In the summer of 2002, Liverpool were a club with big ambitions.
After a historic treble in 2000/01, the Reds also qualified for the Champions League for the first time since its reformation in 1992. For a club such a proud history with the European Cup, this was where Liverpool belonged.
That season saw Liverpool lose in the quarter-final to Bayer Leverkusen, as well as finishing second in the Premier League. But with Gerard Houllier at the helm, it felt as though the club was on the rise and the Reds were ready to show ambition in the transfer market in the hopes of making the next step.
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Liverpool's summer spending spree in 2002 has since gone down in infamy. El Hadji Diouf, Salif Diao and Bruno Cheyrou being widely consider as three of the worst signings the club has ever made and the window marked a turning point in Houllier's reign.
But they weren't the only incomings that summer. As well as little known French goalkeeper Patrice Luzi, the Reds would swoop for one of the most promising young midfielders in Europe.
Indeed, on this day 20 years ago, a 20-year-old Alou Diarra was confirmed as a Liverpool player, the Reds reportedly having beaten Juventus to his signature.
Joining on a free transfer from Bayern Munich, Diarra arrived with plenty of potential but not much senior experience. He had made 42 appearances for the German club’s reserve team, but had never featured for the first-team.
Despite this, he came with a promising reputation having represented France at youth level and playing in a Bayern reserve team alongside the likes of Owen Hargreaves, Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger. He'd even made the bench for several of the club's senior games, despite not getting on the pitch.
He'd even find himself likened to Patrick Vieira by then-France under-21 manager Raymond Domenech.
"Alou has talent, it is undeniable," he said following his move to Anfield. "Anyway, when the Germans are interested by a Frenchman, it is not by chance, especially if he plays at Louhans-Cuiseaux.
"Today, Gerard Houllier trusts him, that is also a sign.
"When I saw him for the first time, I though it was Patrick Vieira's twin.
"He has the same ability as Pat to accelerate, and to recuperate. Moreover, he is more outstanding in the air at the same age."
But having rejected a new contract with the Germans in search of first-team football, Diarra signed a five-year deal with the Reds, making his debut in a friendly against Le Havre - a team he'd then join on loan for the new season.
"After spending one season with Bayern Munich's reserve team and another one to train with the members of the professional team, Le Havre is definitely a great opportunity for me,” Diarra said back in 2002.
"This loan is an ideal springboard for me, I am coming to Le Havre with great ambitions, starting with helping the club to survive in the top-flight.
"Personally it is also important for me to have a good season because I want to go back to Liverpool next year and be part of the first team.
"The Premier League has always been like a dream for me and playing for them would be something fantastic. I also want to win my place with the Under-21 France national team.
"However I know that I will need some time to be fully ready for Le Havre. I have followed the preparation training with Liverpool but we resumed three weeks after the French teams did."
Despite his ambition, Diarra wouldn't get his wish to play for Liverpool's first team after 25 appearances for Le Havre.
Instead, one loan turned into two more for the young midfielder. Stints at Bastia and Lens followed, but still he could not get into the team at Liverpool.
And by the time he was loaned out to Lens, a new manager was in charge at Anfield. Rafa Benitez had replaced Houllier in the summer of 2004, and it soon became clear that Diarra was not to be part of the Spaniard’s plans.
It was at Lens where Diarra’s views changed. Now a full international after Domenech had moved to the senior side and handed him his debut, he was no longer was he thinking about a career at Liverpool, but of settling down in France.
When asked about his future, the midfielder didn’t even hide his thoughts on what he wanted to do next. He even made a plea to Liverpool to arrange a permanent move away from Anfield.
"I have found a well-balanced life here," said Diarra during his loan stint in 2004/05. "Lens are ambitious and it is due to this club that I have become an international player.
"Perhaps an agreement can be found between Liverpool and Racing. I hope so because it would be sad not to be a part of this adventure."
In the end a permanent move would be sorted out between the two clubs. Diarra would sign for Lens in the summer of 2005, ending his three-year spell at Anfield without making a single first-team appearance for Liverpool.
And it wouldn't be long before Diarra's career burst into life.
First he was linked with a move back to the Premier League with Arsenal, where Arsene Wenger was looking for his new Vieira, but instead he'd stay in France, where he'd be signed once again for Houllier, who was in charge of French champions Lyon.
However, Diarra didn't see eye-to-eye with the man who signed him twice, complaining about his lack of playing time and refusing to play in a reserve game. This led to Houllier questioning his midfielder's ego, as well as demanding he apologise to his team-mates.
Little surprise, then, that a move to Bordeaux would follow that summer and here Diarra established himself as a key midfielder in the French league and won Ligue 1 in 2008/09.
This ended up surprising Uli Hoeness, who was director at Bayern Munich at the time. Diarra wore the captain’s armband several times at Bordeaux in the 2008/09 season, including three times in the Champions League, and even earned several caps for the France national team.
In 2009, Hoeness expressed his shock at how Diarra had progressed to become a key player in France.
"If somebody had told me this five years ago and bet on it with me, I would have lost a fortune," Hoeness told the Bild newspaper
"For me, that is like the seventh wonder of the world that he is captain of this team and even plays for the national team."
Diarra would in fact go on to earn 44 caps for France, playing in the 2006 World Cup, where France reached the final, and even wearing the captain’s armband on a number of occasions.
It wasn't until 2016 that Diarra admitted that it was a mistake to join Liverpool when he did. Having later spent time in the Premier League with West Ham, the midfielder acknowledged that he made the move to Anfield too soon in his career.
“I had to match a desired profile, which was to support the squad, but that was all – nothing more,” Diarra told Get French Football News.
While on the subject of his time in England, Diarra was much harsher about his stint at West Ham. He made 14 appearances for the Hammers while contracted to the club for two years.
And Diarra, who had another loan spell back in France with Stade Rennais in the middle of his time in East London, took aim at his then manager, Sam Allardyce.
“I learned nothing in terms of football at West Ham. I do not blame anyone, the coach had his own style which he had implemented for many years. It turns out in the end to be a bad career move for me," he said.
“I think it is best for the benefit of both parties to terminate the deal amicably and leave on good terms. I couldn’t stay in such a situation much longer.
“It was difficult to co-exist with a manager who did not play with the same philosophy as I. We did not have the same footballing vision.”
"I feel I have lost two years in a career, it counts,” he added.
"There was no solution. I was very ill-advised.
"Me, I left Marseilles very determined, with an international status, to bring my experience of the Champions League, the big games.
"I arrived at a club that came from [the second division], whose coach did not count on me. The dice were loaded from the start."
After leaving West Ham he'd stay in London, moving to Charlton Athletic for a short spell before returning to France to join Nancy, where he'd finish his playing days.
Diarra would return to Lens - a club where he enjoyed success as a player - to begin his coaching career in 2018. Moving to Troyes this summer as his first managerial post.
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