 Salifou in 2007 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Moustapha Salifou[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1983-06-01)1 June 1983 (age 42)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Lomé, Togo | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[3] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | FC Dreistern Neutrudering | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–2002 | AC Merlan | ||
| 2002–2006 | Rot-Weiß Oberhausen | 33 | (1) |
| 2005–2006 | →Brest (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | FC Wil | 23 | (2) |
| 2007–2011 | Aston Villa | 4 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | 1. FC Saarbrücken | 11 | (1) |
| 2014 | 1860 Rosenheim | 12 | (1) |
| 2015–2024 | Türkspor Augsburg | 168 | (7) |
| 2024–2025 | RB Petrolspor München | 7 | (1) |
| 2025– | FC Dreistern Neutrudering | 0 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2000–2013 | Togo | 77 | (8) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Moustapha Salifou (born 1 June 1983) is a Togolese professionalfootballer who plays as amidfielder for FC Dreistern Neutrudering. He has represented theTogo national team at the2006FIFA World Cup. He spent four years at EnglishPremier League clubAston Villa, the rest of his professional career has been spent at lower levels of the German, French and Swiss league systems.
Born inLomé, Salifou started his career in his native Togo withAC Merlan.[4] The midfielder had fleeting stints with Swiss sideFC Wil, French teamBrest and German teamRot-Weiß Oberhausen, prior to moving to England.
On 31 August 2007, Salifou signed a one-year deal withAston 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".[5] 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,[6] however, he did not join up with his new club until 18 October 2007.[7] Salifou made his debut forAston Villa Reserves on 22 October 2007 creating two of the goals in a 6–0 win overChelsea reserves. He made his debut for the first team on 12 January 2008 as a 90th-minute substitute in a 3–1 win againstReading. Despite not having played a game, his name was chanted loudly to the tune of theBoney M. songDaddy Cool by the Holte End. He was later rewarded with a one-year extension to his contract.[8] Salifou made his second appearance for the club on 15 March 2008, coming on as a late substitute in the 2–0 away defeat atPortsmouth, as well as appearing in the 4–0 defeat toManchester United. On 6 November 2008,Martin O'Neill decided to change his starting eleven for Villa'sUEFA Cup match againstSlavia 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 managerKevin MacDonald's 22-manPremier League squad for 2010–11.[9] He failed to make an impact during this season too, and underwent a trial atAS Monaco in January 2011.[10] With the arrival ofJean 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.[11]
Salifou remained a free agent until November 2011, when he signed a two-year deal with1. FC Saarbrücken. He took the number 16 shirt on arrival at the German club.[12] He made his début for the team as an 80th-minute substitute forMarcel Ziemer in a 3–1 win overKickers Offenbach on 26 November 2011. He scored his first goal for Saarbrücken in a 5–2 win over former clubRot-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 clubFC Wil.[13]
On 1 March 2014, Salifou signed for German clubRosenheim of theRegionalliga Bayern, the fourth tier of German football. After making his début againstSV Heimstetten, Salifou went on to make 11 appearances for the club in the 2013–14 season including three assists and one goal againstTSV 1860 Munich II.
Salifou joined Türkspor Augsburg in 2015, playing in theLandesliga Bayern-Südwest. In early 2016 he was banned for eight matches for shouting at a referee during a match.[14] In August 2021, he announced in an interview, his intention to retire at the end of the 2021–22 season.[15]
Salifou joined German amateurKreisklasse club RB Petrolspor München for the 2024–25 season.[16]
Salifou was a member of theTogo national team, and was called up to the2006 FIFA World Cup. He played in all three of Togo's group games in that World Cup againstSouth Korea,Switzerland andFrance.[17]
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 'TogoleseZidane' or 'the great of the figure of eight' from his compatriotEmmanuel Adebayor, due to Salifou's playmaking nature.[18]
On 8 January 2010, the bus containing the Togo squad for theAfrica 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.[19]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rot-Weiß Oberhausen | 2002–03 | 2. Bundesliga | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 1 | |
| 2003–04 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| 2004–05 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | |||
| Total | 33 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 1 | ||
| Brest (loan) | 2005–06 | Ligue 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |
| FC Wil | 2006–07 | Swiss Challenge League | 19 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 23 | 2 | |
| 2007–08 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Total | 23 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 2 | ||
| Aston Villa | 2007–08 | Premier League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
| 2008–09 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2010–11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 13 | 0 | ||
| 1. FC Saarbrücken | 2011–12 | 3. Liga | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 11 | 1 | |
| TSV 1860 Rosenheim | 2013–14 | Regionalliga | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 13 | 1 | |
| Career total | 90 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 106 | 5 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| Total | 66 | 8 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 April 2000 | Stade de Kégué,Lomé, Togo |  Guinea-Bissau | 1-0 | 3-0 | 2002 FIFA World cup qualification |
| 2 | 23 February 2001 | 28 March Stadium,Benghazi, Libya |  Libya[a] | 1-1 | 3-3 | |
| 3 | 16 December 2001 | Stade du 4 Août,Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso |  Burkina Faso | 1-1 | 1-2 | Friendly |
| 4 | 16 November 2002 | Stade de Kégué, Lomé, Togo |  Equatorial Guinea | 2-0 | 2-0 | 2006 FIFA World cup qualification |
| 5 | 27 March 2005 | Stade Modibo Kéïta,Bamako, Mali |  Mali | 1-1 | 2-1 | 2006 FIFA World cup qualification |
| 6 | 11 October 2008 | Accra Sports Stadium,Accra, Ghana |  Swaziland[b] | 1-0 | 6-0 | 2010 FIFA World cup qualification |
| 7 | 6 September 2009 | Stade de Kégué, Lomé, Togo |  Morocco | 1-0 | 1-1 | 2010 FIFA World cup qualification |
| 8 | 5 June 2013 | Estadio de Bata,Bata, Equatorial Guinea | Equatorial Guinea | 1-0 | 1-0 | Friendly |
Togo squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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