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Ali Dia

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Not to be confused with Ali Daei.
Ali Dia
Personal information
Full name Ali Dia
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1989 Beauvais
1989–1990 Dijon
1990–1991 La Rochelle
1991–1992 Saint-Quentin
1995 FinnPa 5 (0)
1995 PK-35
1995 VfB Lübeck 2 (0)
1996 Blyth Spartans 1 (0)
1996 Southampton 1 (0)
1996–1997 Gateshead 8 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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 substituted himself (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

  1. ^ a b c 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. ^ Gibbs, Thom (7 February 2011). "Five terrible debuts to make Fernando Torres feel better". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  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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