Moustapha Salifou (born 1 June 1983) is a Togolese former professional footballer who plays mostly as a midfielder for German Bayernliga club Türkspor Augsburg. He has represented the Togo national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He spent four years at English Premier League club Aston Villa, the rest of his professional career has been spent at lower levels of the German, French and Swiss league systems. Club career Early career Born in Lomé, Salifou started his career in his native Togo with AC Merlan. The midfielder had fleeting stints with Swiss side FC Wil, French team Stade Brest 29 and German team Rot-Weiß Oberhausen, prior to moving to England. Aston Villa On 31 August 2007, Salifou signed a one-year deal with Aston Villa, joining for a nominal fee after a successful trial. Martin O'Neill commented that "He has great determination to succeed at this level and may well prove to be an excellent asset". Salifou encountered problems acquiring a work permit though, and was forced to train with his old club in Switzerland. It was reported on 25 September 2007 that the work permit had been granted and that Salifou was to join up with the squad within a week, however, he did not join up with his new club until 18 October 2007. Salifou made his debut for Aston Villa Reserves on 22 October 2007 creating two of the goals in a 6–0 win over Chelsea reserves. He made his debut for the first team on 12 January 2008 as a 90th-minute substitute in a 3–1 win against Reading. Despite not having played a game, his name was chanted loudly to the tune of the Boney M. song Daddy Cool by the Holte End. He was later rewarded with a one-year extension to his contract. Salifou made his second appearance for the club on 15 March 2008, coming on as a late substitute in the 2–0 away defeat at Portsmouth, as well as appearing in the 4–0 defeat to Manchester United. On 6 November 2008, Martin O'Neill decided to change his starting eleven for Villa's UEFA Cup match against Slavia Prague. Salifou started and played the full ninety minutes. Despite rarely featuring for the club at all during the 2009–10 season, Salifou was named in caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald's 22-man Premier League squad for 2010–11. He failed to make an impact during this season too, and underwent