After enduring a disappointing spell with Liverpool, the 24-year-old midfielder has revived his career with Lens this season. Diarra began his playing days with CS Louhans-Cuiseaux before moving to Bayern Munich in 2000. He failed to break in to the Bavarian giants' first team though and spent a period on loan at SC Freiburg. Then Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier signed him in 2002 but he failed to make a first-team appearance for the Reds and, after loan spells with Le Havre, Bastia and Lens, he signed for the latter on a permanent basis last summer.