Mamady Sidibe, nicknamed “Big Mama”, was born on December 18, 1979 in Bamako, Mali. This football striker, who also plays as a target man, is multilingual and can speak both English and French. Being 6’ 4” in height, he can receive aerial balls with ease; however, he is just as comfortable with the ball at his feet.
Mamady Sidibe represented the Mali national football team in 2002 for the first time, and since then, he has become a regular player for the squad. He represented the national team in the 2007 African Cup of Nations (ACN), which was held in Togo. He was also included in the national squad for the 2008 ACN, and on January 21, 2008, Mamady Sidibe was called up to play in a match against Benin. He then made an appearance during the 2010 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Word Cup qualifying match against Congo with the national team.
Mamady Sidibe started his career with CA Paris-Charenton, a French football team, but on August 25, 2001, he was signed by Swansea City. During his debut season with Swansea City, he scored 8 goals and played in 35 games. In August 2002, he joined Gillingham, an English football club, and made 34 appearances and scored four goals for this club. During the following season, he played another 45 games for Gillingham and made six goals. Mamady Sidibe represented the club in various tournaments, like the League Championships (in the 2002-03 season), the Football Associations (FA) Cup (in the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons) and the Carling Cup (in the 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons).
In June 2005, he moved to Stoke City and was the club’s only striker on the field at the early stages of the 2005-06 season. During this season, Mamady Sidibe played in 47 games and scored a total of 7 goals. In the next season, he again showed off his strong football skills by appearing in 46 matches and scoring another 9 goals. The 2007-08 season also proved to be a good season for Mamady Sidibe, as he got to play in 35 Premiership games, scored 4 goals and appeared in one FA Cup game.
