Sidi Yaya Keita

Sidi Yaya Keita (born 20 March 1985) is a Malian retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.

Born in Bamako, Keita moved to France at only 18, signing for RC Strasbourg and spending his first year with the reserves, proceeding to be relatively used in the following two Ligue 1 seasons. He made his debut in the competition on 16 October 2004, playing 90 minutes in a 2–2 away draw against AC Ajaccio.

Keita joined fellow top-divisioner RC Lens in the 2006–07 season, for €4.5m, as a replacement for Alou Diarra who joined Olympique Lyonnais. On 25 August 2007 he scored his first goal as a professional, in a 1–2 loss at former club Strasbourg, but the campaign eventually ended in relegation.

On 31 August 2009 Keita was loaned to Xerez CD in Spain, as the Andalusians were having their first La Liga experience. He made his first appearance on 27 September in a 0–0 away draw against RCD Espanyol, and quickly won the battle for first-choice holding midfielder over legendary club player Vicente Moreno, but his team eventually dropped down a division.

After only eight league games with Lens in 2010–11, with the club again being relegated, Keita was released by Les Sang et Or.

Keita made his debut for the Mali national team on 3 September 2005, against the Democratic Republic of Congo. On 11 October 2008, he scored twice in a 2–1 home win against Chad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Keita's cousin, Seydou Keita, is also a footballer and a midfielder. He too represented Lens and, with great individual and team success, also played for FC Barcelona.

He is the nephew of Salif Keita, who played for, amongst others, AS Saint-Étienne and Valencia CF.

Strasbourg

• Coupe de la Ligue: 2004–05

Lens

• Ligue 2: 2008–09
• Coupe de la Ligue: Runner-up 2007–08