Mali midfielder Samassékou eyeing return after major injury

At 30 years of age, Diadié Samassékou has already established himself as one of the top midfielders in the Austrian Bundesliga, the German Bundesliga and the UEFA Europa League, as well as a vital figure in the center of the pitch for the Malian national team. And today, he’s looking to make his mark in Texas.

Born in Bamako, Mali, Samassékou enjoyed his first big break when he guided Mali to a bronze medal in the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand, before earning a move to Red Bull Salzburg. Samassékou quickly emerged as a key figure for the energy drink-backed powerhouse, helping them win two league titles and three Austrian Cups and earning a spot in the Austrian Bundesliga Team of the Year in 2017–18 and 2018–19. Similarly to other midfielders like Felipe Martins, Samassékou blended his never-say-die mindset out of possession with a fluid, controlled passing ability, helping Salzburg reach the 2017/18 Europa League semifinals and earning a place in the squad of the season. Having racked up 134 appearances for Salzburg, Samassékou then moved to German side Hoffenheim, where he played 97 times from 2019 to 2025, save for loan spells at Greek side Olympiacos and Spanish club Cádiz.

However, after an injury-plagued 2024/25 season, which eventually resulted in him missing out on a fifth participation in the Africa Cup of Nations, Samassékou made the move to MLS side Houston Dynamo and debuted against Portland Timbers on September 20. He’ll be looking to make his second appearance next month as Houston take on Chicago on February 21 in their season opener, and he’ll also be looking to return to the Mali national team for the first time since June 2024 and make his 42nd cap for Les Aigles. Joy News spoke to Samassékou about several topics, including:

Good day, Diadié, how are you today?

I’m fine, thank you. We just finished an intense training session, which was really good. Today is the beginning of the week, and we had some 2v2 and 3v2 drills and then did upper body workouts at the gym.

What was it like leaving your homeland of Mali and making the move to Austria in 2015?

I mean, I was one of the first Africans to go there. Before me, it was Sadio Mané and Naby Keïta. I had the chance to go to other teams in France and Spain, but I saw that Salzburg were the club that was the most motivated to sign me. They sent someone to Mali to talk to me and my family, and I wanted to go somewhere where I’d be really appreciated by the people at the club. Everybody told me that it’s a cold country, but honestly, it was an easy decision. I wanted to go there in order to grow up, because the transition from Africa to Europe is always quite difficult, especially when you’re 19. But in the end, it was a really great place that helped young players to develop: you start at the academy, but you have people around who help you become integrated and learn English and German. It was a good step for me in my career.

Lastly, after suffering the first long-term injury of your career, just how eager are you to bounce back in 2026 and assert yourself as Houston’s starting central midfielder?

That’s my main goal, of course, and that’s what I’m just working for. But we’ve got four competitors competing to play in midfield, and the best will always play, so I just need to provide the best that I can, and the day they need me, I will be ready. All of us four midfielders are pretty different, so it also depends on the game and how the coach sees the game. But yeah, they are really nice, and if it’s not me, then I’m happy for the one who’s playing, and I’ll be ready to be the backup.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.