| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye | ||
| Date of birth | 26 February 1978 | ||
| Place of birth | Dakar, Senegal | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in) [1] | ||
| Playing position | Centre back, Defensive midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | West Ham United | ||
| Number | 15 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1999–2001 | ASEC Ndiambour | 59 | (8) |
| 2001–2002 | Jeanne d'Arc | 32 | (4) |
| 2002–2005 | Lens | 35 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | → Istres (loan) | 26 | (0) |
| 2005–2007 | Bolton Wanderers | 60 | (3) |
| 2007–2008 | Newcastle United | 22 | (1) |
| 2008–2011 | Stoke City | 81 | (6) |
| 2011– | West Ham United | 14 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2004– | Senegal | 34 | (2) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 07:00, 27 November 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
|||
Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye (born 26 February 1978 in Dakar, Senegal), more commonly known as Abdoulaye Faye, is a Senegalese footballer who plays for Championship club West Ham United. He plays primarily as a centre back but he can also operate as a defensive midfielder.
Contents |
Faye began his career at Senegalese club ASEC Ndiambour, before leaving the then top-three team to go to Jeanne d'Arc. He then went on to join Lens in July 2002, integrating into a squad which at that time included fellow Senegalese Papa Bouba Diop.[2]
Faye signed for English side Bolton Wanderers in July 2005 on loan.[3] Faye made his debut for Bolton against Newcastle United where he enjoyed a memorable debut in a 2–0 home win in which, he aerially out-muscled Alan Shearer. He came on as a substitute for the injured Radhi Jaïdi and never looked back after a dominant display.[4] Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce praised the form of Faye early into his Bolton career.[5] In December 2005 Faye signed a permanent contract with Bolton.[6] Following this Faye expressed his delight at staying in England.
"I like the English better than the French, they are more pleasant and nicer people. I am having a great time. In France you are almost treated too strictly. Here you work hard, you do your job but are given a little bit more freedom to enjoy life."—Faye on why he prefers England to France.[7]
In the 2006–07 season Faye operated almost exclusively as a central defender following the departures of Bruno N'Gotty and Jaïdi to Birmingham City. Over the course of the season he developed a formidable partnership with Ivorian Abdoulaye Méïté, ensuring that Bolton had a strong home defensive record before the new year. Soon after they fell away in the second half of the season only just qualifying for the UEFA Cup with sides finding a way through Faye and Meite's dominance. Faye managed to score two goals against Arsenal in successive seasons helping Bolton to 2–0[8] and 3–1[9] victories due to his definite aerial prowess which the Arsenal defenders had no answer to. He was known for his dominant displays at central defence throughout the season and became a favourite amongst Bolton fans.
On 15 August 2007, there were stories in several newspapers stating that Faye would be moving to Newcastle United for around £2m to join up with former Manager Sam Allardyce.[10] On 31 August 2007, Faye signed a three-year contract at Newcastle United.[11] Faye was presented to the Newcastle fans at half-time during the home game against Wigan Athletic on 1 September. On 24 February 2008, Faye scored his only goal for Newcastle United during the 5–1 defeat at home to Manchester United.[12]
On 15 August 2008, Faye joined newly-promoted Premier League side Stoke City from Newcastle United for £2.25 million on a three-year contract.[13] He made his debut for Stoke in a 3-2 win over Aston Villa in August 2008.[14] He scored his first goal for the club against his old club Newcastle, which came in the 90th minute of the match to earn Stoke a point in a 2–2 draw.[15] He scored against Newcastle again later in the season in another draw between the two sides.[16] Faye's impressive first season did not go unnoticed with fellow Stoke players and fans as he won both Players and Fans Player of the Season Award for Stoke City.[17] He was also voted player of the year by all of the club's supporters groups.[18]
Following his first season at Stoke he was awarded the captains armband on a permanent basis for the 2009–10 season.[19] Faye had another good season for City but was also hampered by injuries and had to leave the field before 30 minutes on a number of occasions. Manager Tony Pulis gave the captaincy to Ryan Shawcross for the 2010–11 season. He struggled to make much of an impact during the season and was released at the end of it after he was not offered a new contract. Stoke manager Tony Pulis and the Stoke sentinel paid tribute to Faye.[20]
"Abdy's contribution to getting the Club where it is today should never be under-estimated, He loved playing for this Football Club and the supporters loved him, so in many respects it is sad to see him move on. But we are moving forward as a Club and unfortunately there are times when you have to make tough decisions that allow you to bring in the new faces which can improve the squad, and this is obviously one of them. We would like to thank Abdy for his contribution over the past three years and wish him well in the future."—Pulis on Faye's time at Stoke City.[21]
In June 2011, following his release from Stoke City, Faye signed for Championship side West Ham United on a free transfer linking up with manager Sam Allardyce for a third time and he said: "I am very happy to be here at West Ham - this is a great club, a big club and I cannot wait to get started here," Faye told the club website.[22] Faye made his debut for West Ham on 16 August 2011 in a 4-0 away win against Watford.[23]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| RC Lens | 2002–03 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| 2003–04 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
| Total | 35 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 43 | 0 | |
| Istres (loan) | 2004–05 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| Total | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | |
| Bolton Wanderers | 2005–06 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 37 | 1 |
| 2006–07 | 32 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 32 | 2 | ||
| 2007–08 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 60 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 72 | 3 | |
| Newcastle United | 2007–08 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 24 | 1 | |
| Total | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 | |
| Stoke City | 2008–09 | 36 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 36 | 3 | |
| 2009–10 | 31 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 32 | 2 | ||
| 2010–11 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 16 | 1 | ||
| Total | 81 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 84 | 6 | |
| West Ham United | 2011–12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | |
| Total | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Career total | 232 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 257 | 10 | |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Andy Griffin |
Stoke City F.C. captain 2009–2010 |
Succeeded by Ryan Shawcross |
|
|
|||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||
|
|||||