{{Short description|Senegalese footballer (born 1965)}} {{for-multi|the Iranian footballer|Ali Daei|the Guinean footballer|Ali Badara Dia}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Ali Dia | image = | caption = | fullname = Aly Dia | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1965|8|20|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Dakar]], Senegal | height = {{height|m=1.78}} | position = [[Forward (association football)#Striker|Striker]] | youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 = | years1 = 1988–1989 | clubs1 = [[AS Beauvais|Beauvais]] | caps1 = 1 | goals1 = 0 | years2 = 1989–1990 | clubs2 = [[Dijon FCO|Dijon]] | caps2 = 0 | goals2 = 0 | years3 = 1990–1991 | clubs3 = [[ES La Rochelle|La Rochelle]] | caps3 = 1 | goals3 = 0 | years4 = 1991–1992 | clubs4 = [[Olympique Saint-Quentin|Saint-Quentin]] | caps4 = 6 | goals4 = 0 | years5 = 1993–1994 | clubs5 = [[Voltigeurs de Châteaubriant|Châteaubriant]] | caps5 = 1 | goals5 = 1 | years6 = 1995 | clubs6 = [[FinnPa]] | caps6 = 5 | goals6 = 1 | years7 = 1995 | clubs7 = [[PK-35 Vantaa (men)|PK-35]] | caps7 = 3 | goals7 = 1 | years8 = 1995 | clubs8 = [[VfB Lübeck]] | caps8 = 2 | goals8 = 0 | years9 = 1996 | clubs9 = [[Blyth Spartans A.F.C.|Blyth Spartans]] | caps9 = 1 | goals9 = 0 | years10 = 1996 | clubs10 = [[Southampton F.C.|Southampton]] | caps10 = 1 | goals10 = 0 | years11 = 1996–1997 | clubs11 = [[Gateshead F.C.|Gateshead]] | caps11 = 8 | goals11 = 2 | years12 = 1997–1998 | clubs12 = [[Spennymoor United F.C.|Spennymoor United]] | caps12 = 2 | goals12 = | totalcaps = 30 | totalgoals = 5 }} '''Aly Dia'''<ref name="Bleacher">{{cite web |last=Naqi |first=Kelly |date=23 November 2016 |title=Finding Ali Dia |url=http://thelab.bleacherreport.com/finding-ali-dia/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161123203442/http://thelab.bleacherreport.com/finding-ali-dia/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 November 2016 |access-date=23 November 2016 |website=[[Bleacher Report]] |publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.premierleague.com/players/1291/Aly-Dia/overview|title=Aly Dia Profile, News & Stats|publisher=Premier League|access-date=23 November 2016}}</ref> (born 20 August 1965), commonly known as '''Ali Dia''', is a Senegalese former professional [[Association football|footballer]] who played as a [[Forward (association football)#Striker|striker]].
In November 1996, Dia convinced [[Graeme Souness]], the [[Southampton F.C.|Southampton]] manager, 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 days later. Dia played only one match in his short spell at the club. He came on as a substitute in a league game, but was then himself substituted, only playing for 53 minutes. He was subsequently released, 14 days into his contract.<ref name="observer">{{cite news |last=Hills |first=David |date=6 August 2000 |title=The 10 worst foreign signings of all time |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2000/aug/06/newsstory.sport16 |access-date=18 December 2012 |newspaper=[[The Observer]]}}</ref>
== Career == After a playing career at the lower levels in France and Germany,<ref>{{cite web |title='Bambi on ice': The day football's greatest conman Ali Dia managed to play in the Premier League |url=https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/premier-league/bambi-on-ice-the-day-footballs-greatest-conman-ali-dia-managed-to-play-in-the-premier-league/news-story/7273ec0d1dea2cae9b1cba71fa0eb339 |work=Fox Sports |access-date=18 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241224151309/https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/premier-league/bambi-on-ice-the-day-footballs-greatest-conman-ali-dia-managed-to-play-in-the-premier-league/news-story/7273ec0d1dea2cae9b1cba71fa0eb339 |archive-date=24 December 2024 |date=28 April 2020}}</ref> and having already failed trials at [[Gillingham F.C.|Gillingham]], [[AFC Bournemouth|Bournemouth]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Alan |date=2016-11-22 |title='What's this geezer doing? He's hopeless' – the Ali Dia story |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/nov/22/ali-dia-story-20-years-on-southampton-souness |access-date=2024-07-16 |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> and [[Rotherham United F.C.|Rotherham United]], playing once in a reserve game for the last,<ref name="Bleacher Report">{{cite web |last=Menary |first=Steve |date=15 October 2015 |title=The Search for Ali Dia, Legendary Football Hoaxster Turned Houdini |url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2551248-the-search-for-ali-dia-legendary-football-hoaxster-turned-houdini |access-date=2024-07-16 |website=[[Bleacher Report]] |publisher=}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Menary |first1=Steve |title=The Search for Ali Dia, Legendary Football Hoaxster Turned Houdini |url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2551248-the-search-for-ali-dia-legendary-football-hoaxster-turned-houdini |publisher=Bleacher Report |access-date=18 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250223173243/https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2551248-the-search-for-ali-dia-legendary-football-hoaxster-turned-houdini |archive-date=23 February 2025 |date=9 June 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=McKenzie-Murray |first1=Martin |title=Ali Dia: the ultimate sporting charlatan |url=https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/sport/soccer/2025/02/08/ali-dia-the-ultimate-sporting-charlatan |publisher=The Saturday Paper |access-date=18 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250404214944/https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/sport/soccer/2025/02/08/ali-dia-the-ultimate-sporting-charlatan |archive-date=4 April 2025 |date=8 February 2025}}</ref>
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 then-[[FIFA World Player of the Year]] [[George Weah]]. "Weah" told Souness that Dia was his cousin and had played for [[Paris Saint-Germain]] as well as 13 times for his country and should give him a chance at Southampton. None of this was true and the phone call to Souness was a hoax.<ref name="Never again">{{cite web|title=Never again...|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/2902411.stm|publisher=BBC Sport|access-date=18 December 2012|date=1 April 2003}}</ref> Souness was convinced and, without any due diligence, Dia was signed on a one-month contract. However, it is disputed who made the initial call to Souness. Some sources state it was Dia's friend from university,<ref name="Never again"/> while some say it was Dia's agent,<ref>{{cite web |last=Moore |first=Joe |date=2 May 2020 |title=Ali Dia: Southampton legend Matt Le Tissier, Graeme Souness, and more on George Weah's cousin – football's most famous phoney |url=https://talksport.com/football/700922/ali-dia-story-george-weah-premier-league-southampton-le-tissier-souness/ |access-date=11 July 2022 |website=[[Talksport]] |publisher=}}</ref> and it has also been suggested that it was Dia himself who made the call. It was later reported that the same stunt had been pulled on [[Gillingham F.C.|Gillingham]], who offered Dia a trial, but was let go by manager [[Tony Pulis]] who said that Dia was "rubbish". [[Harry Redknapp]], then manager of [[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]], also received the same call but dismissed it as "a wind-up".<ref name=":0" />
Dia played just one game for Southampton, wearing the number 33 shirt, against [[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]] on 23 November 1996; he had originally been scheduled to play in a [[reserve team]] 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 the injured [[Matt Le Tissier]] after 32 minutes, but was later substituted himself (for [[Ken Monkou]]) in the 85th minute;<ref>{{cite book| title=In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC |last= Holley |first= Duncan |author2= Chalk, Gary | publisher=Hagiology Publishing | 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 news |last=Gibbs |first=Thom |date=7 February 2011 |title=Five terrible debuts to make Fernando Torres feel better |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/8309048/Five-terrible-debuts-to-make-Fernando-Torres-feel-better.html |access-date=18 December 2012 |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2008-11-22 |title=The one-off who played for Southampton |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2008/nov/22/southampton-championship |access-date=2013-12-03 |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://journaloffailure.wordpress.com/2013/10/15/the-legend-of-ali-dia/|title=The Journal of Failure|work=The Legend of Ali Dia|access-date=3 December 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212085820/http://journaloffailure.wordpress.com/2013/10/15/the-legend-of-ali-dia/|archive-date=12 December 2013}}</ref>
Dia was released by Southampton two weeks into his contract.<ref name="observer" /> Following his release, he went on trial with [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]] scoring twice in a reserve game against [[Sunderland A.F.C.|Sunderland]].<ref name="Bleacher Report"/> After no offer from Vale followed, he briefly played for [[Conference National]] side [[Gateshead F.C.|Gateshead]], before leaving in February 1997.<ref name="observer" /> Dia played eight 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|access-date=23 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111009063514/http://gfcstats.webs.com/9697.htm|archive-date=9 October 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> A day after his Gateshead debut, his George Weah hoax was revealed in the national media. A 2015 article from ''[[Bleacher Report]]'' stated that Dia had also successfully pulled the same ruse on [[FinnPa]] and [[VfB Lübeck]]. He left both clubs following poor playing performances.<ref name="Bleacher Report"/>
Speaking to the ''Gateshead Post'' after the story broke, Dia laughed off the allegations and stated he had recently scored for [[Senegal national football team|Senegal]] in a 3–1 [[1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)|1998 World Cup qualifying]] win over [[Guinea national football team|Guinea]]. However, this claim was not true as Senegal had already been knocked out in the [[1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)#First round|first round of qualifiers]]. Dia said: "I have been portrayed as a con man and a poor player, but I am neither and intend to prove people wrong. Obviously I'm disappointed not to have made it in the Premiership, but I've got faith in my own ability and my only concern now is Gateshead. My contract is just until the end of the season. But if things go well, who knows, I could stay longer."<ref name="Bleacher Report"/>
In the short spell between joining Saints and playing for Gateshead, he pocketed £3,500 in signing-on fees. Souness later admitted that Southampton paid Dia about £2,000 for his 14 days at the club, while Dia received a £1,500 signing-on fee at Gateshead. Dia was eventually transfer listed by Gateshead after a spell of poor form. After leaving Gateshead, he had a brief spell at [[Spennymoor United F.C.|Spennymoor United]].<ref name="Bleacher Report"/>
==Personal life== Dia studied business at [[Northumbria University]] in Newcastle, graduating in 2001.<ref>{{cite news |last=Harris |first=Nick |title=Meet the BBC's guest editor (and other accidental heroes) |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/meet-the-bbcs-guest-editor-and-other-accidental-heroes-478556.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080925105206/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/meet-the-bbcs-guest-editor-and-other-accidental-heroes-478556.html |archive-date=2008-09-25 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |access-date=18 December 2012 |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |date=17 May 2006}}</ref> He received a Master of Business Administration from [[San Francisco State University]] in 2003.<ref name=Bleacher/> After finishing his education, Dia worked in the business sector in Qatar.<ref name=Bleacher/> In 2016, ''[[Bleacher Report]]'' tracked down Dia and it was revealed that he was living in [[London]], but was looking to move back to Qatar. He told them that the Southampton story was "hurtful" to him and his family, but insisted that he was not a liar and that he trained with Southampton for a month and a half, where he impressed before making his debut, despite previous reports that he spent less than a week with Southampton before he made his infamous debut.<ref name= Bleacher/>
His son, [[Simon Dia]], is a French football player, born and raised in France.<ref name=Bleacher/>
== Legacy == Dia has regularly featured in lists of bad players or bad transfers.<ref name="observer"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Premiership's Top 10 Foreign Flops |url=http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/2006/11/premierships_to.html |access-date=18 December 2012 |newspaper=Who Ate All the Pies? |date=25 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080525134155/http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/2006/11/premierships_to.html |archive-date=25 May 2008 |url-status=usurped |publisher=Shiny Media}}</ref> He was named at Number 1 in a list of "The 50 worst footballers" in ''[[The Times]]''<ref>{{cite news |title=The 50 worst footballers |url=https://www.thetimes.com/sport/football/article/the-50-worst-footballers-3p37wnlc8bc |newspaper=[[The Times]] |date=4 July 2007 |access-date=20 July 2007 |location=London |first=Alex |last=Murphy |url-access=subscription |publisher=[[Times Newspapers Limited]]}}</ref> and on [[ESPN]]'s ranking of the 50 worst transfers in [[Premier League]] history.<ref>{{cite news |last=Barnwell |first=Bill |date=5 May 2020 |title=Ranking the 50 worst Premier League transfers of all time |url=https://www.espn.com/soccer/soccer-transfers/story/4087601/ranking-the-50-worst-premier-league-transfers-of-all-time |access-date=3 December 2021 |work=[[ESPN]]}}</ref>
== See also ==
* {{anl|Alessandro Zarrelli}} * {{anl|Carlos Kaiser (footballer)}} * {{anl|Grégoire Akcelrod}} * {{anl|Živko Lukić}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/players/profile.career-history.html/aly-dia Premier League Record] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419230525/http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/players/profile.career-history.html/aly-dia |date=19 April 2016 }} *[https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2551248-the-search-for-ali-dia-legendary-football-hoaxster-turned-houdini The Search for Ali Dia Legendary Football Hoaxster Turned Houdini (Menary, Steve: 15 October 2015)]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dia, Ali}} [[Category:1965 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Footballers from Dakar]] [[Category:Senegalese men's footballers]] [[Category:Senegalese expatriate men's footballers]] [[Category:Men's association football forwards]] [[Category:AS Beauvais Oise players]] [[Category:Dijon FCO players]] [[Category:Ligue 2 players]] [[Category:Blyth Spartans A.F.C. players]] [[Category:Southampton F.C. players]] [[Category:Gateshead F.C. players]] [[Category:VfB Lübeck players]] [[Category:Olympique Saint-Quentin players]] [[Category:Premier League players]] [[Category:Veikkausliiga players]] [[Category:2. Bundesliga players]] [[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in England]] [[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Finland]] [[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in France]] [[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Germany]] [[Category:Impostors]] [[Category:Confidence tricksters]] [[Category:Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in England]] [[Category:Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in France]] [[Category:Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in Germany]] [[Category:Alumni of Northumbria University]] [[Category:San Francisco State University alumni]] [[Category:20th-century Senegalese sportsmen]]