Ousmane Viera

Ousmane Viera Diarrassouba (born 21 December 1986) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. After beginning his career in Ivory Coast, he played for several clubs in Romania and Turkey, winning the Liga I and the Romanian Cup with CFR Cluj.

He represented the Ivory Coast national football team from 2012 to 2016, making 19 appearances and scoring one goal. He also participated in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, winning the latter tournament with Ivory Coast.

Club career Viera began his senior career with Daloa in 2003. He spent several seasons playing in the Ivorian league, where his performances attracted the attention of European scouts.

In January 2008, Viera joined CFR Cluj, a club competing in the Romanian top flight. During his first season, he won the Romanian league title and the Romanian Cup. In 2009, he was loaned to Internațional Curtea de Argeș.

After his loan spell, he joined Pandurii Târgu Jiu in 2010. Over the following three seasons, he played an important role in the club's historic qualification for European competitions at the end of the 2012–13 season.

In the summer of 2013, Viera joined Çaykur Rizespor, a club competing in the Süper Lig. He spent three seasons with the club.

In 2016, he signed for Adanaspor, who had been promoted to the Turkish top flight. He spent one season with the club before they were relegated, after which his contract expired.

After his spell in Turkey, Viera returned to Romania in 2018 and joined Sepsi OSK. He helped the club progress before moving to Hermannstadt in 2019. He remained there until 2021, when he retired from professional football after spending much of his career in the Romanian league.

International career Viera was selected by manager Gérard Gili to represent Ivory Coast at the 2008 Summer Olympics in China. During the Olympic tournament, he played four matches, against Argentina, Serbia, Australia, and Nigeria. Ivory Coast reached the quarter-finals of the competition.

He earned his first international cap on 6 September 2013 in a match against Morocco during the sixth and final round of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in Brazil. The match ended in a 1–1 draw.

He was named in Sabri Lamouchi's 23-man Ivory Coast national team squad for the FIFA World Cup. However, the team disappointed and was eliminated in the group stage despite being drawn in a seemingly manageable group. Viera did not play a single minute during the tournament.

Selected by Hervé Renard for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, he came on twice first in the group-stage match against Cameroon , and later in the semi-final against DR Congo. At the end of the tournament, he became African champion along with the rest of the team.

When Kolo Touré retired from international football, he referred to Viera as the "new Minister of Defence."

On 26 March 2015, he scored his first international goal in a friendly against Angola, helping Ivory Coast to a 2–0 victory.

Career statistics

International

Scores and results list Ivory Coast's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Viera goal. + List of international goals scored by Ousmane Viera # Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 26 March 2011 Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Ivory Coast 1–0 2–0 Friendly

Honours

CFR Cluj Liga I: 2007–08 Cupa României: 2007–08, 2008–09

Ivory Coast Africa Cup of Nations: 2015