12 – Amdy Faye – Midfielder – 25
The tenacious defensive midfielder appeared twice in the World Cup, ending a successful season where he helped Auxerre qualify for the Champions League. He moved to Portsmouth in August 2003 for £1.5 million for a fairly unimpressive 18 month spell at Fratton Park.
That spell would come to an end when he moved to Newcastle in January 2005 as one of Graeme Souness’ first signings at the club. He never made much of an impact, playing 31 games in 18 months but mostly out of position on the right wing due to a massive injury crisis at Newcastle. Amdy would move to Charlton in August 2006, but couldn’t save them from Premier League relegation.
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Amdy would spend a season on loan with Rangers for the 2007-08 season, but only played six games in total for the Scottish giants and always looked like the SPL was a higher level than he could handle. Faye would then move to Stoke for the 2008-09 season, mainly appearing as a substitute only making 20 appearances for them. He would only appear once in the 2009-10 season before being released.
Faye would move to Leeds in September 2010 until January 2011. After his contract wasn’t renewed, he announced his retirement.
13 – Lamine Diatta – Defender – 26
The powerful centre back played every single game for Senegal in the World Cup and would go on to captain the team. Playing for Rennes at the time of the World Cup, he would leave the club (and first team football) to try his luck with Lyon in August 2004. The move never quite worked out for Lamine and would be the start of a nomadic career.
Diatta moved to St.Etienne in 2006 for one season before moving to Turkish stars Besiktas in July 2007. He stayed there until March 2008, when he bought out his contract after only making six appearances. He would then sign for Newcastle for the remainder of the 2007-08 season, playing a staggering EIGHT minutes before leaving the club.
Lamine signed for Hamilton Accies in the SPL in March 2009 on a short-term deal. Without playing a game, he left the Scottish side to move to Al-Ahli Sports Club in Qatar. He spent the first half of the 2010-11 season in Tunisia with Étoile Sportive du Sahel before moving to Doncaster in January 2011 for the remainder of the season. He never played for them and retired at the end of the deal.
14 – Moussa N’Diaye – Midfielder – 23
A versatile winger, Moussa spent most of his career in the French leagues. Playing with Sedan at the time of the World Cup, he stayed with the club until the end of the 2003-04 season. He would then spend the next three seasons with three different clubs (FC Istres on 2004-05, AC Ajaccio next season then Auxerre in 2006-07) before moving out of France.
Moussa moved to Qatari side Al Rayyan for one season, until moving to rivals Umm Salal for the 2008-09 season. At the end of the season, most reliable sources suggest he retired.
15 – Salif Diao – Midfielder – 25
Salif had an eventful World Cup, scoring once but also being sent off in the same game! He had just agreed a move to Liverpool just before the World Cup kicked off, but the move to Anfield was a disaster. He only played 37 times from 2002 to 2007, in between loan moves to Birmingham, Portsmouth and Stoke. Salif would be played out of position more often that not while at Anfield, but even when played in his preferred position of defensive midfielder, it was clear he simply wasn’t good enough.
He would sign for Stoke permanently in December 2007 after an impressive loan spell the previous season with the Championship side. He would be a fixture of the first team until the 2010-11 season when injuries and loss of form began to take their toll on him. In the 2011-12 season, he only played for Stoke six times and retired at the end of the season.
