Mahamadou Diarra was officially presented as a Monaco player yesterday. I wish him the best of luck there! He was never a fan favorite, because he wasn’t the flashiest player and because he didn’t get much playing time in the last several seasons, but he was valuable to the team in his own right, and mostly behind the scenes.
It’s curious that we’re playing Osasuna at the Reyno de Navarra this weekend, because it was precisely against that team and at that stadium that Diarra probably made his biggest impact as a Real Madrid player. It was May 4, 2008, jornada 35. If Madrid won this game, they would win their 31st Liga. Things didn’t go exactly Madrid’s way during the second half, as Cannavaro got himself expelled and Osasuna scored. But then Madrid scored twice in three minutes, first Robben and then Higuaín. Pipita’s goal came in the 43rd minute, and was started by Mahamadou Diarra. Madrid won the game, and the week after that, Barcelona had to form the pasillo for Madrid in the Bernabéu to honor them as the champions of the 2007-08 season. What a great moment that was, no?
In the one of the celebrations of this title, at Buddha del Mar, while Diarra danced, the players chanted, “Diarra stays, Diarra can’t be sold” in response to the rumors that he would be transferred during the summer.
Diarra also scored the winner, the second goal, a header, in the Liga-deciding match of the 2006-07 season against Mallorca, to cap off an incredible season marked by more than one heart attack inducing remontadas. That of course led to this epic goal celebration, presided over – literally – by an ecstatic Fabio Cannavaro. The game ended 3-1.
Mahamadou’s expected to travel back to Madrid next week to pick up a few things and to say goodbye to his former teammates and coaching staff.
And to celebrate his time with us, here’s a look back at some of the best moments involving Mahamadou, as chronicled on this blog.
To start, check out these two videos. The first one involves Diarra interviewing Pipita (video here, explanation here) and the second involves some bodily functions (video here, explanation here).
Then we have players talking about the importance of Diarra to this team: Granero and Faubert. I firmly believe that a player can be extremely important to a team even if he never plays. In Madrid, Diarra and Dudek are two shining examples. Even though they never get off the bench – and most of the time do not even make it to the bench – their support and enthusiasm for the team are unparalleled, and in that way, they are invaluable as well. As proof, their teammates only have the best things to say about them.
Here are some more examples of Mahamadou in his role as a cheerleader: one, two, three and four.
And then here we have Diarra involved in a love triangle with Cristiano and Kaká. Start here, then go here and end here.
To end, Iker named his goat Diarra. That just shows how loved he is, no?