Senegal’s 2002 World Cup Squad: Where are they now?

When Senegal qualified for the 2002 World Cup, they were drawn in Group A with Denmark, defending champions France, and Uruguay. No one expected Senegal to do anything in their first World Cup, and were expected to finish bottom of the group. Being in the opening game of the tournament against France, one of the favourites, was seen as a baptism of fire and the French were going to win with ease…weren’t they? It turned out otherwise! In one of the biggest World Cup shocks ever, the plucky Lions of Teranga beat France 1-0 with midfielder Papa Diop scoring the only goal in the 30th minute. It was almost 2-0 when Khalilou Fadiga rattled the bar after turning Franck Leboeuf inside out.

Senegal would draw their next two group games to qualify for the knockout stages. They beat Sweden 2-1 in the last 16 with an extra-time Golden Goal from Henri Camara, taking them to a quarter final match against Turkey and becoming only the second African time (at the time, Ghana made it to the quarters in 2010) to reach that stage of the tournament.

Sadly, the fairytale would end here as Turkey won the quarter final 1-0 thanks to another Golden Goal, this time by Ilhan Mansiz.

Senegal made friends around the world with their spirited run and a lot of their squad earned massive moves to bigger leagues due to their performances.
Whatever happened to that young squad who got to the quarter-finals on their début appearance? Let’s find out…

1. Tony Sylva – Goalkeeper – 27 (at time of tournament)
At the time, Tony was Monaco’s reserve goalkeeper. He moved to Lille ,playing 163 games over a four year spell before moving to Trabzonspor. Tony spent two seasons at the club before retiring in 2010..

2. Omar Daf – Defender – 25
Omar had a solid career before and after the World Cup, spending the majority of his professional career at Sochaux. He made 185 league appearences from 1997-2009 before moving to Brest. Omar moved back to Sochaux at the start of the season.

3. Pape Sarr – Midfielder – 24
The midfielder only made one appearance at the World Cup against Denmark. His career steadily deteriorated after the World Cup as he slid down the French leagues. He was last seen at fourth division team Olympique Noisy-le-Sec in 2010.

4.Papa Malick Diop – Defender – 27
Diop had a fairly nomadic career with his longest spell at a club was only four seasons. Ironically, he only played 22 games for Lorient in that period but his shorter spells at other clubs. He retired in 2008 at Metz.

5. Alassane N’Dour – Midfielder – 20
One of the youngest members, Alassane never really lived up to his promise and only played 78 games over a 10 year career that saw unsuccessful spells at ASSE, West Brom, Troyes, Walsall and Greek lower league side Doxa Drama.
newsid_1949000/1949433.stm> of the defensive midfielder suggested he had a long international career ahead of him, but he never received another cap for Senegal after the World Cup.
6.Alassane never really lived up to his promise and only played 78 games over a 10 year career that saw unsuccessful spells at ASSE, West Brom, Troyes, Walsall and Greek lower league side Doxa Drama.

7. Henri Camara – Striker – 25
In May 2010, he moved to Greek Super League side Atromitos for one year, then signed a two year deal with fellow Greek outfit Panetolikos, scoring 10 goals for Panetolikos this season as they made it into the Greek Football League playoffs.

8.Amara Traoré – Striker – 36
Amara would manage Senegal from December 2009 to February 2012, being sacked after he failed to take them to the 2012 African Cup of Nations. In March this year, he became head coach at Guinean side AS Kaloum.

9. Souleymane Camara – Striker – 19
The baby of the squad, who spent the early part of his career with Monaco, only played once in the World Cup. Last season saw his best return for Montpellier since his original loan spell, scoring 10 goals in 33 league games.

10. Khalilou Fadiga – Midfielder – 27
He would play on after passing medicals, but he wasn’t the same player that dazzled in the WC and would retire in 2011 with Belgian third division side KSV Temse, only playing 50 games for clubs in England and Belgium since 2004.

12. Amdy Faye – Midfielder – 25
Faye moved to Stoke in 2008. He would only appear once in the 2009-10 season before being released.
Faye moved to Leeds in September 2010. After his contract wasn’t renewed, he announced his retirement.

13. Lamine Diatta – Defender – 26
Lamine signed for Hamilton Accies in the SPL in March 2009 on a short-term deal. He spent the first half of the 2010-11 season in Tunisia with Étoile Sportive du Sahel before moving to Doncaster. He retired.

14. Moussa N’Diaye – Midfielder – 23
Moussa moved to Qatari side Al Rayyan for one season, until moving to rivals Umm Salal for the 2008-09 season. At the end of the season, most reliable sources suggest the versatile winger retired.

15. Salif Diao – Midfielder – 25
He would sign for Stoke permanently in December 2007 after an impressive loan spell. He would be a fixture of the first team until the 2010-11 season when injuries and loss of form began to take their toll on him. He retired.

16. Omar Diallo – Goalkeeper – 29
He moved to Senegalese side ASC Diaraf after the World Cup for two seasons before moving to Turkish First League side Sakaryaspor in 2004. He spent one year there before moving back to Diaraf. He retired.

17. Ferdinand Coly – Defender – 28
He moved to Italy for the 2003-04 season with Serie A side Perugia. After the club were relegated to Serie B then demoted again to Serie C in 2004, he impressed heavily and was rewarded with a move to Parma in 2005. He retired.

18. Pape Thiaw – Striker – 21
He moved to French side US Créteil-Lusitanos for the 2007-08 season. Information is sketchy after this, but it’s believed he spent time with Spanish side CF Atlético Ciudad in 2009 before they dissolved. Pape currently plays for US Stade Tamponnaise in Reunion.

19. Papa Bouba Diop – Midfielder – 24
He moved to West Ham for the 2011-12 season, helping the Hammers gain promotion from the Championship. In October 2012, he moved to Birmingham on a short term contract, but he left the club.

20. Sylvain N’Diaye – Midfielder – 25
Sylvain had stints with Levante, helping them achieve top flight promotion in 2006. In July 2008 he returned to France, signing with Ligue 2 outfit Stade Reims. In July 2010, he signed for AS Cannes, retiring at the end of the season.

21.Habib Beye – Defender – 24
Over a three year spell, he only played in nine games for the Birmingham club. His contract was terminated in February 2012 while on loan at Doncaster Rovers. He would retire from football at the end of the season.
22. Kalidou Cissokho – Goalkeeper – 23
The only member who played his club football in Senegal, he was never capped. He stayed with ASC Jeanne d’Arc until 2004 when he moved to Azerbaijani. He won the Azerbaijan League twice. He retired last year.

23. Makhtar N’Diaye – Midfielder – 20
He transferred to Yverdon-Sport FC in Switzerland for one season before moving to Rangers for the 2006-07 season on a free transfer. He only played one game for Rangers before leaving the game entirely at the end of the season.

the star of the show...
11. El-Hadji Diouf – Striker – 21
El-Hadji scored eight of Senegal’s 14 goals during qualification for the World Cup, earning him the nickname of the ‘Serial Killer’. Yeah. He played all five games during Senegal’s run to the quarter finals, and his superb form earned him a £10 million move to Liverpool in August 2002. He got off to a fantastic start by scoring twice in his Anfield début. He signed for Doncaster in October 2011 on a three month contract, and impressed enough to earn an extension on that deal until the end of the 2011-12 season, when he would move to Leeds, where he remains at the time of writing.

Bruno Metsu (28 January 1954 – 14 October 2013) - The Coach
Metsu was mostly described in Senegal as a coach who inculcated the culture of courage and relentlessness in the Lions of Teranga, which subsequently influenced the junior ranks and the nation’s club sides. Metsu brought a new spirit that inspired the nation’s football and aroused young talent to see themselves as giants anywhere. He died of colon cancer this year. He was given a state burial in Senegal.