They discovered it the moment he stepped onto the playing field. Ali Dia is known in the football world as one of the biggest embarrassments in all of English football history.
By Gonzalo Cáceres – journalist
His ephemeral passage through the Southampton in 1996 became a story that is told time and time again in football circles.
The case begins when the then manager of Southampton, Scotsman Graeme Sounessreceived a phone call in which the Liberian George Weah, star of AC Milan at the time, supposedly recommended his cousin, Ali Dia.
Despite the serious doubts about the legitimacy of the recommendationthe desperate Souness decided to give Dia a chance and Without further ado, he signed him for Southamptonwho was submerged in a deep institutional-sports crisis.
On November 23, 1996, Dia made her debut with the 33 shirt and came on as a substitute at minute 32, in a match against Leeds United. However, As soon as he stepped onto the pitch, it became clear that he did not have the level required to play in the Premier. His acting was poorwith little impact on the process and an evident lack of skills and tactical knowledge. He wandered around the field of play for around 53 minutes before being substituted due to an alleged injury.
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Southampton scouts realized they had made a mistake and that Dia was not even remotely the footballer they were told about. Souness telephoned Weah himself to ask for an explanation and discovered that the African star had never called him, that he did not have a cousin named Ali Dia and that he did not know what was happening to him either. Later the call was revealed to be a prank by a student named Neil Beasant, a friend of Dia’s.
George Weah. Photo: Getty.
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the attacker he was fired from the club in the following days, without explanations and avoiding the press. He never played in an elite league again.
Dia, who until before the scandal toured amateur clubs in France, Finland, Germany and England, returned to his adventures. He was last seen by Gateshead Football Club, of the English sixth division, in 1999. on his sheet That only set as a professional remained, the best 53 minutes of his career.
This story became known as one of the most embarrassing mistakes in the Premier League. It is a reminder of the importance of research and proper evaluation of players before signing themas well as the influence that word of mouth can have in the world of football.
Perhaps the only photo of Dia as a Southampton player. Photo: Getty.
Despite his so brief and very unfortunate stint in the Premier Leaguethe name of A.li Dia is kept alive as a reminder that even in football, a sport where dreams come true, sometimes things don’t turn out as expected and quite strange situations occur.
