World Automotif And Sport: Lassana Diarra

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Lassana Diarra

Lassana "Lass" Diarra (born 10 March 1985 in Paris) is a French footballer who currently plays for Real Madrid. His predominant position is defensive midfielder but he can also play in a more advanced role and has played at right back, which he occasionally did for former clubs Chelsea, as well as France.Portsmouth announced on 17 December 2008 that they had accepted a "substantial" offer from Real Madrid C.F. for Diarra's services and €20 million transfer was agreed five days later.He was assigned the number 6 shirt of Mahamadou Diarra for domestic competitions as the Malian midfielder was out with a season-ending injury and the vacant number 39 for the Champions League. He wears the name Lass on the back of his shirt to avoid confusion with Mahamadou. His transfer was officially completed on 1 January 2009, the opening of the transfer window.Diarra's performance for Real Madrid in his first few months earned him a spot among the starting eleven on UEFA's 2008/09 La Liga Breakthrough Team. The Madridista joined Sevilla's Diego Perotti as the only foreigner on the list. According to the UEFA website, Lass "joined Real Madrid in the winter transfer window with a very low profile, although in a few short months he managed to convince the demanding Madridista fan base."For the 2009–10 season Diarra was assigned the number 10 shirt after Wesley Sneijder moved to Internazionale and Mahamadou Diarra came back from injury and reclaimed the number 6 shirt. Lass scored his first official goal for Madrid in the 2009–2010 La Liga season opener against Deportivo de La Coruña, providing his side with their winning goal in a 3–2 victory.In August 2010, it was reported that Diarra has been transfer listed by Real.[23] However, Jose Mourinho included Lass Diarra in his starting lineup for the first game of the 2010/11 season. Since Madrid bought Sami Khedira, Diarra has faced further competition to get into the squad. However, Mourinho has stated he will not be leaving and sees him as a starting player.