Ousmane Diomande

Ousmane Diomande

Personal information
Full name	Ousmane Diomande
Date of birth	(2003-12-04) 4 December 2003 (age 20)
Place of birth	Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Sporting CP
Number	26
Youth career
2014–2020	OS Abobo
2020–2022	Midtjylland
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2022–2023	Midtjylland	0	(0)
2022–2023	→ Mafra (loan)	13	(0)
2023–	Sporting CP	28	(2)
International career‡
2023–	Ivory Coast	5	(0)
Medal record Men's football Representing   Ivory Coast Africa Cup of Nations Winner 2023 Ivory Coast
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:17, 1 January 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:32, 18 January 2024 (UTC)

Ousmane Diomande (born 4 December 2003) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Primeira Liga club Sporting CP and the Ivory Coast national team.

Club career

Midtjylland

Diomande is a youth product of the Ivorian club Olympic Sport Abobo, having joined at the age of 10. ^[1] He moved to the youth academy of the Danish club Midtjylland in January 2020. ^[2]

Diomande joined the Portuguese club Mafra on loan on 5 August 2022 on a season-long loan. ^[3] The next day he made his professional debut with Mafra in a 3–1 Liga Portugal 2 loss to Oliveirense on 6 August 2022. ^[4]

Sporting

Thanks to impressive performances with Mafra, Diomande's loan was cut short halfway through the season and he transferred to Primeira Liga club Sporting CP on 31 January 2023, signing a contract until June 2027 for a fee of €7.5 million, which could rise to €12.5 million with add-ons. Midtjylland is also owed 20% of the profit Sporting receives from a future transfer. Diomande's release clause was set at €80 million. ^[5]

Diomande made his debut for the Lisbon club on 7 February, coming off the bench to replace Matheus Reis on the final minutes of a 1–0 league victory away at Rio Ave. ^[6] Two weeks later, he made his first start for the Lions, in a 3–2 league victory away at Chaves, where he was replaced by Jeremiah St. Juste on the 71st minute. ^[7] Diomande made his European debut on 9 March, coming off the bench to replace Ricardo Esgaio on the 77th minute of a 2–2 draw at home to Arsenal in the UEFA Europa League round of 16 first leg. ^[8] Eight days later, on the return fixture in the Emirates Stadium, Diomande started and played the full match, as Sporting drew 1–1 and eliminated Arsenal through penalty shootout. ^[9] The Ivorian scored his first goal for the Lions on 21 May 2023, in the Derby de Lisboa, out-jumping Álex Grimaldo to head a Nuno Santos corner into the net, making the score 2–0 for Sporting; however, Benfica went on to salvage a 2–2 draw. ^[10] Sporting CP finished the 2022–23 season in 4th place in the Primeira Liga, qualifying for the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League group stage. ^[11]

On 21 September 2023, Diomande scored his first goal in European competitions, through a 84th minute winner in a 2–1 victory away at Sturm Graz in the UEFA Europa League. ^[12]

International career

Diomande was called up to the Ivory Coast national team for a set of 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches in September 2023. ^[13] He debuted in a 1–0 win over Lesotho on 9 September 2023. ^[14]

In December 2023, Diomande was named to the Ivory Coast's squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. Despite only featuring for first two group stage matches against Guinea-Bissau and Nigeria, Ivory Coast ended up winning the tournament on 11 February, after defeating Nigeria 2–1 in the final. ^{[15] [16]}

Style of play

As a central defender, he has the ability to play out from the back and drive the team forward, allowing his team to play out of trouble and turn defense to attack quickly. ^[17] His main strengths are his physicality, his vision and his speed, but he has also notable short passing, dribbling, positioning, anticipation and tackling attributes. ^{[18] [19] [20]}

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 30 December 2023 ^[21]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Midtjylland	2022–23	Danish Superliga	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	0	0
Mafra (loan)	2022–23	Liga Portugal 2	13	0	1	0	3	1	—		17	1
Sporting CP	2022–23	Primeira Liga	13	1	0	0	0	0	4 [lower-alpha 1]	0	17	1
	2023–24	Primeira Liga	15	1	0	0	1	0	5 [lower-alpha 1]	1	21	2
	Total		28	2	0	0	1	0	9	1	38	3
Career total			41	2	1	0	4	1	9	1	55	4

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 18 January 2024

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Ivory Coast	2023	3	0
	2024	2	0
Total		5	0

Honours

Ivory Coast

• Africa Cup of Nations: 2023 ^[22]

Individual

• Liga Portugal 2 Defender of the Month: December 2022/January 2023 ^[23]
• Primeira Liga Defender of the Month: September 2023 ^[24]

References

1. "Quem o garante é o homem que 'descobriu' o novo central do Sporting para o futebol: "Diomande será um dos melhores do mundo"". SAPO Brasil.
2. Dia, Jules (January 19, 2023). "Mercato : Arsenal à la lutte avec le Sporting Lisbone pour une pépite ivoirienne".
3. "Spilletid forude: FCM udlejer forsvarstalent til portugisisk klub". Sport Herning.
4. "Futebol | CD Mafra começa o campeonato com uma derrota frente ao Oliveirense – Jornal de Mafra Futebol | CD Mafra começa o campeonato com uma derrota frente ao Oliveirense". August 6, 2022.
5. "Sporting divulga números do mercado de transferências" [Sporting discloses transfer market numbers] (in European Portuguese). A Bola. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
6. "Chermiti goal earns Sporting CP three points". Sporting CP. 7 February 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
7. "Sporting CP beat GD Chaves 2-3". Sporting CP. 21 February 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
8. "London calling for Sporting CP after 2-2 first leg with Arsenal". Sporting CP. 9 March 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
9. "Sporting CP outstrike Gunners in Europa League shootout". Sporting CP. 17 March 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
10. "Derby victory denied by late equaliser". Sporting CP. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
11. "Classificação Liga" [League Classification]. Maisfutebol (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 24 September 2023.
12. "Análise: Gyokeres e Diomande colocaram fim à malapata na Áustria" [Analysis: Gyokeres and Diomande put an end to the bad luck in Austria]. SAPO Desporto (in European Portuguese). 21 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
13. "Matchs CIV-LES & CIV-MAL : Voici Les 25 Eléphants Retenus". www.fifciv.com. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
14. Info, R. T. I. (September 9, 2023). "La Côte d'Ivoire bat le Lesotho sur le score de 1 but à 0 au stade Laurent Pokou de San Pedro. Le but ivoirien a été inscrit par Ibrahim Sangaré à la 16e minute". RTI Info.
15. "LA LISTE" (in Portuguese). Ivorian Football Federation. 28 December 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2024– via Facebook.
16. "CÔTE D'IVOIRE" (PDF). Confederation of African Football. 5 January 2024.
17. "Player Analysis: Ousmane Diomande". Breaking The Lines. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
18. Kulig, Jacek (2023-06-30). "Ousmane Diomande: Sporting CP's Ivorian Jewel by Saul Morris". Football Talent Scout. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
19. 19-year-old Ousmane Diomande is The Next Big Defender.. , retrieved 2023-11-24
20. "Um muro difícil de superar com olhinhos nos pés: o que dizem os números de Ousmane Diomande e como explicam a cobiça europeia". Tribuna Expresso (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 2023-11-24.
21. Ousmane Diomande at Soccerway
22. Stevens, Rob (11 February 2024). "Nigeria 1–2 Ivory Coast". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
23. "Diomande eleito Defesa do Mês da Liga Portugal SABSEG" [Diomande chosen as Liga Portugal SABSEG's Defender of the Month]. Liga Portugal (in European Portuguese). 14 February 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
24. "Ousmane Diomande eleito Defesa do Mês da Liga Portugal Betclic em setembro" [Ousmane Diomande elected Liga Portugal Betclic's Defender of the Month for September]. Liga Portugal (in European Portuguese). 10 October 2023.

External links

• Ousmane Diomande at Soccerway