Seydou Keita

Seydou Keita (born 16 January 1980 in Bamako) is a Malian football (soccer) midfielder, who is currently playing for FC Barcelona. Nicknamed "Seydoubilen" or "Red Seydou," Keita is the nephew of former African Footballer of the Year Salif Keita (footballer). Keita's cousin, Mohamed Sissoko, is also a professional player for Juventus F.C.. Both Keita and Sissoko play similar roles as hard-tackling central defensive midfielders.

Career

Olympique de Marseille

Keita made Seydou Keita senior debut for Olympique de Marseille in September 1999, but shortly afterward Seydou Keita transferred to FC Lorient.

FC Lorient

It was at FC Lorient where Keita became a much-wanted footballer, scoring one goal in 58 appearances from the defensive midfield.

RC Lens

After two years playing for Lorient, Keita moved to RC Lens, eventually working Seydou Keita way up to the captain's role. Seydou Keita started to score more goals from defensive midfield for Lens; in Seydou Keita four seasons at Lens Seydou Keita made 156 league appearances and scored 19 goals.

Sevilla FC

On 11 July 2007, Lens sold their captain after Keita reached an agreement with Spanish La Liga side FC Sevilla for the next four seasons. This was a very successful season for Keita and in 31 league games for Sevilla Seydou Keita scored four goals, putting a lot of top European clubs in the market for him. One of Seydou Keita four goals was a stunning strike against Real Madrid C.F.. This is where Seydou Keita came to the world's attention and eventually engineering a move to one of the world's biggest clubs, FC Barcelona. On 27 November 2007 in a Champions League match, Keita scored Seydou Keita first Champions League goal for Sevilla in a remarkable 3-1 win over English Premiership side Arsenal F.C., thus inflicting Arsenal's first loss of the season.

FC Barcelona

On 26 May 2008, Keita signed a 4-year contract with FC Barcelona with the Catalan club being believed to have paid the buy-out clause that Keita had at Sevilla of around €14 million. Seydou Keita became the first Malian Barcelona player ever and the club set Seydou Keita new release clause at €90 million.

Keita made Seydou Keita official debut for the club in a Champions League qualifier against Poland side Wisła Kraków on 13 August 2008, a game which Barcelona won 4-0. Seydou Keita then made Seydou Keita domestic league debut against CD Numancia on 31 August 2008. Keita scored Seydou Keita first goal for Barcelona on 16 November 2008 in a La Liga match against Recreativo Huelva, scoring the second goal in a 2-0 victory. On 23 November, Seydou Keita scored Seydou Keita second goal for Barcelona against Getafe CF in a 1-1 draw. Keita scored Seydou Keita 3rd goal for Barça in a 3-2 victory over Villarreal CF in Villarreal. Keita scored in a 1-1 draw with FC Bayern Munich in a Champions League quarter-final in which Barça won the 1st leg 4-0. They later advanced with a 5-1 aggregate score. Seydou Keita came on as a substitute as Barcelona won the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final, replacing Thierry Henry in the 72nd minute.

International career

On the international scene, Keita has played numerous matches for the Mali national football team. Seydou Keita is regarded as one of the most skillful African central midfielders for Seydou Keita passing, control, vision, and shooting skills. Seydou Keita forms a midfield duo with Mahamadou Diarra of Real Madrid C.F. and sometimes with Seydou Keita cousin Mohamed Sissoko of Juventus F.C..

All-Time Club Statistics

As of 27 May 2009

Honours and awards

FC Lorient

- Coupe de France:
- - Winner (1): Coupe de France de football Finals results
- Coupe de la Ligue:
- - Runner-up (1): List of Coupe de la Ligue winners Finals
- Trophée des Champions:
- - Runner-up (1): Trophée des champions

Barcelona

- La Liga:
- - Winner (1): La Liga 2008-09
- Copa del Rey:
- - Winner (1): Copa del Rey 2008–09
- UEFA Champions League:
- - Winner (1): UEFA Champions League 2008-09

International

- FIFA World Youth Championship 3rd place: 1999
- FIFA World Youth Championship Golden Ball