![]() Diop with Levante in 2013 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Papakouli Diop [1] | ||
Date of birth | [1] | 19 March 1986||
Place of birth | Kaolack, Senegal | ||
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) [1] | ||
Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||
Youth career | |||
2004–2006 | Rennes | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2006 | Rennes | 1 | (0) |
2006–2008 | Tours | 36 | (3) |
2008–2009 | Gimnàstic | 43 | (4) |
2009–2012 | Racing Santander | 76 | (2) |
2012–2015 | Levante | 85 | (4) |
2015–2017 | Espanyol | 53 | (3) |
2018–2021 | Eibar | 106 | (3) |
2021–2023 | Ibiza | 51 | (2) |
International career | |||
2010–2017 | Senegal | 20 | (2) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:35, 22 October 2023 (UTC) |
Papakouli "Pape" Diop (born 19 March 1986) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder.
After starting out at Rennes in France, he went on to spend most of his career in Spain. Over 12 seasons, he amassed La Liga totals of 320 matches and 12 goals, with Racing de Santander, Levante, Espanyol and Eibar. [2]
Diop represented Senegal in two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.
Born in Kaolack, Diop moved to France at early age and played youth football for Stade Rennais FC, making his first-team – and Ligue 1 – debut on 5 August 2006, as an injury-time substitute in a 1–2 home loss against Lille OSC. [3] In the summer of 2006 he joined Tours FC, being relegated from Ligue 2 in his first season; in his beginnings, he was often deployed as an attacking midfielder and a second striker. [4]
On 31 January 2008, Diop signed with Gimnàstic de Tarragona of the Spanish Segunda División. [5] After one and a half seasons with the Catalans he moved to La Liga with Racing de Santander, for €1.5 million. [6]
Diop played his first game in the Spanish top division on 12 September 2009, starting in a 1–1 away draw with Atlético Madrid. [7] His first league goal came on 21 March of the following year, when he closed the 3–1 win at CA Osasuna. [8]
In the 2011–12 campaign, Diop played all but four matches for the Cantabrians and totalled 2,864 minutes of action, but his team was relegated nonetheless after finishing 20th. [9] [10] Shortly after, he joined Levante UD of the same league for a €100,000 fee. [11] [12]
Diop contributed nine appearances in the 2012–13 edition of the UEFA Europa League, [13] in a round-of-16 exit. [14] On 22 November 2012, he scored in the 3–1 away victory over Helsingborgs IF in the group phase. [15]
On 4 May 2014, Diop appeared to be subjected to monkey chants from a section of Atlético Madrid fans, and provided a unique response by dancing in front of his abusers. [16] [17] On 5 June of the following year, he left the Granotes after his contract expired. [18]
On 31 August 2015, Diop signed a three-year deal with RCD Espanyol also in the top tier. [19] On 22 December 2017, after cutting ties with the club, he agreed to an 18-month contract at fellow top-flight side SD Eibar. [20]
On 20 August 2021, free agent Diop joined second division newcomers UD Ibiza on a one-year contract. [21]
Diop won his first cap for Senegal on 17 November 2010, in a 2–1 friendly win over Gabon. [22] [23] He was part of the squads at the 2015 [24] and 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, [25] helping the nation reach the quarter-finals in the latter edition where he scored in the 2–2 group-stage draw with Algeria. [26] [27]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | Other | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Rennes | 2006–07 | Ligue 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Tours | 2006–07 | Ligue 2 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 3 |
2007–08 | National | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
Total | 36 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 3 | ||
Gimnàstic | 2008–09 | Segunda División | 30 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 30 | 4 | |
Racing Santander | 2009–10 | La Liga | 23 | 1 | 6 | 1 | — | 29 | 2 | |
2010–11 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 20 | 0 | |||
2011–12 | 34 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 36 | 1 | |||
Total | 76 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 3 | ||
Levante | 2012–13 | La Liga | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 [lower-alpha 1] | 1 | 41 | 1 |
2013–14 | 34 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 36 | 4 | |||
2014–15 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | |||
Total | 85 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 96 | 5 | ||
Espanyol | 2015–16 | La Liga | 30 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 32 | 3 | |
2016–17 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | |||
2017–18 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | |||
Total | 53 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 3 | ||
Eibar | 2017–18 | La Liga | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | |
2018–19 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 29 | 1 | |||
2019–20 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 30 | 1 | |||
Total | 73 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 1 | ||
Career total | 323 | 18 | 17 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 349 | 19 |
Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 21 May 2014 | Stade du 4-Août, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso | ![]() | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
2. | 23 January 2017 | Stade de Franceville, Franceville, Gabon | ![]() | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2017 Africa Cup of Nations |
The 2012–13 Copa del Rey was the 111th staging of the Copa del Rey. The competition began on 29 August 2012 and ended on 17 May 2013 with the final, held at the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid, in which Atlético Madrid lifted the trophy for the tenth time in their history with a 2–1 victory over hosts Real Madrid in extra time. Barcelona were the defending champions but were eliminated by Real Madrid in the semi-finals. Going into the competition, the winners were assured of a place in the group stage of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League, but both finalists had already qualified for the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League a few weeks before.
The 2013–14 Segunda División B season was the 37th since its establishment. The first matches of the season were played on 25 August 2013, and the season ended on 22 June 2014 with the promotion play-off finals.
The 2015–16 Copa del Rey was the 114th staging of the Copa del Rey. Going into the tournament, the winners were assured a place for the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League Group stage. However, since the two finalists, Barcelona and Sevilla, both qualified for the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League, respectively by winning the 2015–16 La Liga title and the 2015–16 Europa League, the cup winner's place in the 2016–17 Europa League group stage instead passed to the fifth-place team in La Liga, Athletic Bilbao.
Roberto Olabe del Arco is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left winger for UD Ibiza.
The 2017–18 La Liga season, also known as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, was the 87th since its establishment. The season began on 18 August 2017 and concluded on 20 May 2018. The fixtures were released on 21 July 2017.
During the 2017–18 season, SD Eibar participated in the Spanish La Liga and the Copa del Rey.
The 2018–19 Copa del Rey was the 117th staging of the Copa del Rey. The winners were assured a place in the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League group stage, and both they and the runners-up automatically qualified for the four-team 2019–20 Supercopa de España.
During the 2018–19 season, Real Betis participated in La Liga, Copa del Rey and UEFA Europa League.
The 2021–22 La Liga, also known as La Liga Santander due to sponsorship reasons, was the 91st season of La Liga, Spain's premier football competition. It began on 13 August 2021 and concluded on 22 May 2022. The fixtures were announced on 30 June 2021.
The 2022–23 Segunda División football season, was the 92nd since its establishment in Spain.
The 2022–23 Copa del Rey was the 121st staging of the Copa del Rey, the oldest official football competition in Spain. The winners of the competition would have automatically qualified for the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League group stage; however, as Real Madrid had already qualified for European competition via league standings, their place was passed down to the sixth-placed team in La Liga and the UEFA Europa Conference League spot reserved for the sixth-placed team was awarded to the team who finished seventh in the league. Both the winners and runners-up qualified for the four-team 2023–24 Supercopa de España.
The 2022–23 season was UD Ibiza's eighth season in existence and the club's second consecutive season in the second division of Spanish football. In addition to the domestic league, Ibiza participated in this season's edition of the Copa del Rey. The season covered the period from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023.
Mario Soberón Gutiérrez is a Spanish footballer who plays as a forward for CD Eldense.