Salif Keita (footballer)
Encyclopedia
Salif Keïta Traoré known as Keita, is a retired Mali
an footballer who played as a striker.
and Stade Malien
. With the former, which he represented in two different spells, he was always crowned top division
champion.
In 1967, 20-year old Keita left for France
to join AS Saint-Étienne
, where he won three consecutive Ligue 1
titles, including the double in 1968 and 1970. In his last two seasons with Les Verts combined, he scored an astonishing 71 league goals - 42 alone in the 1970–71 campaign - but the club failed to win any silverware; in 1970, he was voted African Footballer of the Year
.
Keita joined fellow league side Olympique de Marseille
in the 1972 summer. After the club tried to force him to assume French nationality
, he opposed, leaving in the ensuing off-season for Valencia CF
in Spain
.
Spanish newspapers were accused of racism
when one headline read El Valencia va a por alemanes y vuelve con un negro ("Valencia goes out to buy Germans
and comes back with a black man"), but he was always loved during his spell at the club, netting in his debut with the Che, a 2–1 La Liga
home win against Real Oviedo
, and being eventually nickname
d La perla negra de Malí (The black pearl of Mali); he complained, however, that he was constantly played out of position.
In 1976, after three years with Valencia, Keita signed for Sporting Clube de Portugal, where he replaced another legendary goalscorer, Argentine
Héctor Yazalde
. In two of his three seasons with the Lisbon
club, he scored in double digits, winning one domestic cup
. He retired at the age of 34 after a couple of years with the New England Tea Men
in the United States
.
. He was part of the squad that appeared at the 1972 African Cup of Nations
in Cameroon
, helping the national team finish second.
In June 2005, Keita was elected president of the Mali Football Federation for a period of four years. Late into the following year, he was selected by the Confederation of African Football
as one of the best 200 African football players of the last 50 years.
, is also a footballer. He also played some years in France, and later represented, with great team and individual success, FC Barcelona
. Mohamed Sissoko
, who played namely for Valencia, Liverpool
and Juventus FC
, is also his nephew; both play similar roles as central midfielders.
Keita's cousin
, Sidi Yaya Keita
, is also a footballer and a midfielder. He played most of his career in France, with RC Lens
.
Guinea
n film director
Cheik Doukouré used the life of Keita as a starting point for his 1998 work Le Ballon d'or. In 1994, he created the first training center for professional football players in Mali, which bore his name.
On 12 May 2010, Keïta was inducted into the Football Ramble podcast's Dean Windass Hall of Fame, alongside many other prominent footballers, referees and elements of football culture.
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
an footballer who played as a striker.
Club career
In his country, Keita played for AS Real BamakoAS Real Bamako
AS Real is a Malian football club based in Bamako. They play in the top division in Malian football. Their home stadium is Stade Modibo Keïta....
and Stade Malien
Stade Malien
Stade Malien is a Malian football and sports club based in Bamako. One of the two dominant clubs of Malian football, their eastern Bamako training grounds host other sports as well, including a successful basketball club.-Football club:...
. With the former, which he represented in two different spells, he was always crowned top division
Malien Première Division
Malian Première Division is the top division of football in Mali. Having been created in 1966, it is governed by the Fédération Malienne de Football. The league has been professional since 2004....
champion.
In 1967, 20-year old Keita left for France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to join AS Saint-Étienne
AS Saint-Étienne
Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire is a French association football club based in Saint-Étienne. The club was founded in 1919 and currently play in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. Saint-Étienne plays its home matches at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard located within the city...
, where he won three consecutive Ligue 1
Ligue 1
Ligue 1 , is the French professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division of the French football league system. Ligue 1 is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel, the other being Ligue 2....
titles, including the double in 1968 and 1970. In his last two seasons with Les Verts combined, he scored an astonishing 71 league goals - 42 alone in the 1970–71 campaign - but the club failed to win any silverware; in 1970, he was voted African Footballer of the Year
African Footballer of the Year
The African Footballer of the Year award, presented to the best African football player each year, has been conferred by the Confederation of African Football since 1992. An earlier African Footballer of the Year Golden Ball award was given out between 1970 and 1994 by France Football magazine...
.
Keita joined fellow league side Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille is a French association football club based in Marseille. Founded in 1899, the club plays in Ligue 1 and have spent most of its history in the top tier of French football. Marseille have been French champions nine times and have won the Coupe de France a record ten times. In...
in the 1972 summer. After the club tried to force him to assume French nationality
French nationality law
French nationality law is historically based on the principles of jus soli , according to Ernest Renan's definition, in opposition to the German's definition of nationality, Jus sanguinis , formalized by Fichte.The 1993 Méhaignerie Law required children born in France of foreign parents to request...
, he opposed, leaving in the ensuing off-season for Valencia CF
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...
in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Spanish newspapers were accused of racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
when one headline read El Valencia va a por alemanes y vuelve con un negro ("Valencia goes out to buy Germans
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and comes back with a black man"), but he was always loved during his spell at the club, netting in his debut with the Che, a 2–1 La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
home win against Real Oviedo
Real Oviedo
Real Oviedo is a Spanish football club based in Oviedo, in the autonomous community of Asturias. Founded on 26 March 1926, it currently plays in Segunda División B - Group 2....
, and being eventually nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
d La perla negra de Malí (The black pearl of Mali); he complained, however, that he was constantly played out of position.
In 1976, after three years with Valencia, Keita signed for Sporting Clube de Portugal, where he replaced another legendary goalscorer, Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
Héctor Yazalde
Héctor Yazalde
Héctor Casimiro Yazalde was an Argentine footballer who played as a striker....
. In two of his three seasons with the Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
club, he scored in double digits, winning one domestic cup
Taça de Portugal
The Taça de Portugal is the main Portuguese national football knock-out competition. The tournament has been officially known as the Taça de Portugal Millennium since 2008, due to its sponsorship by Portuguese private bank Millennium BCP. It has occurred on a yearly basis since 1938 and is...
. He retired at the age of 34 after a couple of years with the New England Tea Men
New England Tea Men
The New England Tea Men were a soccer team based out of Foxboro, MA that played in the NASL from 1978 to 1980. Their home field was Schaefer Stadium....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
International career
In 1963, at the age of only 16, Keita was selected to play for MaliMali national football team
The Mali national football team, nicknamed Les Aigles , is the national team of Mali and is controlled by the Fédération Malienne de Football. They have never qualified for the World Cup finals.-History:...
. He was part of the squad that appeared at the 1972 African Cup of Nations
1972 African Cup of Nations
The 1972 African Cup of Nations was the eighth edition of the African Cup of Nations, the soccer championship of Africa . It was hosted by Cameroon, in the cities of Yaoundé and Douala. Just like in 1970, the field of eight teams was split into two groups of four...
in Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
, helping the national team finish second.
In June 2005, Keita was elected president of the Mali Football Federation for a period of four years. Late into the following year, he was selected by the Confederation of African Football
Confederation of African Football
The Confederation of African Football is the administrative and controlling body for African association football.CAF represents the national football associations of Africa, runs continental, national, and club competitions, and controls the prize money, regulations and media rights to those...
as one of the best 200 African football players of the last 50 years.
Club
- Malian Cup: 1963–64, 1965–66, 1966–67
- French LeagueLigue 1Ligue 1 , is the French professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division of the French football league system. Ligue 1 is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel, the other being Ligue 2....
: 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70 - French CupCoupe de FranceThe Coupe Charles Simon, commonly known as the Coupe de France , is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation...
: 1967–68, 1969–70 - Portuguese CupTaça de PortugalThe Taça de Portugal is the main Portuguese national football knock-out competition. The tournament has been officially known as the Taça de Portugal Millennium since 2008, due to its sponsorship by Portuguese private bank Millennium BCP. It has occurred on a yearly basis since 1938 and is...
: 1977–78
Personal
Keita's nephew, Seydou KeitaSeydou Keita (footballer)
Seydou Keita is a Malian footballer who plays for FC Barcelona in Spain and the Malian national team. He also holds a French passport.A versatile midfielder, he can operate as both a central or defensive midfielder.-Marseille:...
, is also a footballer. He also played some years in France, and later represented, with great team and individual success, FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
. Mohamed Sissoko
Mohamed Sissoko
Mohamed Lamine Sissoko Gillan is a French-born Malian footballer who is currently playing for the French Ligue 1 team Paris-Saint Germain and the Malian national team. Although he could have elected to play for France internationally, he chose to play for the country of his descent, Mali...
, who played namely for Valencia, Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
and Juventus FC
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
, is also his nephew; both play similar roles as central midfielders.
Keita's cousin
Cousin
In kinship terminology, a cousin is a relative with whom one shares one or more common ancestors. The term is rarely used when referring to a relative in one's immediate family where there is a more specific term . The term "blood relative" can be used synonymously and establishes the existence of...
, Sidi Yaya Keita
Sidi Yaya Keita
Sidi Yaya Keita is a Malian footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder.-Club career:Keita moved to France at only 18, signing for RC Strasbourg, and spending his first year with the reserves, proceeding to be relatively used in the following two Ligue 1 seasons...
, is also a footballer and a midfielder. He played most of his career in France, with RC Lens
RC Lens
Racing Club de Lens is a French association football club based in the northern city of Lens in the Pas-de-Calais department. Its nickname, sang et or , comes from its traditional colours of red and gold. Their primary rivals are their northern neighbors Lille OSC, whom they contest the Derby du...
.
Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
n film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Cheik Doukouré used the life of Keita as a starting point for his 1998 work Le Ballon d'or. In 1994, he created the first training center for professional football players in Mali, which bore his name.
On 12 May 2010, Keïta was inducted into the Football Ramble podcast's Dean Windass Hall of Fame, alongside many other prominent footballers, referees and elements of football culture.