bundesliga.com fills you in on the man from Bamako…
Diadié Samassékou
Age: 27 (born January 1996) Club: Hoffenheim Position: Central Midfielder Country: Mali (33 caps/one goal)
Key Stats
Samassékou started out at the Jean-Marc Guillou youth academy and Real Bamako before moving to Europe at the age of 19, having helped Mali finish third at the U-20 World Cup in the summer of 2015. He signed for Salzburg in August 2015 and first. He mostly played for his subsidiary club, Liefering, in the Austrian second division. The athletic 5’8″ midfielder made his debut for Salzburg in July 2016 and won three consecutive league titles and twice the Austrian Cup in his three years as a first-team starter. .
Samassékou also made 24 UEFA Europa League appearances over two seasons, helping his side reach the semi-finals in 2017/18 and the round of 16 in 2018/19. The 2017 Mali Player of the Year played in the organisations that defeated Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16 in 2017/18 and won home and away against RB Leipzig at organisational level a year later. At the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, he helped Mali improve their organisation with a goal straight from a corner against Tunisia. before suffering a narrow defeat to Ivory Coast in the round of 16.
After signing for Hoffenheim in August 2019, he temporarily proved that he was part of it. In his second season in German football, he made 31 league starts and finally scored his first Bundesliga goal in November 2021, in a 2-0 win over RB. Leipzig.
After 3 seasons with Sinsheimers, Samassékou was loaned to Olympiacos, where he finished the 2022/23 season strong before returning to Sinsheim this summer.
Sounds a bit like: N’Golo Kanté
Samassékou grew up idolising attacking players but developed instead into an accomplished defensive operator. He breaks up play at the base of the midfield with some smart tackling in the often high-energy style of former Chelsea and France World Cup winner N’Golo Kanté. The 25-year-old seldom scores goals, but he has a good touch and more often than not looks to play the ball forward. His eye for a pass is also reminiscent of one of his role models and fellow countrymen – the former Barcelona and Roma holding midfielder Seydou Keita.
Made?
Samassékou was the fourth member of two-time champions Salzburg in 2018/19 to leave Austria for the Bundesliga the following season. Stefan Lainer followed former Salzburg coach Marco Rose to Borussia Mönchengladbach, while Hannes Wolf moved to Leipzig, where Xaver Schlager now plays his coach. In January 2019, Samassékou’s former colleague and current Mali midfielder Amadou Haidara also left Austria for Germany when he signed for Leipzig. French defender Dayot Upamecano, currently at Bayern Munich after first moving to Wolfsburg. Leipzig is another of his former Salzburg teammates.
“When I was young, it was [Samuel] Eto’o, then Ronaldinho, [Andres] Iniesta and [Wayne] Rooney. But my biggest idol is Cristiano Ronaldo. In Mali, like everyone else, it’s Seydou Keita and Mahamadou. Samassekou talks to France Football about his footballing idols, adding compatriots such as Keita and former Real Madrid defensive midfielder Diarra.
“He has enormous potential and, despite his age, can already look back on a wealth of international experience.” – Hoffenheim sporting director Alexander Rosen
“Outstanding young midfielder in a team of promising players.” – UEFA’s technical observers on why they named Samassekou in their 18-man Europa League squad of the season for 2017/18.
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