PLAYER PROFILE

El Hadji Diouf

Position: Forward

Height: 5'11

Weight: 11st 11lbs

Date of Birth: 1981-01-15 Dakar, Senegal

El Hadji Diouf

El Hadji Diouf arrived on the world stage precisely six minutes into his World Cup debut when he made a mockery of France defender Marcel Desailly and left him floundering in his wake.

Millions of football supporters worldwide immediately thought, "I wouldn't mind him in my team." Little did the Anfield faithful know that moves were already underway to bring him to Liverpool.

Already a well-known face in France and a superstar in Africa (he was voted African Footballer of the Year for two consecutive year in 2002 and 2003), the rest of Europe is now waking up to the talents of Diouf - and the £10million Liverpool paid Lens for his services is proof that big things are expected of him.

Although he is younger than Michael Owen, Diouf played for three clubs in France before arriving at Anfield - Sochaux, Rennes and Lens. It was at Lens that he really developed, adding a high number of his goals to his already excellent all-round game and earning the nickname 'serial killer'.

His first season on Merseyside got off to a bad start and he failed to live up to his World Cup pedigree. However, a change of positions saw him flourish on the right-hand side of midfield - a role in which he can make the most of his frightening pace.

The Liverpool side started to pull themselves together with Diouf in midfield, but that was jeopardised following a moment of madness at Celtic's Parkhead, in the UEFA Cup quarterfinal first leg. After being provoked, the Senegalese star spat at some Celtic fans, and was consequently handed a two-match ban by UEFA, a hefty fine as well as a lot of criticism from the football world.

However, Houllier believes that everyone expected too much from Diouf in his first season in England, and said: "The boy has made a mistake. He knows that. We all make mistakes in life because we are human. I am not going to make excuses for him but the boy is young and is devastated by what has happened."

The 2003/04 campaign didn't get any better for the young African, and by the end of the season he had become the first player to wear the number nine shirt and not score a goal for over 50 years. In actual fact, by July 2004, he had gone 16 months without scoring, even after competing in the African Nations Cup with Senegal.

These statistics did not endear him to new Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez, and the arrival of Djibril Cisse robbed Diouf of the number nine shirt. When he was not given a new number, it was obvious that he was surplus to requirements and he joined Bolton on loan for the rest of the season.

After impressing Sam Allardyce in 2004/05, despite some new controversial flare-ups, Diouf joined Bolton permanently in June 2005 for an undisclosed fee and proceeded to score four goals in twenty-seven games. This stat was upped to five goals in 33 games in 07/08 and he is now considered a vital part of the Bolton side.