Gaoussou Diakite

Two Malians want to follow in big footsteps

Soumaila Diabate (center) still has big plans for his career.

(Bild: GEPA pictures/David Geieregger)

Mo Camara, Amadou Haidara, Diadie Samassekou: familiar names for Bulls fans. What do they have in common? They all come from Mali. Two young talents named Soumaila Diabate and Gaoussou Diakite from Liefering, who recently scored their first goals, also want to follow in their footsteps.

A total of 13 Malians have been or are under contract in Salzburg with Liefering or the Bulls since 2016. Many of them have gone on to have great careers. Amadou Haidara arrived in the city of Mozart in 2016 and is now making a name for himself in the German Bundesliga with RB Leipzig. Compatriot Mo Camara is also a regular at Adi Hütter's AS Monaco in the French Ligue 1.

Two young Malians from FC Liefering want to follow in his footsteps: Soumaila Diabate and Gaoussou Diakite. Both scored their first goals against FAC on Easter Sunday.

"I'm really happy for Diakite, but also for Soumaila, who has already played a number of games for Liefering and doesn't get many opportunities to score from his position, but deserves to score a goal thanks to his performance," said the coach.

Malians often on the move together
While Diabate has been living in Salzburg since January 2023, Diakite only arrived three months ago. "I like the city, it's very beautiful. I really like the academy," says the striker. He is also helped by Soumaila, whom he already knows from the academy in Mali, and Moussa Yeo. "We go out together, I'm often with them and that helps me a lot."

Both want to do the same as their compatriots and make the step up to the big leagues. "I really like Mo Camara because he plays the same position as me. He has the same style of play as me," says Diabate, who has a role model. In the long term, he would like to play in a big league: "The first task is to do the job here and we'll see later. I would like to play in the Champions League."

A score to settle
However, Stripfing awaits in the second division. The 13th-placed team in the table is currently just one point behind Salzburg. The young bulls still have a score to settle with the Lower Austrians. "I can well remember the first leg against Stripfing, which we very deservedly lost (note: 1:2), as Stripfing were clearly better than us. So we can show that we've developed over the last six months and hopefully show a different face than in the first leg," said coach Onur Cinel.