26.05.2008 14:17
Strength and technique in midfield
www.fcbarcelona.cat
Seydou Keita is Barça’s first signing for the 2008-09 season. The Mali player will reinforce the side’s midfield.
Keita has been signed from Sevilla FC and combines physical strength with technical quality and
tactical awareness. He is the first of the reinforcements for Barça’s first team for next
season.
8 years in France
Barça’s new player first made his name in European football in the French League. At
the start of the 1999-2000 season he signed for Olympique de Marseille where he spent a not very
successful year. He then had two years at Lorient where he won the French Cup before moving on to
Lens for 5 campaigns between 2002-03 and 2006-07. His last season there was his best as he scored
11 goals in 37 games and was seen as the second best player in the French first division after
Florent Malouda.
A year in Seville
Keita already knows a lot about Spanish football as, having been signed
from Lens, he played in 31 out of Seville’s 38 League matches last season. He was in the
starting XI on 29 occasions and scored 4 goals, demonstrating the quality of his long-range
shooting.
With Mali
The new FC Barcelona player has been in Mali’s national team since 2003. He played with
“The Eagles” in the African Cup of Nations last January and February when, in spite of
being one of the favourites, the side went out in the first round.