Souleymane Diawara achieved a very rare performance in the history of Ligue 1. Crowned French champion with Bordeaux in 2009, the Senegalese central defender would be titled again a year later, this time with Olympique de Marseille. Despite winning the title with the Girondins and the prospect of playing in the Champions League, the former Sochalian did not hesitate to move on to the enemy during the summer transfer window.
Souleymane Diawara was notably convinced by Didier Deschamps, then at the head of OM. The first contact between the two men, initiated by the 1998 world champion, was nevertheless confusing. “Deschamps is calling me. But I don’t recognize his voice. I think it’s Anthony Le Tallec so I say to him ‘hey, fuck off’. I insult him, I insult him and I hang up”told the Senegalese on Ange GR’s Twitch channel.
Didier Deschamps not holding a grudge
Souleymane Diawara had some reason to believe it was a hoax by Anthony Le Tallec, his former teammate at Le Havre. “I did it to Anthony Le Tallec. He had to sign for a club so I pretended to be sports director. He was totally into it. Afterwards I go crazy and laugh. He insulted me but we were dying of laughter “, he explained.
Immediately informed of his error by his agent, Souleymane Diawara was able to make amends. “When Deschamps calls me back, I tell him ‘coach, I’m really sorry’. But he laughed and he understood”he confided. Didier Deschamps actually didn’t hold it against him and a few weeks later, the player trained in Le Havre was able to sign up for Ciel et Blanc.
