Ali Dia: Difference between revisions

Ali Dia
Personal information
Full name	Ali Dia
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team
1988–1989	Beauvais
1989–1990	Dijon
1990–1991	La Rochelle
1991–1992	Saint-Quentin
1995	FinnPa
1995	PK-35
1995	VfB Lübeck
1996	Blyth Spartans
1996	Southampton
1996–1997	Gateshead
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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Revision as of 16:50, 14 September 2011

Ali Dia (born 20 August 1965 in Dakar) is a former professional Senegalese footballer who once played for the English FA Premier League club Southampton after falsely claiming to be a cousin of Liberian international George Weah.^[1]

Career

After a playing career at the lower levels in France and Germany, and having already had failed trials at Port Vale, Gillingham, and Bournemouth, Dia joined non-league club Blyth Spartans, where he made only one substitute appearance - on 9 November 1996 in a Northern Premier League game against Boston United.^{[citation needed]}

Days later, Dia was signed by Southampton manager Graeme Souness, after Souness received a phone call purporting to be from Liberian international and former FIFA World Player of the Year, George Weah. "Weah" told Souness that Dia was his cousin, had played for Paris Saint-Germain, and had played 13 times for his country. None of this was actually true, and the phone call was made by a fellow university student of Dia's to Souness, suggesting that he should give Dia a chance with Southampton.^[2] Souness was convinced, and signed Dia on a one-month contract.

Dia played just one game for Southampton, wearing the number 33 shirt, against Leeds United on 23 November 1996; he had originally been scheduled to play in a reserve friendly against Arsenal, but the match was cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch. In the match against Leeds, he came on as a substitute for Matthew Le Tissier after 32 minutes, but his performance was spectacularly below Premier League quality.^{[citation needed]} He was later substituted (for Ken Monkou) after playing for 53 minutes;^[3] Leeds won the match 2–0. Le Tissier said: "He ran around the pitch like Bambi on ice; it was very embarrassing to watch."^[4]

Dia was released by Southampton two weeks into his contract.^{[citation needed]} He briefly played for non-league Gateshead, before leaving in February 1997.^[1] Dia only played 8 games for the North East outfit, including scoring on his debut in a 5–0 win over Bath City.^[5]

He went on to study business at Northumbria University in Newcastle, graduating in 2001.^[6]

Legacy

Dia has achieved a notorious status amongst English football fans for his lack of ability, and is regularly featured in lists of bad players or bad transfers.^[1]^[7] He was named at Number 1 in a list of "The 50 worst footballers" in The Times newspaper.^[8]

He was also named the Number 1 in a list of the "Top 10 rubbish footballers" in The Sun newspaper,^[9] and again at Number 4 in a list for the Top 50 worst strikers according to the Daily Mail.^[10]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Hills, David (6 August 2000). "The 10 worst foreign signings of all time". The Observer. London. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
^ "Never again..." BBC Sport. 1 April 2003. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
^ Holley, Duncan (2003). In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. Hagiology. pp. 248 & 504. ISBN 0-9534474-3-X. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ Thom Gibbs (2011-02-07). "Five terrible debuts to make Fernando Torres fell better". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2011-09-14.
^ "Gateshead F.C. Season 1996/97". Unofficial Gateshead Football Club Statistics Database. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
^ "Meet the BBC's guest editor (and other accidental heroes)". The Independent. London. 17 May 2006. Retrieved 14 October 2008.
^ "Premiership's Top 10 Foreign Flops". whoateallthepies.tv. Archived from the original on 2008-05-25.
^ Murphy, Alex (4 July 2007). "The 50 worst footballers". The Times. London. Retrieved 20 July 2007.
^ Glicksman, Gavin (23 February 2009). "Top 10 rubbish footballers". The Sun. London. Retrieved 15 May 2009.
^ Bellwood, Tom (9 October 2009). "Top 50 Worst Strikers in the Premier League". Daily Mail. London. Retrieved 9 October 2009.

Template:Persondata

[observer-1] Hills, David (6 August 2000). "The 10 worst foreign signings of all time". The Observer. London. Retrieved 16 March 2010.

[2] "Never again..." BBC Sport. 1 April 2003. Retrieved 16 August 2010.

[3] Holley, Duncan (2003). In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. Hagiology. pp. 248 & 504. ISBN 0-9534474-3-X. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

[4] Thom Gibbs (2011-02-07). "Five terrible debuts to make Fernando Torres fell better". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2011-09-14.

[5] "Gateshead F.C. Season 1996/97". Unofficial Gateshead Football Club Statistics Database. Retrieved 23 July 2011.

[6] "Meet the BBC's guest editor (and other accidental heroes)". The Independent. London. 17 May 2006. Retrieved 14 October 2008.

[7] "Premiership's Top 10 Foreign Flops". whoateallthepies.tv. Archived from the original on 2008-05-25.

[8] Murphy, Alex (4 July 2007). "The 50 worst footballers". The Times. London. Retrieved 20 July 2007.

[9] Glicksman, Gavin (23 February 2009). "Top 10 rubbish footballers". The Sun. London. Retrieved 15 May 2009.

[10] Bellwood, Tom (9 October 2009). "Top 50 Worst Strikers in the Premier League". Daily Mail. London. Retrieved 9 October 2009.

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@@ Line 58: / Line 58: @@
 After a playing career at the lower levels in France and Germany, and having already had failed trials at [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]], [[Gillingham F.C.|Gillingham]], and [[A.F.C. Bournemouth|Bournemouth]], Dia joined non-league club [[Blyth Spartans A.F.C.|Blyth Spartans]], where he made only one substitute appearance - on 9 November 1996 in a [[Northern Premier League]] game against [[Boston United F.C.|Boston United]].{{citation needed|date=October 2010}}
-Days later, Dia was signed by Southampton manager [[Graeme Souness]], after Souness received a phone call purporting to be from [[Liberia national football team|Liberian international]] and former [[FIFA World Player of the Year]], [[George Weah]]. "Weah" told Souness that Dia was his cousin, had played for [[Paris Saint-Germain]], and had played 13 times for his country. Actually, none of this was true, and the phone call was made by a fellow university student of Dia's to Souness, suggesting that he should give Dia a chance with the Saints.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/2902411.stm | title=Never again... | work=[[BBC Sport]] |date=1 April 2003 |accessdate=16 August 2010 }}</ref> Nonetheless, Souness was convinced, and signed Dia on a one-month contract.
+Days later, Dia was signed by Southampton manager [[Graeme Souness]], after Souness received a phone call purporting to be from [[Liberia national football team|Liberian international]] and former [[FIFA World Player of the Year]], [[George Weah]]. "Weah" told Souness that Dia was his cousin, had played for [[Paris Saint-Germain]], and had played 13 times for his country. None of this was actually true, and the phone call was made by a fellow university student of Dia's to Souness, suggesting that he should give Dia a chance with Southampton.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/2902411.stm | title=Never again... | work=[[BBC Sport]] |date=1 April 2003 |accessdate=16 August 2010 }}</ref> Souness was convinced, and signed Dia on a one-month contract.
-Dia played just one game for Southampton, in the number 33 shirt, against [[Leeds United A.F.C.|Leeds United]] on 23 November 1996; he had originally been scheduled to play in a reserve friendly against [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]], but the match was cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch. In the match against Leeds, he came on as a substitute for [[Matthew Le Tissier]] after 32 minutes, but his performance was spectacularly below Premier League quality. He was later substituted (for [[Ken Monkou]]) after playing for 53 minutes;<ref>{{cite book| title=In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC |last= Holley |first= Duncan |coauthors= Chalk, Gary | publisher=[[Hagiology Publishing|Hagiology]] | year=2003 | isbn=0-9534474-3-X|pages=248 & 504}}</ref> Leeds won the match 2–0.
+Dia played just one game for Southampton, wearing the number 33 shirt, against [[Leeds United A.F.C.|Leeds United]] on 23 November 1996; he had originally been scheduled to play in a reserve friendly against [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]], but the match was cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch. In the match against Leeds, he came on as a substitute for [[Matthew Le Tissier]] after 32 minutes, but his performance was spectacularly below Premier League quality.{{cn}} He was later substituted (for [[Ken Monkou]]) after playing for 53 minutes;<ref>{{cite book| title=In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC |last= Holley |first= Duncan |coauthors= Chalk, Gary | publisher=[[Hagiology Publishing|Hagiology]] | year=2003 | isbn=0-9534474-3-X|pages=248 & 504}}</ref> Leeds won the match 2–0.  Le Tissier said: "He ran around the pitch like Bambi on ice; it was very embarrassing to watch."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/8309048/Five-terrible-debuts-to-make-Fernando-Torres-feel-better.html|title=Five terrible debuts to make Fernando Torres fell better|publisher=[[The Telegraph]]|author=Thom Gibbs|date=2011-02-07|accessdate=2011-09-14}}</ref>
+Dia was released by Southampton two weeks into his contract.{{cn}} He briefly played for non-league [[Gateshead F.C.|Gateshead]], before leaving in February 1997.<ref name="observer" /> Dia only played 8 games for the North East outfit, including scoring on his debut in a 5–0 win over [[Bath City F.C.|Bath City]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gfcstats.webs.com/9697.htm|title=Gateshead F.C. Season 1996/97|publisher=Unofficial Gateshead Football Club Statistics Database|accessdate=23 July 2011}}</ref>
-Le Tissier himself recalled the story in a television interview, telling that Dia spent only a weekend at the club. He first came down to train with the team on Friday morning and that he "didn't look very good" and Southampton players thought that they would "never see him again", but then, on the next day, Dia was surprisingly named to the subs' bench. His performance on the field after he came on to replace Le Tissier "was unbelievable. He ran around the pitch like Bambi on ice; it was very, very embarrassing to watch." Yet, according to the team's physiotherapist, on Sunday morning Dia "turned up for treatment of an injury", and "then he left, and we never saw him again ... nobody knows where he went."<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyT1r_oVcdA Matt Le Tissier recounts the Ali Dia saga on youtube]</ref>
-Dia was released by Southampton two weeks into his contract. He briefly played for non-league [[Gateshead F.C.|Gateshead]], before leaving in February 1997.<ref name="observer" /> Dia only played 8 games for the North East outfit, including scoring on his debut in a 5–0 win over [[Bath City F.C.|Bath City]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gfcstats.webs.com/9697.htm|title=Gateshead F.C. Season 1996/97|publisher=Unofficial Gateshead Football Club Statistics Database|accessdate=23 July 2011}}</ref>
 He went on to study business at [[Northumbria University]] in Newcastle, graduating in 2001.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/meet-the-bbcs-guest-editor-and-other-accidental-heroes-478556.html | title=Meet the BBC's guest editor (and other accidental heroes) | work=[[The Independent]] |date=17 May 2006 |accessdate=14 October 2008 | location=London}}</ref>