Adama Diomande

Valentin Adama Diomande (born 14 February 1990) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a striker. He has previously played for Lyn, Skeid, Hødd, Strømsgodset, Dinamo Minsk, Stabæk, Hull City and Los Angeles FC.

Adama Diomande

Diomande playing for Hull City in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Valentin Adama Diomande[1]
Date of birth	(1990-02-14) 14 February 1990[2]
Place of birth	Oslo, Norway
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[3]
Playing position(s)	Striker
Youth career
	Holmlia
–2006	Vålerenga
2006–2007	Lyn
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007–2010	Lyn	3	(0)
2010	Skeid	12	(8)
2010–2011	Hødd	38	(18)
2012–2013	Strømsgodset	46	(15)
2014	Dinamo Minsk	23	(3)
2015	Stabæk	21	(17)
2015–2018	Hull City	49	(6)
2018–2020	Los Angeles FC	44	(20)
National team^‡
2013	Norway U23	1	(0)
2015–	Norway	11	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15 December 2019 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11:01, 10 June 2018 (UTC)

Early life

Diomande was born in Oslo to parents from the Ivory Coast. He played youth football for the clubs Holmlia, Vålerenga, and Lyn.[4] He has attended the sport secondary school Norges Toppidrettsgymnas, like most of Lyn's young players. He initially studied sports science at Ulsrud High School.[5]

Career

Diomande made his senior debut on 19 October 2008 against Hamarkameratene, as a substitute in the 86th minute. He played one more game in 2008 and one in 2009.[3] Ahead of the 2010 season he joined Skeid.[4]

On 26 March 2015, Diomande signed a 2.5-year contract with Stabæk.[6] Playing for head coach Bob Bradley in 2015, Diomande had his most productive season to date, scoring 25 goals in 26 appearances.[7]

On 1 September 2015, Diomande joined English club Hull City of the Championship for a fee of £1.7 million.[8] Because of injury, he had to wait until 12 December 2015 to make his debut when he came off the bench as a 77th-minute replacement for Chuba Akpom, in a 1–0 home win against Bolton Wanderers.[9] Diomande made his Premier League debut on 13 August 2016, scoring a spectacular overhead kick in a shock 2–1 defeat of reigning champions Leicester City.[10]

On 1 May 2018, Diomande signed with Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC, reuniting him with Bradley in his first season at LAFC.[7] Diomande made an immediate impact, scoring nine goals in his first seven league contests and being named MLS Player of the Month in his first full month on the squad.[11][12]

On August 13, 2020, Diomande released a statement on Twitter that he was terminating his contract with LAFC "with immediate effect" [13] for familial reasons.

International career

Diomande received his first international call-up to the senior team in June 2015, making his debut for the senior team on 12 June when he came on as a substitute for Joshua King in the 79th minute of a goalless UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying draw against Azerbaijan at Ullevaal Stadion.

Career statistics

Club

As of 15 December 2019[14][15]

Club	Season	Division	League		Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Lyn	2008	Tippeligaen	2	0	0	0	—		0	0	2	0
	2009		1	0	0	0	—		0	0	1	0
	Total		3	0	0	0	—		0	0	3	0
Skeid	2010	2. Divisjon	12	8	2	1	—		0	0	14	9
	Total		12	8	2	1	—		0	0	14	9
Hødd	2010	2. Divisjon	10	4	0	0	—		—		10	4
	2011	Adeccoligaen	28	14	3	3	—		—		31	17
	Total		38	18	3	3	—		—		41	21
Strømsgodset	2012	Tippeligaen	21	7	3	1	—		—		24	8
	2013		25	8	1	0	——		1	0	27	8
	Total		46	15	4	1	—		1	0	51	16
Dinamo Minsk	2014	Vysheyshaya Liga	23	3	1	0	—		8	0	32	3
	Total		23	3	1	0	—		8	0	32	3
Stabæk	2015	Tippeligaen	21	17	5	8	—		—		26	25
	Total		21	17	5	8	—		—		26	25
Hull City	2015–16	Championship	11	3	4	0	0	0	—		15	3
	2016–17	Premier League	22	2	2	0	6	2	—		30	4
	2017–18	Championship	16	1	3	0	0	0	—		19	1
	Total		49	6	9	0	6	2	—		64	8
Los Angeles FC	2018	Major League Soccer	19	12	2	0	—		—		21	12
	2019		27	10	1	1	—		—		28	11
	Total		46	22	3	1	—		—		49	23
Career Total			238	89	27	14	6	2	9	0	280	105

International

As of 10 June 2018.[16]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Norway	2015	1	0
	2016	9	1
	2017	1	0
Total		11	1

International goals

Scores and results list Norway's goal tally first.[15]

No	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	11 October 2016	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway	San Marino	2–1	4–1	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Strømsgodset

• Tippeligaen: 2013

Los Angeles FC

• Supporters' Shield: 2019

Individual

• MLS Player of the Month: June 2018[12]

References

1. "2016/17 Premier League clubs publish retained lists". Premier League. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
2. "Adama Diomande: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
3. "Adama Diomande". LynHistorie.com. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
4. Vindegg, Anders (8 February 2010). "Adama Diomande klar for Skeid" (in Norwegian). Skeid Fotball. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
5. Svarstad, Jørgen (3 September 2008). "Får Lyn-karrière". Aftenposten Aften (in Norwegian).
6. "Diomande klar for Stabæk" (in Norwegian). Stabæk Fotball. 26 March 2015. Archived from the original on 29 March 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
7. "LAFC Acquires Forward Adama Diomande From Hull City". lafc.com. Los Angeles Football Club. 1 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
8. "Deadline Day: Tigers Sign Norwegian Striker Adama Diomande". Hull City. 1 September 2015. Archived from the original on 1 September 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
9. "Hull 1–0 Bolton". BBC Sport. BBC. 12 December 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
10. "Hull City 2–1 Leicester City". BBC Sport. BBC. 13 August 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
11. "Stejskal: How Bob Bradley got Adama Diomande back to his devastating best". Retrieved 12 July 2018.
12. "LAFC Forward Diomande Voted MLS Player of the Month presented by EA SPORTS". Retrieved 12 July 2018.
13. https://twitter.com/Diomxnde/status/1293988851967434753
14. "Adama Diomande". nifs.no (in Norwegian). A-pressen. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
15. "A.Diomandé". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
16. "Adama Diomande" (in Norwegian). Football Association of Norway. Retrieved 10 June 2018.

External links

• Adama Diomande at Major League Soccer
• Adama Diomande at Soccerway
• Adama Diomande at the Norwegian Football Federation (in Norwegian)