on future - Setanta Sports ] ]

National Team

He was called up to the Ivory Coast national team for their friendly against Senegal on 18 August 2006. However, due to a groin injury he missed out on playing, also missing the African Cup of Nations qualifier against Gabon 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 Cote d'Ivoire 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 Ivorian's African Cup of Nations qualifier against Madagascar in Antananarivo, due to injuries to other members of the squad [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/6476345.stm Late Call-up for Diané] ] . Amara made his presence felt in the tie against Madagascar with the third goal, and his first for the Elephants, in the teams 3-0 victory. Amara was named in the Elephants provisional squad for the 2008 African Cup of Nations in Ghana, but was left out of the final squad, with the Ivorian's wealth of attacking options limiting his chances.

References

External links

* [http://www.1000goals.com/amara-diane-video-2 Diané Goals Compilation]
* [http://www.psg.fr/fr/club/current_team_toplevel/diane.html Profile on PSG Official Site] (French)
* [http://www.skysports.com/football/player/0,19754,11820_306577,00.html Profile on Sky Sports]
* [http://www.lequipe.fr/Football/FootballFicheJoueur19330.html Profile on L'Equipe]
* [http://soccernet.espn.go.com/players/stats?id=66615 Profile on ESPN]