Name: Salif Diao
Position: Centre Midfielder
Date of Birth: 10/2/1977
Nationality: Senegalese
Place of Birth: Kedougou
Squad Number: 15
Nickname: Senegalese Colossus #1, The Crab
Former Clubs: Monaco, SAS Epinal, Sedan, Liverpool, Birmingham, Portsmouth
Joined Stoke: 2007 (free transfer)
Diao is a very experienced defensive midfielder, who adds as much to the Stoke side through his influence in the dressing room as he does with his on pitch efforts.
He first joined the club on loan from Liverpool, where he never really impressed, in October 2006, and proved to be a revelation, adding steel and class to the midfield and consistently looking like one of the best players on the pitch at Championship level. Allowed to leave on a free transfer by Liverpool three months later, he signed a short term deal with the Potters which expired the following summer. The Stoke management was keen for him to join on longer terms, but instead Diao chose to take an extended holiday, returning to Senegal to work with his own academy before ultimately agreeing to join on an eighteen month deal in December.
Injury has dogged his career since then, meaning he has often looked off the pace in games, and reducing him to being a bit part player. He agreed to extend his stay at Stoke by a further year in July 2009, having apparently turned down offers from clubs in England, France and Italy.
A very well known figure in his home country, he has been a regular in the Senegalese national side since 2000, and was part of the side that surprised the world by reaching the World Cup quarter finals in 2002, and even scored past future Stoke teammate Thomas Sorensen in a group match against Denmark. He was the first in the recent influx of Senegalese players to the Potteries, and played an important role in convincing compatriots Abdoulaye Faye and Henri Camara to join he club.
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