Moustapha Salifou
{{short description|Togolese footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Moustapha Salifou
| image = Salifou, Moustapha.jpg
| caption = Salifou in 2007
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1983|6|1|df=y}}{{Cite book | editor-last = Hugman | editor-first = Barry J. | title = The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2008–09 | year = 2008 | publisher = Mainstream Publishing | isbn = 978-1-84596-324-8 | page = 366}}
| birth_place = Lomé, Togo
| position = Midfielder
| currentclub = RB Petrolspor München
| clubnumber = 7
| youthyears1 = |youthclubs1 =
| years1 = 1998–2002 |clubs1 = AC Merlan |caps1 = |goals1 =
| years2 = 2002–2006 |clubs2 = Rot-Weiß Oberhausen |caps2 = 33 |goals2 = 1
| years3 = 2005–2006 |clubs3 = → Brest (loan) |caps3 = 7 |goals3 = 0
| years4 = 2006–2007 |clubs4 = FC Wil |caps4 = 23 |goals4 = 2
| years5 = 2007–2011 |clubs5 = Aston Villa |caps5 = 4 |goals5 = 0
| years6 = 2011–2012 |clubs6 = 1. FC Saarbrücken |caps6 = 11 |goals6 = 1
| years7 = 2014 |clubs7 = 1860 Rosenheim |caps7 = 12 |goals7 = 1
| years8 = 2015–2024 |clubs8 = Türkspor Augsburg |caps8 = 168|goals8 = 7
| years9 = 2024– |clubs9 = RB Petrolspor München |caps9 = 7 |goals9 = 1
| nationalyears1 = 2000–2013 |nationalteam1 = Togo |nationalcaps1 = 77 |nationalgoals1 = 8
| club-update =
}}
Moustapha Salifou (born 1 June 1983) is a Togolese professional footballer who played mostly as a midfielder but now plays as a player coach for German amateur Kreisklasse club RB Petrolspor München. {{cite web |title=Petrolspor - Fupa - Petrolspor München |url=https://petrolspor-muenchen.de/petrolspor-fupa/ |publisher=Petrolspor Muenchen |access-date=17 March 2025 |language=de |date=8 January 2024}} {{cite web |title=Moustapha Salifou - RB Petrolspor München - FuPa |url=https://www.fupa.net/player/moustapha-salifou-85093 |website=www.fupa.net |access-date=17 March 2025 |language=de}} {{cite web |title=Moustapha Salifou {{!}} Laufbahn {{!}} Spielerprofil |url=https://www.kicker.de/ama-549678/laufbahn |website=kicker |access-date=17 March 2025 |language=de-DE}} {{cite web |title=Welchen Arten von Profilen gibt es auf FuPa und wie kann man sie verwalten? |url=https://support.fupa.net/support/solutions/articles/75000014572-welche-arten-von-profilen-gibt-es-auf-fupa-wie-kann-man-sie-verwalten- |website=FuPa Hilfebereich |access-date=17 March 2025 |language=de}} He has represented the Togo national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He spent four years at English Premier League club Aston Villa, the rest of his professional career has been spent at lower levels of the German, French and Swiss league systems.
Club career
=Early career=
Born in Lomé, Salifou started his career in his native Togo with AC Merlan.{{NFT|6649|name=Salifou, Moustapha| accessdate=15 June 2011}} The midfielder had fleeting stints with Swiss side FC Wil, French team Brest and German team Rot-Weiß Oberhausen, prior to moving to England.
=Aston Villa=
On 31 August 2007, Salifou signed a one-year deal with Aston Villa, joining for a nominal fee after a successful trial. Martin O'Neill commented that "He has great determination to succeed at this level and may well prove to be an excellent asset".{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/a/aston_villa/6973403.stm |title=Aston Villa complete Salifou move |publisher=BBC Sport |date=31 August 2007 |access-date=31 August 2007}} Salifou encountered problems acquiring a work permit though, and was forced to train with his old club in Switzerland.
It was reported on 25 September 2007 that the work permit had been granted and that Salifou was to join up with the squad within a week,{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/aston_villa/7012936.stm |title=Villa signing Salifou gets permit |publisher=BBC Sport |date=25 September 2007 |access-date=25 September 2007}} however, he did not join up with his new club until 18 October 2007.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/aston_villa/7050904.stm |title=Salifou finally arrives at Villa |publisher=BBC Sport |date=18 October 2007 |access-date=16 March 2008}} Salifou made his debut for Aston Villa Reserves on 22 October 2007 creating two of the goals in a 6–0 win over Chelsea reserves. He made his debut for the first team on 12 January 2008 as a 90th-minute substitute in a 3–1 win against Reading. Despite not having played a game, his name was chanted loudly to the tune of the Boney M. song Daddy Cool by the Holte End. He was later rewarded with a one-year extension to his contract.{{cite web |url=http://www.avfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~1233970,00.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120630223731/http://www.avfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~1233970,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 June 2012 |title=Salifou Contract Extension |publisher=Aston Villa F.C. |access-date=16 March 2008 }} Salifou made his second appearance for the club on 15 March 2008, coming on as a late substitute in the 2–0 away defeat at Portsmouth, as well as appearing in the 4–0 defeat to Manchester United. On 6 November 2008, Martin O'Neill decided to change his starting eleven for Villa's UEFA Cup match against Slavia Prague. Salifou started and played the full ninety minutes.
Despite rarely featuring for the club at all during the 2009–10 season, Salifou was named in caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald's 22-man Premier League squad for 2010–11.{{cite web|url=http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~2141616,00.html|title=Villa submit Premier League 2010-11 squad | Latest News |publisher=avfc.co.uk|access-date=10 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926170933/http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~2141616,00.html |archive-date=26 September 2012|url-status=dead}} He failed to make an impact during this season too, and underwent a trial at AS Monaco in January 2011.{{cite web |url=http://www.mercato365.com/infos-clubs/monaco/article_489778_Monaco-Salifou-teste.shtml|title=- Monaco : Salifou testé|publisher=mercato365.com|access-date=10 June 2014}} With the arrival of Jean Makoun to Villa in January 2011, Salifou found himself without a squad number for a period after the number 17 shirt was given to Makoun. However, he was later given the number 37. Throughout this time Salifou was praised for his time with the reserves, often passing on his experience to the Villa youngsters. On 27 May, Aston Villa announced that Salifou was one of a number of players who was released by the club after their contracts expired.{{Cite news |url=http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~2368005,00.html |title=Farewell to Reo-Coker and Carew as released list announced |date=27 May 2011 |publisher=Aston Villa F.C. |access-date=27 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110527212512/http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0%2C%2C10265~2368005%2C00.html |archivedate=27 May 2011}}
=Later career=
Salifou remained a free agent until November 2011, when he signed a two-year deal with 1. FC Saarbrücken. He took the number 16 shirt on arrival at the German club.{{cite web|url=http://www.liga3-online.de/saarbrucken-verpflichtet-moustapha-salifou/|title=Saarbrücken verpflichtet Moustapha Salifou|publisher=liga3-online.de|accessdate=10 June 2014}} He made his début for the team as an 80th-minute substitute for Marcel Ziemer in a 3–1 win over Kickers Offenbach on 26 November 2011. He scored his first goal for Saarbrücken in a 5–2 win over former club Rot-Weiß Oberhausen on 10 December. He was released by Saarbrücken at the end of the season. Despite not being registered to a club, Salifou continued to represent Togo internationally and had been linked with a transfer to former club FC Wil.{{cite web|url=http://www.fcwil.ch/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-15/238_read-1458/|title=Fussball Club, Fussball Ostschweiz - FC Wil|publisher=fcwil.ch|accessdate=10 June 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20130703190213/http://www.fcwil.ch/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-15/238_read-1458/|archivedate=3 July 2013}}
On 1 March 2014, Salifou signed for German club Rosenheim of the Regionalliga Bayern, the fourth tier of German football. After making his début against SV Heimstetten, Salifou went on to make 11 appearances for the club in the 2013–14 season including three assists and one goal against TSV 1860 Munich II.
Salifou joined Türkspor Augsburg in 2015, playing in the Landesliga Bayern-Südwest. In early 2016 he was banned for eight matches for shouting at a referee during a match.{{cite web |title=Türkspors Salifou für acht Spiele gesperrt (German) |url=http://www.pressreader.com/germany/augsburger-allgemeine-ausgabe-stadt/20160416/282583082179047 |website=Press Reader |publisher=Augsburger Allgemeine (Ausgabe Stadt) |accessdate=1 August 2016}} In August 2021, he announced in an interview, his intention to retire at the end of the 2021–22 season.{{Cite web |title=Einst Aston Villa, jetzt Türkspor Augsburg: Moustapha Salifou spielt Bayernliga |url=https://www.kicker.de/einst-aston-villa-jetzt-tuerkspor-augsburg-moustapha-salifou-spielt-bayernliga-867556/artikel |access-date=2022-06-01 |website=kicker |language=de-DE}} Despite this announcement, Salifou has continued to play at an amateur level, whilst briefly coaching at a local level in the 22/23 season. {{cite web |title=Moustapha Salifou - RB Petrolspor München - FuPa |url=https://www.fupa.net/player/moustapha-salifou-85093 |website=www.fupa.net |access-date=17 March 2025 |language=de}}
International career
Salifou was a member of the Togo national team, and was called up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He played in all three of Togo's group games in that World Cup against South Korea, Switzerland and France.{{Cite news |url=http://breakingnews.iol.ie/sport/story.asp?j=230069162&p=z3xx69868&t=soccer |title=Villa take Salifou |publisher=Ireland On-line |date=31 August 2007 |accessdate=31 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071022034013/http://breakingnews.iol.ie/sport/story.asp?j=230069162&p=z3xx69868&t=soccer |archive-date=22 October 2007 |url-status=dead }}
The midfielder earned glowing reports after a positive performance at the 2006 World Cup, which alerted the attention of many French league clubs, and prompted the nickname the 'Togolese Zidane' or 'the great of the figure of eight' from his compatriot Emmanuel Adebayor, due to Salifou's playmaking nature.{{Cite news|url=http://www.avfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~1151591,00.html|title=Not Zizou- I'm Salifou|publisher=Aston Villa F.C.|accessdate=21 February 2008|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080218171002/http://www.avfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~1151591,00.html|archivedate=18 February 2008}}
On 8 January 2010, the bus containing the Togo squad for the Africa Cup of Nations was subjected to an attack from gunmen; Salifou was on the bus during the attack who was said to be 'shaken but okay' after the incident.{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8449502.stm|title=Togo football stars tell of gun attack|publisher=BBC Sport|date=8 January 2010|accessdate=9 January 2010}}
Career statistics
=Club=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Togo - M.Salifou|url=https://int.soccerway.com/players/moustapha-salifou/596/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=27 January 2021|website=Soccerway}} | ||||||||||
| rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|National cup !colspan="2"|League cup !colspan="2"|Europe !colspan="2"|Total | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| rowspan="4"|Rot-Weiß Oberhausen
|rowspan="3"|2. Bundesliga |11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 12 | 1 | ||
| 2003–04
|6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05
|16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 16 | 0 | ||
| colspan="2"|Total
!33 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 1 | |
| Brest (loan)
|7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 8 | 0 | ||
| rowspan="3"|FC Wil
|rowspan="2"|Swiss Challenge League |19 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 23 | 2 | ||
| 2007–08
|4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 4 | 0 | ||
| colspan="2"|Total
!23 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 2 | |
| rowspan="5"|Aston Villa
|rowspan="4"|Premier League |4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09
|0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2009–10
|0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11
|0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 0 | 0 | ||
| colspan="2"|Total
!4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
| 1. FC Saarbrücken
|11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 11 | 1 | ||
| TSV 1860 Rosenheim
|12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 13 | 1 | ||
| colspan="3"|Career total
!90 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 106 | 5 |
=International=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| rowspan="14"|Togo
|2000 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2002 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2010 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 6 | 1 | |
| colspan="2"|Total | 66 | 8 |
: Scores and results list Togo's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Salifou goal.
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+List of international goals scored by Moustapha Salifou{{Cite web |last=Strack-Zimmermann |first=Benjamin |title=Moustapha Salifou (Player) |url=https://www.national-football-teams.com/player/6649/Moustapha_Salifou.html |access-date=2023-02-26 |website=www.national-football-teams.com |language=en}} ! scope="col" |No. ! scope="col" |Date ! scope="col" |Venue ! scope="col" |Opponent ! scope="col" |Score ! scope="col" |Result ! scope="col" |Competition |
| align="center" |1
|23 April 2000 |Stade de Kégué, Lomé, Togo |{{Fb|GNB}} | align="center" |1-0 | align="center" |3-0 | rowspan="2" |2002 FIFA World cup qualification |
| align="center" |2
|23 February 2001 |28 March Stadium, Benghazi, Libya |{{Fb|LBY|variant=1977}}{{Ref label|Note1|a}} | align="center" |1-1 | align="center" |3-3 |
| align="center" |3
|16 December 2001 |Stade du 4 Août, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso |{{Fb|BFA}} | align="center" |1-1 | align="center" |1-2 |
| align="center" |4
|16 November 2002 |Stade de Kégué, Lomé, Togo |{{Fb|EQG}} | align="center" |2-0 | align="center" |2-0 |
| align="center" |5
|27 March 2005 |Stade Modibo Kéïta, Bamako, Mali |{{Fb|MLI}} | align="center" |1-1 | align="center" |2-1 |
| align="center" |6
|11 October 2008 |Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, Ghana |{{Fb|SWZ|variant=1968|name=Swaziland}}{{Ref label|Note2|b}} | align="center" |1-0 | align="center" |6-0 |
| align="center" |7
|6 September 2009 |Stade de Kégué, Lomé, Togo |{{Fb|MAR}} | align="center" |1-0 | align="center" |1-1 |
| align="center" |8
|5 June 2013 |Estadio de Bata, Bata, Equatorial Guinea |{{Fb|EQG}} | align="center" |1-0 | align="center" |1-0 |Friendly |
- {{Note label|Note1|3=a}}Libya's flag at the time of match.
- {{Note label|Note2|a|b}}Eswatini's country name at time of match.
- {{Note label|Note2|b|b}}Eswatini's flag at time of match.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- {{Soccerbase}}
- {{Worldfootball.net|moustapha-salifou}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Togo squads
| bg = #FFFF44
| fg = #006A4E
| bordercolor = #CE1126
| list1 =
{{Togo Squad 2002 Africa Cup of Nations}}
{{Togo Squad 2006 Africa Cup of Nations}}
{{Togo squad 2006 FIFA World Cup}}
{{Togo Squad 2010 Africa Cup of Nations}}
{{Togo Squad 2013 Africa Cup of Nations}}
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salifou, Moustapha}}
Category:Footballers from Lomé
Category:Men's association football midfielders
Category:Togolese men's footballers
Category:Togo men's international footballers
Category:Togolese expatriate men's footballers
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Germany
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in France
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in England
Category:Rot-Weiß Oberhausen players
Category:Stade Brestois 29 players
Category:Aston Villa F.C. players
Category:1. FC Saarbrücken players
Category:TSV 1860 Rosenheim players
Category:Premier League players
Category:2002 African Cup of Nations players
Category:2006 Africa Cup of Nations players
Category:2006 FIFA World Cup players
Category:2010 Africa Cup of Nations players
Category:2013 Africa Cup of Nations players