El-Hadji DIOUF

El-Hadji Diouf arrived in France at the age of 14, and started with the professional squad at Sochaux in 1998. A year - and 15 matches in the First Division - later, the Senegalese striker signed for Rennes for 6.1 Million Euros. Having had an excellent half-season in Sochaux, Diouf was supposed to bring some incisiveness to the Breton attack led by Nonda. Diouf was as baffling to his opponents as he was to his team-mates, and had a good campaign in the Intertoto Cup, including a historic goal in the 2-2 draw with Juventus. Once the Summer had passed, Diouf became better known for what happened off the pitch (turning up late, serious car crash), rather than on it. The strict Manager Le Guen and his Board of Directors didn’t appreciate the behaviour of their striker (with just 1 goal in the league), and paved the way for him to leave in the Summer of 2000. He then joined RC Lens on loan, before being transferred permanently in 2001 for 5.5 Million Euros.