Diallo Senegal Player: Mbappe’s pal, Klopp’s successor, and Boateng’s admirer: Abdou Diallo of Mainz. Even though Abdou Diallo grew up near Kylian Mbappe and inherited Jürgen Klopp’s jersey at Opel Arena and now plays for Mainz in the Bundesliga, the young Frenchman is not awestruck by his surroundings. The France U-21 Captain spoke with bundesliga.com after scoring his first Bundesliga goal in Mainz’s win against Bayer Leverkusen on Matchday 3 to discuss his adjustment to life in Germany and his bond with Mbappe.
bundesliga.com: As you’ve stated, you’re here in Germany in order to enhance your game. How can you make the most progress in your game? For the second time this season, Diallo has gone on loan to Zulte Waregem in Belgium, a club with which he had an excellent experience during the 2015/16 season. I’m hoping to gain valuable playing time and experience in a competitive league while I’m here in Germany. Compared to France, where there are just three or four major clubs, Germany has a significantly larger number of major teams and also has minor teams that are far more competitive. In Germany, you have to be on top of your game at all times, and physicality certainly plays a significant role.
bundesliga.com: The number four shirt has a mythological aura for Mainz fans, were you aware of this when you arrived? Everyone I’ve talked to about Jürgen Klopp has told me that whoever wears the shirt at Liverpool will go down in club history.
As a defender in the Bundesliga, how have you changed your tactics and approach to playing: There is a lot of pressure on Diallo when he receives the ball in Germany, so he must plan ahead of time where he intends to transfer the ball the following time. You get a little more leeway in France. That, in my opinion, is the most notable distinction.
bundesliga.com: There are a lot of young French players in the Bundesliga, including you. What are your theories as to why this is the case?
Diallo: There are many talented young players in France who aren’t getting the opportunity they deserve at the moment. The German clubs have realized this and brought in the young French players, who are confident that they can succeed in the Bundesliga.
bundesliga.com: This summer, your France U-21s teammate, Amine Harit, signed for Schalke from Nantes and recently pledged allegiance to Morocco. In France, you were born in Tours, but your father was born in Senegal. You could play for Senegal in the future.
The beginning of one’s Career
Diallo began his football career as a youngster with Stade Reims, the club where he grew up in Reims, France. In 2004, he was accepted into the Clairefontaine program, where he spent three years training during the week and playing for Reims on the weekends. Diallo signed an aspirant (young) contract with Stade Rennais before leaving Clairefontaine to join the Rennais youth system. Rennes had been keeping an eye out for this guy since 2004 when they first started scouting him.
Rennes: When Diallo joined Rennes, he was just one of a slew of promising young players the club had assembled. Wesley Yamnaine, Wesley Yamnaine, Jérémy Helan, Abdoulaye Doucouré, and Axel Ngando were some of the youth internationals who represented their country. Diallo first played for the club’s under-18 team in the under-18 Championnat National, which was its own competition. Rennes missed out on the playoffs after finishing in fourth place. He made his debut with the club’s Coupe Gambardella team during the 2008–09 season as the club was seeking to retain its title from the previous year. The goalkeeper played in three games and let in four goals during the competition. Rennes was knocked out of the playoffs in the Round of 16 by Le Havre.
During the 2009–10 season, Diallo was given a chance to play for the club’s Championnat de France amateur squad. On August 15, 2009, he made his international debut and kept a clean sheet in a 2–0 win against the United States Sénart-Moissy. A call-up to the senior team by manager Frédéric Antonetti on 20 November to replace injured backup goalkeeper Cheick N’Diaye for their league encounter against Le Mans resulted in Diallo playing four more matches. Antonetti favored the 17-year-old over the team’s third and fourth goalkeepers, Patrice Luzi and Florent Petit. Rennes defeated Le Mans 2–1 despite Diallo’s absence from the starting lineup.
Starting goalie for the club’s league encounter against Lyon
Diallo was designated the starting goalie for the club’s league encounter against Lyon the next week, roughly an hour before the match was scheduled to begin, due to an injury picked up by Nicolas Douchez the day before. For his part, Diallo made a number of impressive saves, including one in the 88th minute on a shot from Bafétimbi Gomis that proved crucial in the 1-1 tie.
At the moment, Diallo isn’t even thinking about getting a Senegalese passport. Then there’s my role as France’s Under-21 captain. I’m pleased to be a part of their team and want to help them qualify for the European Championships in the future. The future is always uncertain, but I’m not dwelling on that right now. As a goalkeeper, Senegalese footballer Abdoulaye Diallo (born 30 March 1992) is a professional player. He was up in France and went to school at Clairefontaine before joining Rennes in 2007. On November 29, 2009, Diallo made his professional debut in a league match against Lyon at the age of 17. After playing for France’s national youth team, Diallo now represents his country of birth, Senegal.
A three-year pact was Diallo’s first professional contract, signed on April 18, 2010.
A Career in a Sports Club
Monaco
Diallo, who was born in Tours, joined the AS Monaco FC junior academy at the age of 15. The date was March 28th, 2014, and this was his first day as a professional. Vadim Vasilyev, the club’s vice president, made the observation that Diallo is “a fantastic fit for our team’s sports initiative. It is our hope that he will continue to grow and develop alongside the great players of AS Monaco. He has a lot of potential “Nonetheless, A substitution for Bernardo Silva in extra time of a 1–0 league victory over Olympique Marseille on December 14 marked his first-team debut.
Diallo was loaned to Belgian club Zulte Waregem for the 2015–16 season in June 2015. Three goals were scored in 33 league matches during his time with the club when he played as an attacking midfielder. A rumor surfaced in December 2016 that Real Betis of Spain was interested in signing him. His team was victorious in the league in 2016–17, and he made five league appearances.
Germany’s fifth-placed team, Mainz,
On July 14, 2017, Diallo signed a five-year contract with Bundesliga club 1. FSV Mainz 05. In a 3–1 league win over Bayer 04 Leverkusen on September 9, he scored his first goal for the club. According to Mirror.co.uk in December, Arsenal was interested in scouting him to replace Per Mertesacker, who is retiring this season, he has been used in both the back three and back four positions; he had an 80% pass completion rate. During the season, he appeared in 27 league games as a starter.
