Mali U-17 coach says recent Barcelona acquisition reminds him of Rivaldo or Lamine Yamal | OneFootball

In the recent past, FC Barcelona have taken some very specific steps to increase their exposure to the footballing talent emerging in Africa, and have also brought some of the most promising talents on the continent to their youth system.

One such youngster who has been wrapped up by Barcelona recently and who is already training under the Barcelona Atletic coach Albert Sanchez is Ibrahim Diarra. He is considered to be one of the most promising talents to emerge from Africa in the last few years and has been quite impressive with his pace, technique, vision, and goal-scoring ability.

He signed his first contract with Barcelona after turning 18 years of age on 12th December and is currently working to get back in shape after recovering from knee discomfort.

But before he makes his mark at the Blaugrana Atlètic, SPORT has undertaken an interview with the Mali U-17 coach, Soumaila Coulibaly, to understand what kind of a player Diarra actually is.

The Malian coach described the youngster in the following words: “Kaká [Ibrahim Diarra’s nickname comparing him to the AC Milan legend] has had the classic profile of a Barça player for a long time.”

“Left-footed, powerful, with a good one-on-one, and he moves very well between the lines, between the defense, to break the game when the opponent is compact and sitting deep. A situation that Barça often faces. Additionally, he is decisive when it comes to finishing.”

Despite these qualities, Coulibaly also highlighted some aspects that he needed to improve to succeed at Barcelona:

“He is very good, but logically he still needs to develop in all aspects of the game. I think joining Barça now is the best news for him, given his age, as it will allow him to grow and develop his potential.”

The Malian coach was quite clear about which two Barcelona players Diarra reminded him of:

“He reminds me of Rivaldo or Lamine Yamal. Left-footed players with similar characteristics. But he must forge his own path, of course. For me, he is the biggest talent in Mali right now, without a doubt.”

There is no doubt that Diarra has the ingredients to turn out as a successful player at Barcelona. Hopefully, he will be able to impress in the reserve team and get a chance to become a part of the first team in the coming months and years.