The next destination of our alphabetical world tour is Guinea. Since an acrimonious split from France in 1958, Guinea has played as an independent FIFA nation. Six players have represented Guinea in the Premier League.
First Player – Kaba Diawara (Arsenal, West Ham United; 1999, 2000-01)
Though two Guineans made their Premier League debuts in 1999, Kaba Diawara beat Titi Camara by several months to become the very first. Diawara made 12 appearances for Arsenal in the second half of 1998/99 and a further 11 for West Ham in 2000/01.
Though he was a striker, Diawara did not score a Premier League goal. His only goal in English football came in a League Cup clash while on loan with Blackburn in early 2000/01.
Despite being born in France, Diawara represented Guinea at senior international level, featuring at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations as Guinea reached the quarter-finals.
Records
- Most appearances – Kamil Zayatte (55)
- First appearance – Kaba Diawara (ARSENAL 1-0 Chelsea, January 31st 1999)
- Most goals – Titi Camara (9)
- First goal – Titi Camara (Sheffield Wednesday 1-2 LIVERPOOL, August 7th 1999)
Current/Most Recent Players
The only Guinean to currently play for a Premier League team is Naby Keita. Despite injury troubles, Keita has made 43 appearances for Liverpool since joining in 2018. Elsewhere, Ibrahima Cisse made three appearances for Fulham in 2018/19.
Trivia
- Guinea are one of 32 CAF nations to have featured in the Premier League.
- Titi Camara came 91st in a 2006 vote “100 Players who shook the Kop” – a poll of Liverpool fans.
- Though only six Guineans have made a Premier League appearance, a Guinean has appeared in all four decades.
