Papa Waigo

Papa Waigo

Personal information
Full name	Papa Waigo N'Diaye
Date of birth	(1984-01-20) 20 January 1984 (age 40)
Place of birth	Saint-Louis, Senegal
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Winger, striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2002–2005	Verona	65	(13)
2005–2007	Cesena	71	(20)
2007	Genoa	9	(0)
2008–2011	Fiorentina	8	(2)
2009	→ Lecce (loan)	6	(0)
2009–2010	→ Southampton (loan)	35	(5)
2011	→ Grosseto (loan)	10	(2)
2011–2012	Ascoli	40	(15)
2012–2013	Al-Wahda	26	(13)
2013–2014	Al-Ettifaq	26	(9)
2014–2015	Al-Raed
2015–2016	Ittihad Kalba
2016–2017	Al Urooba
2017–2018	Al-Dhaid
2018 – 2019	Folgore Caratese	8	(0)
2019	Masafi
International career‡
2007–2008	Senegal	15	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 July 2013 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 2 March 2008

Papa Waigo N'Diaye (born 20 January 1984), often simplified as Papa Waigo, is a Senegalese former international footballer who played as a striker.

Club career

Early career

Born in Saint-Louis, Senegal, Waigo began his career at Verona on 3 June 2002, before heading to Serie B outfit Cesena in 2005. After a successful spell where he was the highest-scoring non-Italian in the 2006–07 season he was signed by Genoa on 9 July 2007 for €5 million (cash plus Salvatore Aurelio valued at €500,000 and Dario Biasi at €100,000), signing a five-year contract. ^[1]

Fiorentina

On 19 January 2008, Waigo joined Fiorentina in a swap deal for Belgian defender Anthony Vanden Borre, with the two clubs co-owning both players' rights. ^[2] Both Vanden Borre and Papa Waigo's 50% registration right was valued €2.1 million. ^{[1] [3]}

He made his Serie A debut on 26 August 2007, Genoa 0–3 lost to Milan. He began his Fiorentina career in impressive style, with two goals in his first three games, including one in the 3–2 away victory against giants Juventus on 2 March.

Loan spells

On 27 January 2009, Waigo signed for Serie B side Lecce on loan until the end of the season. While on loan he played six games but failed to score for the club.

On 2 September 2009, Waigo signed a season long loan with Football League One side, Southampton. The season long loan carried with it an option for Southampton to purchase the player ^[4] which was not taken up. He made his debut on 13 September 2009 in a 1–1 draw at Charlton Athletic, replacing Adam Lallana in the 90th minute. ^[5]

He scored his first goal for the club on 3 October 2009 in a 4–1 home win over Gillingham. ^[6] He celebrated with his trademark 'Waigo Dance', involving him stepping ungainly thrice, before tapping his neck twice. He followed this up by scoring twice against Torquay United, as the Saints came from 2–0 down at half time to draw 2–2 and then win on penalties (with Waigo converting his) in the Football League Trophy. ^[7] Waigo also scored twice in the Area Semi-final against Norwich City, which took the game to penalties. ^[8] Waigo also took a penalty which he scored. He also scored in the Football League Trophy final which took place at Wembley Stadium. He was able to lift up the trophy as Southampton won it 4–1. He finished that competition top goalscorer with five goals.

Whilst at Southampton he gained the song, "He's always offside, he's always offside, Papa Waigo, he is always offside!"

On 4 January 2011, Waigo moved on loan to Grosseto. ^[9]

Ascoli Calcio

On his return from the latest loan spell, on 10 August 2011, he was transferred to Serie B side Ascoli on a free transfer. ^{[10] [11]}

Al Wahda

On 25 June 2012, Waigo moved to the UAE, to sign for Al-Wahda on a two-year deal. ^{[12] [13]}

International career

Waigo plays international football for North-West African nation Senegal and was part of the Senegalese squad for the 2008 African Cup of Nations in Ghana. He played four matches (out of possible six) at 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification.

Honours

Southampton

• Football League Trophy: 2010

References

1. Genoa CFC Report and Accounts on 30 June 2008 (in Italian). Genoa CFC. October 2008.
2. "Prandelli looks to Papa Waigo". UEFA.com. 18 January 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2008.
3. ACF Fiorentina Report and Accounts on 31 December 2008 (in Italian)
4. "Saints Sign Senegalese Striker". Southampton F.C. 2 September 2009. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
5. Fletcher, Paul (13 September 2009). "Charlton 1 – 1 Southampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
6. "Southampton 4 – 1 Gillingham". BBC. 3 October 2009. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
7. "Southampton 2 – 2 Torquay". BBC. 6 October 2009. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
8. "Southampton 2 – 2 Norwich". BBC. 15 December 2009. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
9. "N'Diaye Papa Waigo on loan to Grosseto" (in Italian). www.fiorentina.it. 4 January 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
10. ACF Fiorentina SpA Report and Accounts on 31 December 2011 (in Italian)
11. "Papa Waigo all'Ascoli" (in Italian). ACF Fiorentina. 10 August 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
12. "Al Wahda sign Senegal's Papa Waigo | The National". Thenational.ae. 23 June 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
13. "لاعبين نادي الوحدة الثقافي الرياضي". www.alwahda-fc.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2022.

External links

• Papa Waigo at Soccerbase
• Papa Waigo – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Sky Sports Profile