Mamadou Diallo

For other people named Mamadou Diallo, see Mamadou Diallo (disambiguation).

Mamadou Diallo

File:Mamadou Diallo at Zimbru.png
Personal information
Full name	Mamadou Diallo
Date of birth	(1971-08-28) August 28, 1971
Place of birth	Dakar, Senegal
Height
Position(s)	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1988–1991	Sotra FC	45	(30)
1991–1993	Port Autonome
1993–1995	Kawkab Marrakech	60	(31)
1995–1996	→ St. Gallen (loan)	21	(14)
1996–1997	Zeytinburnuspor	30	(14)
1997–1999	Lillestrøm	29	(19)
1999	→ MSV Duisburg (loan)	7	(0)
1999	→ Vålerenga (loan)	8	(5)
2000–2001	Tampa Bay Mutiny	50	(35)
2002	New England Revolution	7	(1)
2002	MetroStars	17	(11)
2002	Al-Ahli
2003	IFK Göteborg	13	(3)
2004–2005	Pahang	11	(8)
2006–2007	Djoliba AC
International career
1994–2000	Senegal	46	(21)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mamadou Diallo (born August 28, 1971 in Dakar), also known as Big Mama, is a former Senegalese football striker.

Club career

Diallo played in twelve countries across four continents: United States, Senegal, Morocco, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, South Africa, Mali, Germany, Turkey, Sweden and Norway. A prolific scorer almost everywhere he played, he became a regular for the Senegal national team.

Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer signed Diallo in 2000 and allocated him to the Tampa Bay Mutiny. Diallo exploded on the MLS scene in his first season, combining well with midfield general Carlos Valderrama. Diallo scored 26 goals, the best in the league since Roy Lassiter had 27 in 1996; he was named to the MLS Best XI and was the league Scoring Champion.

However, Diallo is also remembered for the incident on August 16, 2000 in a game against the MetroStars, where he collided with and stepped on Metro goalie Mike Ammann, breaking his ribs, puncturing his lung, and effectively ending his career in the process. While the referee saw the collision as unintentional contact, and while he was neither fined nor carded for the incident, there were those (including Ammann himself) that considered the contact was intentional.

In 2001, with Valderrama traded in mid-season, Diallo had a down year, slipping to nine goals. The Mutiny was contracted after the season and Diallo was selected by the New England Revolution in the 2002 MLS Allocation Draft. He only spent seven games in New England, and was sent over to the MetroStars in a six-player deal on May 24. He had a four-goal game against the Los Angeles Galaxy in only his second match with the team, but his scoring tapered off and the Metros missed the playoffs.

Later career

Diallo was sold to Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli on October 7, 2002, but was dropped in November after failing to impress. His globetrotting ways took him to the former UEFA Cup winners, the Swedish club IFK Göteborg, then Malaysian club Pahang, the Jomo Cosmos of South Africa and finally with Djoliba AC until he retired.

International career

Diallo won 46 caps for Senegal, scoring 21 goals, in a career which saw him represent his country at the African Cup of Nations in 1994. He played for Senegal at the 2007 Beach Soccer World Cup, scoring one goal and receiving one red card.