Seydou Keita facts for kids
Keita with Barcelona in 2008
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Seydou Keita | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 16 January 1980 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Bamako, Mali | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1997 | Centre Salif Keita | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–1999 | Marseille | ||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Marseille | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2002 | Lorient | 58 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2007 | Lens | 157 | (19) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Sevilla | 31 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2012 | Barcelona | 119 | (16) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Dalian Aerbin | 37 | (10) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Valencia | 11 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | Roma | 46 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | El Jaish | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 481 | (60) | |||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1999 | Mali U20 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2015 | Mali | 102 | (25) | ||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||
Seydou Keïta (born on January 16, 1980) is a former professional footballer from Mali. He was a very flexible midfielder, playing both in the center and in a defensive role. Seydou Keïta holds the record for the most games played and goals scored for the Mali national football team.
Keïta played for several famous clubs, including Lens for five seasons and Barcelona for four. He won an amazing 14 titles with Barcelona after joining them in 2008. His journey in football started in Mali as a young player. He then moved to France to play for Marseille. Throughout his career, he played for teams in France, Spain, China, Italy, and Qatar.
Keïta proudly represented his home country, Mali, from the age of 18. He played in seven Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. He earned 102 "caps" (which means he played 102 international matches) and scored 25 goals for Mali. Besides being a Malian citizen, he also has French citizenship.
Contents
Seydou Keïta's Club Journey
Starting in France: Marseille, Lorient, and Lens
Seydou Keïta was born in Bamako, Mali. He moved to France to finish his football training with Olympique de Marseille when he was 17. He mostly played for their reserve team during his three years there.
He made his first appearance in France's top league, Ligue 1, on September 19, 1999. After leaving Marseille in 2000, Keïta joined Lorient in the second division. He was a key player, helping them get promoted to the top league in 2001. The next season, even though Lorient was relegated, they won the Coupe de France (French Cup) for the first time ever! Keïta played the whole final match.
In 2002, Keïta moved to Lens. He became the team's captain and had his best scoring season in 2006–07, scoring 13 goals. This helped Lens finish fifth in the league and reach the last 16 in the UEFA Cup.
Playing in Spain: Sevilla
On July 11, 2007, Keïta signed a four-year contract with Sevilla. He quickly became a regular player for the team in the 2007–08 season. He helped Sevilla finish fifth in the league. He also scored a great long-distance goal against Real Madrid in November 2007. Keïta also scored three goals in nine matches in the UEFA Champions League that season.
Becoming a Champion at Barcelona
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On May 26, 2008, Keïta joined Barcelona. He was the first player from Mali to ever play for the famous Spanish club. His first official game for Barcelona was in a Champions League qualifier on August 13, 2008.
Keïta scored his first goal for Barcelona on November 16, 2008. In his first season, he played in 46 official games as Barcelona won a historic "treble" – meaning they won three major titles: La Liga (the Spanish league), the Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup), and the UEFA Champions League. He played for 20 minutes in the Champions League final, which Barcelona won 2–0 against Manchester United.
On October 25, 2009, Keïta scored his first career hat-trick (three goals in one game) in a big 6–1 win against Real Zaragoza. He continued to be an important player as Barcelona won the league again in 2009–10. In the 2010–11 season, he played more games than almost any other player. In August 2011, he signed a new contract to stay with the club until 2014.
Adventures in China and Back to Spain
On July 7, 2012, Keïta announced he was leaving Barcelona after four successful seasons. The next day, he signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with the Chinese team Dalian Aerbin in the Chinese Super League.
On January 30, 2014, Keïta returned to Spain to play for Valencia. He made his debut for Valencia in February. In March 2014, he scored Valencia's fastest-ever goal, netting after just nine seconds in a match against Almería.
Playing in Italy and Qatar
On June 5, 2014, Keïta signed a one-year contract with the Italian club Roma in Serie A. He played his first game for Roma on the opening day of the season. He scored his first goal for them on November 9, helping his team win 3–0. He signed another one-year deal with Roma in 2015.
Seydou Keïta retired from football at the age of 37, after playing one season in the Qatar Stars League with El Jaish.
International Career for Mali
Keïta helped Mali's under-20 team finish third in the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship in Nigeria. He scored the only goal in the third-place match against Uruguay and was named the tournament's best player!
He made his debut for the senior Mali team on April 9, 2000. He played for Mali in six Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. In the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola, he scored two goals in an exciting 4–4 draw against the host team, Angola. Mali was losing 4–0 with only 11 minutes left, but they made an incredible comeback!
Keïta also played in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa. He scored in the quarterfinal match against the hosts, which ended in a 1–1 draw. Mali then won the game in a penalty shootout. From 2007 to 2008, he scored an impressive 8 goals in 20 international matches from his midfield position.
Family Life
Seydou Keïta's uncle, Salif Keïta, was also a famous footballer. He played for clubs like Saint-Étienne and Valencia, and was even voted African Footballer of the Year once.
Seydou Keïta is married to Zubaida Johnson. They have four children: Mohammed, Hanane, Ishana, and Zulaykah.
Career Highlights
Seydou Keïta won many trophies during his career:
With Lorient
- Coupe de France: 2001–02
With Lens
- UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2005
With Sevilla
- Supercopa de España: 2007
With Barcelona
- La Liga (Spanish League): 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11
- Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup): 2008–09, 2011–12
- Supercopa de España (Spanish Super Cup): 2009, 2010, 2011
- UEFA Champions League: 2008–09, 2010–11
- UEFA Super Cup: 2009, 2011
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2009, 2011
With Mali (National Team)
- FIFA World Youth Championship third place: 1999
- Africa Cup of Nations third place: 2012, 2013
Individual Awards
- FIFA World Youth Championship Golden Ball: 1999 (This means he was the best player in the tournament!)
- Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2002, 2010, 2012, 2013
- UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2006–07
- CAF Team of the Year: 2009, 2011
Images for kids
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Keita with Barcelona in 2008
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Keïta (middle) playing for Barcelona against Bayer Leverkusen.
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Keïta playing for Roma in 2014.
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Keïta (#12, middle) lining up for Mali in 2008.
See also
In Spanish: Seydou Keita para niños
