The guy who 'bluffed' his way into EPL

CTRL C + V

[SIZE=6]Who is Ali Dia? The mystery footballer who ‘bluffed’ his way onto a Premier League pitch.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=6]

[B]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2016/11/23/Screen-Shot-2016-11-23-at-13-29-25-large_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqqVzuuqpFlyLIwiB6NTmJwWrd0CWhYqAZz-RncA6NsyI.png[/B]
[/SIZE]

[SIZE=4]By Callum Davis
20 years after he made a 53-minute appearance for Southampton in the Premier League, the story - and whereabouts - of Ali Dia have remained a mystery.

The story of how Dia managed to earn a place in Graeme Souness’ Southampton squad to play Leeds has become the stuff of urban legend.

The story goes that Souness received a phone call from a man purporting to be George Weah with a tip-off about a young Senegalese footballer called Ali Dia.

Weah was playing in Serie A with AC Milan at the time, but the phone call apparently convinced Souness that Dia had played alongside Weah at PSG, and had indeed played 13 times for Senegal.

“He’s played with George Weah at Paris St Germain and he’s been playing in the second division in Germany,” Souness explained in a television interview before Dia’s debut.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2016/11/23/Screen-Shot-2016-11-23-at-13-48-10-large_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqO0R7ppljFH4l15QzsvZzo3m_X2ftafRhLiMhmVHUAMg.png
Ali Dia was understood to have been George Weah’s cousin CREDIT: ALLSPORT
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=5]“We said come down and train with us for a week or so and see what’s what.”

Dia was brought on as a substitute at the Dell before being hauled off just 53 minutes later after failing to impress, despite managing to register one shot on target.

Saints legend Matt le Tissier recounts the bizarre series of events that saw Dia make his Premier League debut against Leeds.

"This guy turned up on the recommendation from George Weah. Apparently he was the cousin of George Weah and he said “this guy’s a pretty good footballer, give him a try”.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2016/11/23/PD313339_Getty-Images-Sport_Football-Reading-V-Southampton-FA-Cup-large_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqqVzuuqpFlyLIwiB6NTmJwfSVWeZ_vEN7c6bHu2jJnT8.jpg
Southampton manager Graeme Souness gave Dia a trial with the club CREDIT: ALLSPORT

"He came down on the Friday morning and he trained with us and he played in the five-a-side. To be honest he wasn’t very good. Triallists come and go and I thought this was going to be the same thing and we wouldn’t see him again.

"We turn up the next day to play against Leeds and he’s named on the subs bench, which I thought was a bit strange.

"After about twenty minutes I get a calf strain and it’s me that comes off for Ali Dia.

“It was unbelievable. He ran round the pitch like Bambi on ice, he was so embarrassing to watch Graeme Souness actually had to take him off again after half time: he was that bad. It was a great wind up, I bet he was just chuffed to get out on the pitch.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2016/11/23/PD1570915_Getty-Images-Sport_6702216P-Southampton-v-Everto-football-Southampton-v-Everton-large_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqqVzuuqpFlyLIwiB6NTmJwfSVWeZ_vEN7c6bHu2jJnT8.jpg
Ali Dia got his one and only appearance after replacing Matt Le Tissier as a substitute CREDIT: ALLSPORT

His short-lived cameo has seen his debut go down as one of the worst in sporting history, but now the cult footballer has re-emerged to explain his side of the story.

“It has been hurtful for me. They have portrayed me as a liar and that is bull,” Dia told Bleacher Report.

Dia is now a businessman in London and insists he never claimed to be George Weah’s cousin in order to gain a trial.

Two decades on from his short-lived Premier League career Dia insists he was a footballer of some repute who warranted the opportunity to prove himself at an English club.

“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.”

After leaving Southampton Dia had a short spell at north East non-league club Gateshead before moving into business.
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=4]Courtesy of: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/11/23/ali-dia-mystery-footballer-bluffed-way-onto-premier-league-pitch/ [/SIZE]
[SIZE=4][/SIZE]
[SIZE=6]



[/SIZE]

@Gio cousin yako nini?

‘We gave the lad a trial and he was rubbish