1. Early life and background
Haidara began his football career with the JMG Academy Bamako in Mali. This early development laid the foundation for his professional journey in European football.
2. Club career
Amadou Haidara's professional club career began in Austria with FC Red Bull Salzburg before he moved to Germany to play for RB Leipzig. His time with these clubs has seen him contribute to several domestic and international successes.
2.1. Red Bull Salzburg
In July 2016, Haidara was signed by Austrian club FC Red Bull Salzburg. Upon his arrival, he was immediately sent on loan to their farm team, FC Liefering, which competes in the second division of Austrian football. He made his first appearance for Liefering in the third round of the 2016-17 league season against LASK Linz. He entered the match as a substitute for Gideon Mensah after the halftime break and scored his first goal for Liefering in the 48th minute. During his loan spell, he played in 25 league matches and scored two goals for Liefering.
Concurrently, Haidara also represented the FC Red Bull Salzburg U-19 team in the UEFA Youth League, where he notably scored two goals against FK Vardar.
After his loan spell, Haidara returned to Red Bull Salzburg. In the 2016-17 season, he made 7 official appearances, scoring 2 goals, contributing to Salzburg's league and Austrian Cup triumphs. His contributions continued through the 2018-19 season, during which he made a total of 76 official appearances for the club, scoring 11 goals. During this period, Salzburg secured two consecutive league titles and reached the final of the 2017-18 Austrian Cup.
The 2017-18 season marked Salzburg's most successful European campaign to date. The team topped their UEFA Europa League group for a record fourth time and progressed to the semi-finals by defeating notable clubs such as Real Sociedad and Borussia Dortmund. Haidara played in the Europa League semi-final match on May 3, 2018, where Salzburg faced Olympique de Marseille. Despite winning the home leg 2-1, Salzburg lost 3-2 on aggregate, missing out on a place in the 2018 UEFA Europa League Final.
2.2. RB Leipzig
On December 22, 2018, Haidara made a significant move to German club RB Leipzig. He quickly made an impact, scoring his first Bundesliga goal on March 30, 2019, in a decisive 5-0 victory over Hertha BSC.
Haidara played a crucial role in RB Leipzig's domestic and European campaigns. In the 2019-20 season, the club achieved a historic milestone by reaching the Champions League semi-finals. On December 8, 2020, he scored his first Champions League goal in a thrilling 3-2 win against Manchester United during the 2020-21 season.
During his tenure with RB Leipzig, Haidara contributed to the club's consistent performance in the Bundesliga, including two consecutive third-place finishes in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons, and a second-place finish in the 2020-21 season. He was also part of the squads that reached the DFB-Pokal final twice, in 2018-19 and 2020-21, before securing two DFB-Pokal titles in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
3. International career
Amadou Haidara has represented Mali at various youth levels and has been a consistent presence in the senior national team, participating in World Cup qualifiers and the Africa Cup of Nations.
3.1. Youth national teams
Haidara was a key player for the Malian U17 team. He played seven matches and scored two goals during the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup. His contributions were instrumental in Mali's historic achievement of finishing as runner-up in the tournament, marking the nation's best-ever performance in a FIFA-sanctioned competition. He also made three appearances for the Malian U20 team.
3.2. Senior national team
Haidara made his senior debut for the Mali national football team on October 6, 2017. This debut came in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification third round match against the Ivory Coast, which was a Group A fixture.
His first international goal for the senior team was scored on July 2, 2019, during the final group stage match of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations against Angola. His goal helped Mali secure a 1-0 victory and advance to the Round of 16. However, Mali was subsequently eliminated from the tournament after a 0-1 defeat to Ivory Coast in the next stage.
4. Career statistics
The following tables detail Amadou Haidara's professional career statistics at both club and international levels, including appearances and goals across various competitions.
4.1. Club statistics
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Liefering (loan) | 2016-17 | Austrian First League | 25 | 2 | - | - | - | 25 | 2 | |||
| Red Bull Salzburg | 2016-17 | Austrian Bundesliga | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | 7 | 2 | |
| 2017-18 | Austrian Bundesliga | 31 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 18 | 4 | - | 55 | 8 | ||
| 2018-19 | Austrian Bundesliga | 12 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | - | 21 | 3 | ||
| Total | 48 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 25 | 5 | - | 83 | 13 | |||
| RB Leipzig | 2018-19 | Bundesliga | 9 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 12 | 1 | |
| 2019-20 | Bundesliga | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | - | 28 | 0 | ||
| 2020-21 | Bundesliga | 31 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 1 | - | 43 | 6 | ||
| 2021-22 | Bundesliga | 20 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 0 | - | 28 | 4 | ||
| 2022-23 | Bundesliga | 31 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 2 | |
| 2023-24 | Bundesliga | 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | - | 27 | 2 | ||
| 2024-25 | Bundesliga | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | - | 29 | 0 | ||
| Total | 149 | 11 | 22 | 3 | 39 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 211 | 15 | ||
| Career total | 222 | 19 | 32 | 5 | 64 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 319 | 30 | ||
Notes:
- The 'National cup' column includes appearances in the Austrian Cup and DFB-Pokal.
- For Red Bull Salzburg, the 'Europe' column includes appearances and goals in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. Specifically, in 2017-18, there were two appearances and one goal in the Champions League, and sixteen appearances and three goals in the Europa League. In 2018-19, there were three appearances in the Champions League and four appearances and one goal in the Europa League.
- For RB Leipzig, the 'Europe' column primarily includes appearances in the UEFA Champions League, with additional appearances in the UEFA Europa League for the 2021-22 season (four in Champions League, two in Europa League). The 'Other' column for 2022-23 includes an appearance in the DFL-Supercup.
4.2. International statistics
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mali | 2017 | 2 | 0 |
| 2018 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 10 | 0 | |
| Total | 46 | 2 | |
Scores and results list Mali's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | July 1, 2019 | Ismailia Stadium, Ismailia, Egypt | Angola | 1-0 | 1-0 | 2019 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 2. | October 9, 2020 | Emirhan Sport Center Stadium, Side, Turkey | Ghana | 3-0 | 3-0 | Friendly |
5. Honours
Amadou Haidara has earned numerous team and individual accolades throughout his professional career.
5.1. Club honours
Red Bull Salzburg
- Austrian Bundesliga:
- Winner: 2016-17, 2017-18
- Austrian Cup:
- Winner: 2016-17
- Runner-up: 2017-18
- UEFA Europa League:
- Semi-finalist: 2017-18
RB Leipzig
- DFB-Pokal:
- Winner: 2021-22, 2022-23
- Runner-up: 2018-19, 2020-21
- Bundesliga:
- Runner-up: 2020-21
- Third place: 2018-19, 2019-20
- UEFA Champions League:
- Semi-finalist: 2019-20
5.2. International honours
Mali U17
- FIFA U-17 World Cup:
- Runner-up: 2015
5.3. Individual honours
- Austrian Bundesliga Team of the Year: 2017-18