| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Abdel-Kader Keïta | ||
| Date of birth | 6 August 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Playing position | Winger, Attacking Midfielder, Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Al-Sadd | ||
| Number | 12 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1998–1999 | Africa Sports | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1999–2000 | Africa Sports | 23 | (4) |
| 2000–2001 | Étoile du Sahel | 22 | (7) |
| 2001–2002 | Al Ain | 19 | (6) |
| 2002–2005 | Al-Sadd | 71 | (23) |
| 2005–2007 | Lille | 63 | (15) |
| 2007–2009 | Lyon | 52 | (5) |
| 2009–2010 | Galatasaray | 27 | (5) |
| 2010– | Al-Sadd | 17 | (4) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2000– | Côte d'Ivoire | 60 | (11) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17 May 2010. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Abdel-Kader Keïta (born 6 August 1981) is an Ivorian professional football player. Keïta plays as a winger for Al-Sadd in the Qatar Stars League and the Cote d'Ivoire national football team.
Like the Touré brothers, the Kalou brothers, and the Koné brothers, Keita is also part of a footballing family. He has an older brother called Fadel Keïta, who is a former Côte d'Ivoire international.
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Keïta, also known as 'Popito', began his career at homeland club Africa Sports, before moving on to Tunisian Club Etoile du Sahel. Following spells in United Arab Emirates with Al Ain and Qatar with Al Sadd, he moved to France with Ligue 1 club OSC Lille in 2005.
On May 31, 2007, Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas revealed that the club had made bids for both Keïta and his fellow club-mate Mathieu Bodmer.[1]
On June 14, 2007, Lyon officially announced that they would be unveiling Keïta and Bodmer to the media, the pair having already passed their medicals at the Stade Gerland.[2] On June 16, 2007, Lyon confirmed the signing of Keïta from Lille for 18.5 million euro. Keïta was given the number 9 shirt.[3][4] But due to the jersey change of Brazilian striker, Fred, from 11 to 9, Keïta has changed to number 32. But again he changed to number 23 after the departure of Jérémy Berthod.[5]
On 2 July 2009, Galatasaray officially announced that Keïta joined the Turkish club and signed a three year contract. He scored his first goal for Galatasaray in a qualification match for UEFA Europa cup against Macabbi Netenya in the 5th minute.[6] On December 12, Keïta scored for Galatasaray in a 3–2 victory over Antalyaspor.
On 18 February 2010 Keita scored a late equalizer to secure a 1–1 away draw for Galatasaray against Atlético Madrid in the Europa Cup. Later, in the second leg he equalized again to make it 1–1, but Galatasaray failed to qualify. On February 28 Keita scored the second and fourth goals in a 4–1 victory over Kasımpaşa. His first goal was a magnificent volley from just inside the penalty area.
In Galatasaray's 3–0 victory over MKE Ankaragücü in March, Keita scored the second goal as well as assisting the final goal. On 11 April 2010 Keita assisted two of Milan Baroš' goals in a 4–1 victory over Diyarbakırspor. A week later Keita scored the first goal in a 1–2 victory over Manisaspor.
Keita rejoined his previous club Al Sadd SC in July 2010 on € 8.15 million.[7]
Keita was involved in a melee which ensued on 19 October in the 2011 AFC Champions League semi final first-leg between Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Al Sadd. Suwon player Choi Sung-Hwan was inadvertently kicked in the head by an Al Sadd defender, and Suwon’s Yeom Ki-hoon let the ball out after Choi Sung-hwan went down with a head injury inside Al Sadd’s box. While Choi was being tended to by medics, Keita took the free kick quickly, and passed it to teammate Mamadou Niang unknowingly to the Suwon defense who thought possession would be returned to them according to FIFA fair play rules. Niang sprinted down the center half past the goalkeeper to score a second goal for Al Sadd. The chaos was further elevated when a Suwon fan ran onto the pitch, causing a brawl to erupt between the two teams. Afterwards, Keita received a red card, allegedly for running towards the fan, slapping him in the back of the head and grabbing him by his throat.[8] Keita's teammate Lee Jung-Soo had told the press that Keita had apologized for assisting Niang in scoring the goal, and admitted it was wrong. Al Sadd's coach, Jorge Fossati, suggested that Al Sadd was annoyed that Suwon hadn't immediately put the ball out of play, and decided to take actions into their own hands.[9] Keita was later suspended by AFC for the return leg.
Keita scored a goal in the AFC Champions League Final on 5 November, as his side defeated Jeonbuk Motors in penalties after the match ended 2-2 and was named as Man of the Match.[10]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Africa Sports | 2000 | 23 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 23 | 4 |
| Total | 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 4 | |
| Étoile du Sahel | 2000–01 | 10 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | 3 |
| 2001–02 | 12 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 12 | 4 | |
| Total | 22 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 7 | |
| Al Ain | 2001–02 | 19 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 19 | 6 |
| Total | 19 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 6 | |
| Al-Sadd | 2002–03 | 20 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 20 | 5 |
| 2003–04 | 24 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 24 | 8 | |
| 2004–05 | 27 | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 27 | 10 | |
| Total | 71 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 71 | 23 | |
| Lille | 2005–06 | 27 | 6 | - | - | - | - | 5 | 0 | 32 | 6 |
| 2006–07 | 36 | 9 | - | - | - | - | 7 | 1 | 43 | 10 | |
| Total | 63 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 75 | 16 | |
| Lyon | 2007–08 | 30 | 4 | - | - | - | - | 6 | 0 | 36 | 4 |
| 2008–09 | 22 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 5 | 1 | 27 | 2 | |
| Total | 52 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 63 | 6 | |
| Galatasaray | 2009–10 | 27 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 39 | 10 |
| Total | 27 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 39 | 10 | |
| Career total | 277 | 65 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 7 | 312 | 72 | |
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Côte d'Ivoire | 2000 | 3 | 0 | - |
| 2001 | 11 | 5 | - | |
| 2002 | 4 | 0 | - | |
| 2003 | 3 | 0 | - | |
| 2004 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 9 | 1 | - | |
| 2007 | 5 | 0 | - | |
| 2008 | 8 | 3 | - | |
| 2009 | 6 | 1 | - | |
| 2010 | 6 | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 55 | 11 | - | |
He has 52 caps for the national team, and was called up to the 2006 World Cup. Keïta did not make it into the Ivorian squad for the 2006 African Cup of Nations. However, he did win his place back for the World Cup at the expense of Stade Reims winger Siaka Tiéné.
Keïta was selected also for 2010 African Nations Cup and played three matches. He scored once against Algeria during the quarter-final match. Coming on as a substitute for Salomon Kalou, Keïta ran with it diagonally along the edge of the penalty area until he suddenly unleashed a 30-metre drive to the top left corner that gave Algeria’s Faouzi Chaouchi no chance. It seemed a worthy winner for the quarter-final tie, but within minutes Algeria were level again.
During the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Keïta was involved in an off-the-ball incident with Kaká during a group game against Brazil. Keïta ran into Kaká and fell onto the floor, clutching his face, as if in great pain. Kaká was shown a yellow card, his second of the match, and sent off. Keïta subsequently got up and was fine. ABC wrote "Abdul Kader Keita's embarrassing reaction to a love-tap in the midriff from the Brazilian playmaker was both laughable and disgraceful. Obviously hoping to get Kaka in further hot water after he had only just earlier been shown his first yellow card, Keita fell to the ground and clutched his face as if he'd been shot from close range. He blatantly cheated to ensure the Brazilian was given his marching orders."[12]
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ? | March 1, 2006 | Valladolid, Spain | Spain | 2–3 | Lost | Friendly |
| ? | January 25, 2008 | Sekondi, Ghana | Benin | 4–1 | Won | 2008 African Nations Cup |
| ? | February 3, 2008 | Sekondi, Ghana | Guinea | 5–0 | Won | 2008 African Nations Cup |
| ? | February 7, 2008 | Kumasi, Ghana | Egypt | 1–4 | Lost | 2008 African Nations Cup |
| 11. | January 24, 2010 | Cabinda, Angola | Algeria | 2–3 | Lost | 2010 African Nations Cup |
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