Diouf, El Hadji

▪ 2004

      On April 1, 2003, association football (soccer) star El Hadji Ousseynou Diouf of Senegal was named African Football Confederation (CAF) Player of the Year for the second straight season. He had already established himself as either an out-and-out striker or a right-side midfield player whose strength, pace, and quick thinking often unsettled opposing defenders. Despite his reputation as a sure-shot striker, however, Diouf was occasionally something of a loose cannon off the field.

      Diouf was born in Dakar, Senegal, on Jan. 15, 1981. In October 1998 he left West Africa to play professionally for Sochaux in France. His first appearance was against Bastia on November 11. It was a difficult time for both the newcomer and the club, which found itself relegated at the end of the season. Diouf was picked up by Rennes, which enabled him to continue playing in the First Division. Despite being a teetotaler and a nonsmoker, the teenaged Diouf enjoyed partying. He acquired a criminal record after crashing a teammate's car while driving without a license; Rennes had had enough and transferred him to Lens, where he quieted down a little.

      Named CAF Player of the Year for 2001, Diouf became the toast of his homeland. He built a reputation as a star player with the Senegalese national team, which lost to Cameroon in the finals of the African Nations Cup in February 2002. Senegal also qualified for the 2002 World Cup finals and upset defending champion France in the first round. Although the team succumbed in overtime to Turkey in the quarterfinals, Diouf had been outstanding throughout the tournament, taking his career total for international appearances to 27 matches and 13 goals.

      Liverpool, convinced Diouf was the answer to its lack of versatility in attacking positions, paid Lens £10 million (about $15.4 million) for his transfer. He was an instant success when he made his home debut for Liverpool on Aug. 24, 2002, scoring twice against Southampton. Following his initial impact, however, he lost much of his sparkle and effectiveness. During a Union des Associations Européennes de Football (UEFA) Cup quarterfinal match against Glasgow Celtic in Scotland on March 13, 2003, Diouf had the misfortune to overrun the perimeter of the pitch, and he fell into the crowd. He reacted badly to the situation and spat at a Celtic fan. Liverpool fined him heavily for his misconduct. He was charged with assault in court, pleaded guilty through an interpreter, and in September was fined £5,000 (about $8,000). The UEFA, after hearing evidence that Celtic fans had incited some of the trouble, also fined Celtic. Observers agreed that the 22-year-old Diouf could still successfully complete the transformation to English football, provided he learned to control his disturbingly wayward nature.

Jack Rollin

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