The story of Adji Ndiaye, goalkeeper and international striker
Adji Ndiaye is both a goalkeeper and a striker at international level. At 17, she has already won the Senegal title twice.
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It is the remarkable story of a prodigy who can frustrate opposing strikers one day, and tie the opposing defence in knots the next. At just 17, Adji Ndiaye is shining with her exceptional versatility for Senegal's senior women's team and the U20s. In the space of two weeks, the Dakar Sacré-Cœur goalkeeper has shown her class between the posts, but also in front of goal. Usually a goalkeeper for her club and the senior national team, she surprisingly played brilliantly up front for the U20s, scoring one of Senegal's two goals in their 2-0 win over Benin U20.
Brilliant in goal for her club
Trained by the well-known "Thiaré", who set up a centre for goalkeepers, Adji Ndiaye joined Union sportive des Parcelles Assainies (USPA) in 2021. Playing in goal for the Blue and Whites, she won the Senegal women's D1 title. Her performances attracted Dakar Sacré-Cœur, who wanted her in their goal. "I signed her as a goalkeeper. I had heard about her qualities and did everything to bring her in so that she would keep goal for Dakar Sacré-Cœur. That is the position I used her in all of last season," explained Aïssatou Seck, the former Dakar Sacré-Cœur coach, speaking to Sport News Africa.
For coach Aïssatou Seck, Adji Ndiaye has everything needed to shine in gloves. Without saying so outright, she would like to see her former protégée settle permanently in goal. "She is a very good goalkeeper. For me, it is her natural position. Now, it is a gift that she can also excel as a centre-forward. I preferred her in goal because she reassures her defence, she is confident, and she radiates calm despite her young age. She has a bright future ahead of her. I hope she will be able to cash in on her talent in Europe," she insisted.
Aissatou Seck continued: "Usually, when we played games among ourselves, she played as a striker. But it was just for fun that we let her play as a 9 in training. I think it comes naturally to her. I don't know whether she has worked on it," said the new USPA coach. After shining in goal for the Parcelles Assainies club, she did it again at Sacré-Cœur, with another league title at the end of it. Her 2nd in a row. For two years she has been involved with the U17 and U20 national teams. And as a young woman in a hurry, Adji Ndiaye is already a senior international.
Iron gloves and velvet feet with the national teams
Called up as one of four goalkeepers in Senegal's senior squad, Adji Ndiaye ultimately missed the cut for the final list for the 2022 Women's AFCON. But at 16, the player already represents the future of that team. "She fitted in well in the senior team with Mame Moussa Cissé. I gave her a lot of advice. I remember her first match with the seniors, against Ghana. She didn't have a great game. We spoke on the phone, she was disappointed with her performance and I comforted her by reminding her that it was normal for a first cap. It was the senior national team, she needed to find her feet, and afterwards she did very well. Today she is making Senegalese people happy," insisted coach Aïssatou Seck.
A starter on 22 and 25 September in Senegal's last two outings in 2024 AFCON qualifying against Mozambique, Adji Ndiaye made a major contribution to the Lionesses reaching the next round. Two weeks after that achievement, she was involved with the U20 team against Benin in qualifying for the age-group World Cup. Picked from three goalkeepers by head coach Mbayang Thiam, she was started, to general surprise, as a centre-forward. It was a smart idea that paid off, with Senegal winning 2-0 thanks to a goal from Adji Ndiaye.
"It's not new. She had already played as a striker in the last U20 World Cup qualifiers. She had also played in midfield. She was an outfield player before becoming a goalkeeper. Whenever we judge that she can bring something, we play her up front," the Young Lionesses coach said after that first leg at the Lat Dior stadium in Thiès. She added : "For the moment, she is also happy in that striker role. Having started out as a striker also helps her when she plays in goal. We will see what happens for the rest of her career."
A future in goal
A little over a decade ago, the Senegal women's team already had a striker who switched to goalkeeper. "Oulèye Dièye, the current goalkeeping coach of the U20 women's team, also started out as a striker before ending up in goal. She had a great career with the Senegal team," said Mame Moussa Cissé. Reached by phone by SNA, the Lionesses coach admitted he had never had such a case in a national team. "It is the first time I have had a player able to operate as both a centre-forward and a goalkeeper. Even if you realise that some goalkeepers have the ability to be outfield players."
Although she has never been used as a centre-forward in the senior national team so far, her qualities as a striker are plain to see for Mame Moussa Cissé. "These things can happen. There is versatility among outfield players, with some able to play full-back, midfield or wide... But Adji has real ability to play. Every time I use her as an outfield player, even in training, she shows very good things. She has good technique and good vision. Physically, too, she has the attributes. She could also succeed in that centre-forward position," he suggested.
Trends in modern football, with goalkeepers who are good with their feet, give an edge to profiles like Adji's. "In the senior team, I play her as a goalkeeper. I had already talked to her about this before the AFCON. I told her she had real ability to play out on the pitch. I invited her to look at it more closely. I had concerns about her height, whether she would grow a bit more, because in modern football her height could be a handicap. She has real potential as a goalkeeper. She gets down quickly, with good handling and good reading of the game. She has one more thing going for her: with her outfield player's technique, she is able to distribute cleanly from the back, alternating between long and short passing. That is an asset," conceded the Senegal head coach.
To hope for a professional career outside Senegal, young Adji Ndiaye knows she has a choice to make: play up front or in goal. The balance seems to be tilting towards the latter, especially with her recent starts in goal for the Lionesses in the absence of Téning Sène. "After talking it over, she told me: Coach, 'I prefer to stay a goalkeeper, that is the position where I think I will succeed.' I respect her choice, even though we haven't talked about it again," said the Senegal women's team coach.