Ali Dia

For the Iranian footballer, see Ali Daei.

Ali Dia

Personal information
Date of birth	(1965-08-20) 20 August 1965
Place of birth	Dakar, Senegal
Height
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	3	(1)
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) is a Senegalese former professional footballer who played as a striker.

In November 1996, Dia famously convinced then-manager of Southampton, Graeme Souness, that he was the cousin of FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or winner George Weah, which led to him signing a one-month contract with Southampton just days later. Dia played only one match in his short spell at the club before being released 14 days into his contract.

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.

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 to Souness was made by a fellow university student of Dia's, suggesting that he should give Dia a chance with Southampton. Souness was convinced, and without any due diligence, Dia was signed 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 team 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 was later substituted himself (for Ken Monkou) in the 85th minute; Leeds won the match 2–0. Le Tissier said: "He ran around the pitch like Bambi on ice; it was very embarrassing to watch."

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

He went on to study business at Northumbria University in Newcastle, graduating in 2001.

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. Dia was named at Number 1 in a list of "The 50 worst footballers" in The Times newspaper and in a list of the "Top 10 rubbish footballers" published in The Sun newspaper, and at Number 4 in a list for the Top 50 worst strikers according to the Daily Mail.

See also

• Alessandro Zarrelli: Italian footballer who gained similar notoriety

External links

• Premier League Record
• The Search for Ali Dia Legendary Football Hoaxster Turned Houdini (Menary, Steve: 15 October 2015)