Ali Dia famously played 53 minutes for Southampton after being portrayed as George Weah’s cousin 20 years ago
Two decades after that bogus phone call to Graeme Souness, Dia gives his account of what really happened
THE notorious Ali Dia has finally given his version of the famous events that saw him enter soccer folklore after playing just 53 minutes for Southampton in 1996.
It was a mini-episode that captured the front and back pages, and dominated Premier League talk as the Saints battled relegation.
The story goes that Graeme Souness took a call in the manager's office at Southampton from a man claiming to be 1995 World Player of the Year George Weah.
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Souness's eyes lit up when the caller went on suggest that his cousin, the infamous Ali Dia, was a player he believed could keep the struggling Saints in the top flight.
Weah was heading up AC Milan's attack at the time; his cousin had allegedly played with him at Paris St Germain and had both played and scored for Senegal.
On the basis of this information Dia was signed on a one-month contract and handed the No 33 shirt.
It has always been assumed that Dia played in one five-a-side trial - something Dia denies - and the next day faced Leeds United.
The striker came on as a substitute after 32 minutes for the mercurial Matt Le Tissier...and was hopeless.
Le Tissier said: "He ran around the pitch like Bambi on ice. It was very, very embarrassing to watch. Souness actually had to take him off again because he was actually that bad."
Leeds won 2-0, Dia came off in the 85th minute and within two weeks was released, moving on to non-league Gateshead where he scored twice in eight games.
Dia, now a businessman looking to find a European base and move his family from Asia, admits he has been upset by how he's been characterised ever since.
Tracked down by , he blasted: "They have portrayed me as a liar, and that is bull.
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"I did play for Paris Saint-Germain, in the second tier, in 1986-'88. And I helped win the Paris Cup, in either 1986 or 1987...it's been a while."
Dia's version of events differs from many of the accounts of his brief time on the south coast.
He says a friend introduced him to a UK-based African agent by the name of Bachrir Souleman in 1994 and it was he who arranged Dia's contract with Southampton.
What's more, Dia says he trained with the Saints for a month-and-a-half before entering that Premier League match against Leeds.
Contrary to reports, the team didn't just assess his football talent through observing him in five-a-side the day before the game.
"I trained against the first team, on the reserve team for two weeks," Dia insists. "[Southampton] knew my abilities. There was a final game before the Leeds game—11 on 11—and I scored two or three goals. I was on fire.
"I earned the spot to be there. Souness said, 'You are in for tomorrow, be ready.' I was not expecting to start. Then the next thing you know, Le Tissier gets injured and I go in. No warm-ups, I just go in."
Dia says people can think what they want about his performance in the game; he gave it his all, and he has no regrets.
"I have a clear conscience. God is going to be our judge."
By the way, Southampton avoided relegation that season, finishing one place above the drop zone thanks to a better goal difference than Manchester City.