Football fans no doubt remember this tense moment.
This center came from the left of El-Hadji Diouf, taken over by Pape Bouba Diop from the left, in two stages, in the empty cages of Fabien Barthez.
And then the dance of the Senegalese player at the corner post.
A sequence which inaugurated the chaotic world championship of the France team in 2002. And which would make the evening scorer a legend in his country.
The former international midfielder, who became the first Senegalese goalscorer in the history of the World Cup that evening, has just passed away from a long illness, the Senegalese Football Federation announced on Sunday.
He was 42 years old.
Rest in peace pope bouba diop you put Senegal in the world map pic.twitter.com/9B57TnO61R
- Lamine Ndaw (@fidioution) November 29, 2020
By scoring the winning goal against the French team, the reigning world champion, during the opening match of the 2002 World Cup in Seoul, Pape Bouba Diop had perfectly launched the Senegalese selection, then trained by the French Bruno Metsu, died in 2013. The Teranga Lions reached the quarterfinals, where they were beaten by Turkey (1-0 ap).
And he remains to this day the Senegalese top scorer in the World Cup, with three goals scored.
His footballing feats of arms do not stop with this success.
During his career, Diop, born in Dakar, played in Switzerland (Vevey, Neuchâtel Xamax, Grasshopper Zürich), in Lens between 2001 and 2004, in England (Fulham, Portsmouth, West Ham, Birmingham) and in Greece (AEK Athens ).
His record includes an England Cup, won in 2008 with Portsmouth, and a Greek Cup, three years later, when he was playing in Athens.
In a tweet, Senegalese President Macky Sall paid tribute to the player: “The death of Papa Bouba Diop is a great loss for Senegal.
I pay tribute to a good footballer, respected by all for his courtesy and his talent, proudly reminding us of the Lions saga in 2002. I offer my heartfelt condolences to his family and to the football world ”.
The death of Pape Bouba Diop is a great loss for Senegal.
I pay tribute to a good footballer, respected by all for his courtesy and his talent, proudly reminding us of the Lions saga in 2002. I offer my heartfelt condolences to his family and to the football world
- Macky Sall (@Macky_Sall) November 29, 2020