Lassana Diarra, a French footballer born on March 10, 1985 in Paris, plays primarily as a defensive midfielder and occasionally in the right-back position. He has been nicknamed “hammer-head” and “di-arrow” in the football circuit.
Lassana Diarra was selected for the France Under-21 team in 2005, and he gave a memorable performance against England at the Union of European Football Association (UEFA) European Under-21 Football Championship qualifier match in November 2005. Lassana Diarra was chosen by the coach, Raymond Domenech to represent the France national football team in the 2008 Euro qualifier match against Lithuania in March 2007. He was also selected for a friendly match against Austria on March 28, 2008 and was picked for the France squad for Euro 2008. On August 20, 2008, he was called to join the Domenech's France squad for a match against Sweden.
Lassana Diarra kick-started his football career at Le Havre in 2003 and made 29 league appearances for the club in his tenure of two seasons. He switched to Chelsea in July 2005 for £1 million, following which he made it to the first-team squad in the 2005-06 season. In the 2005 Champions League, Lassana Diarra made his debut for the club as a substitute in a match against Real Betis. His brilliant performances for the reserve team and in the Football Association (FA) Cup third round match against Huddersfield Town earned him the appreciation of the managers, teammates and media sources. Lassana Diarra made it to the starting line-up in the last two games of the season against Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United. He earned the Chelsea's Young Player of the Season award for the 2005–06 and was a part of the team that won the 2005 FA Community Shield. He featured in Chelsea's triumph over Arsenal in the 2006 League Cup final at the Millennium Stadium and was a member of the team that lifted the 2007 FA Cup and won the runners-up title in the 2007 FA Community Shield.
Lassana Diarra moved onto Arsenal on August 31, 2007 under the guidance of Arsene Wenger, the club’s manager, who confidently believed that the midfielder was a multi-functional player. Lassana Diarra made his first appearance for the club as a substitute in the 2007–08 Champions League group stage match against Sevilla. He made it to the starting eleven against Newcastle United in the third round of the Carling Cup and represented the team for the first time in the Premier League match against Aston Villa.
Lassana Diarra switched to Portsmouth in January 2008 and made his debut for the club in its victory against Derby. He scored his first goal for the club in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup against Plymouth Argyle, and his first Premier League goal came in the match against Bolton. Lassana Diarra made his presence felt in the 2008 FA Cup and was a part of the team that finally clinched the trophy. His performance helped his club get the runners-up title of the 2008 FA Community Shield and as of August 2008, he has played in 17 matches for the club.
