Mali nominated him

Wattens goalscorer Mo also wants to strike at the Olympics

Mahamadou "Mo" Diarra

(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

WSG Tirol will begin preparations for the new season on Thursday afternoon. With the new faces Tobias Anselm and Alexander Eckmayr. And one who will be missing for the season in the ÖFB Cup against Imst: Mahamadou Diarra has been called up to the Olympic team.

That sounds like a successful debut season: Mahamadou "Mo" Diarra (20), the super-fast Mali striker from WSG Tirol, made 22 Bundesliga appearances (1506 minutes) with four goals in his first season away from Africa. That's something to be proud of.

And it didn't go unnoticed at home either: Mo was called up to the Malian U23 national team, which is preparing for the Olympic Games in Paris. The WSG striker played a total of 80 minutes in the test double against Uzbekistan (1:1 and 2:1 win) and was delighted to be called up.

Of course we would be delighted to have an Olympic participant from Paris in the squad. Especially as such an appearance also means an increase in value.

WSG-Sportboss Stefan Köck

With a teary eye
The Watten team have now also been informed that Diarra should be ready for an Olympic nomination. "Of course we would be delighted to have an Olympic participant from Paris in the squad. Especially as such a commitment also means an increase in value. But we also see it with a sad eye," admits WSG sports boss Stefan Köck. Mo would be on Olympic duty from July 26 to August 11 and would miss the first round of the Cup (July 26 to 28) as well as the first two championship games.

Mo also wants to score at the Olympics

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

Wanted: compromise
"Not ideal," sighed Köck, who emphasized: "Of course we don't want to spoil this great opportunity for him." But of course there's also preparation - and that would mean Diarra would be missing even longer. On Thursday at the WSG training kick-off, Mo will be present for the time being and a compromise is being sought.