The Premier League Career That Lasted An Hour | JFC Sports
A career in the top flight of football can take decades of dedication from an exceptionally young age without the promise of ever getting there.
Of the ones that make it, their career trajectories can vary dramatically, from making immediate impacts from a very young age and having a long and productive career to bouncing from team to team and wearing a wide range of football team kits as and when they fit a particular need.
Some careers last decades whilst others can be much much shorter. This particular career in the top flight lasted for a grand total of 53 minutes, but its infamy would last a lifetime. Naturally, it is a story that involves Graeme Souness.
Ali Dia was born in 1965 in Dakar, Senegal, and spent his early career playing in the lower divisions of French and German football for exceptionally short spells.
In 1995, he played for three teams, two in Finland and one in the lower regional divisions of German football before attending trials for several teams in the English Football Pyramid.
After Gillingham, Rotherham United and Bournemouth all turned him down, he joined Blyth Spartans, then in the seventh tier of English Football, with the plan to play there as a base of operations whilst trying to get into the Premier League.
The ultimate plan, either devised by Mr Dia himself or on his behalf without his knowledge depending on who is asked, was to call a bunch of Premier League managers, including Tony Pulis, Harry Redknapp and Graeme Souness, whilst pretending to be Ballon d’Or winner George Weah.
Ultimately, this got him signed to Southampton largely to keep an eye on him and was on the bench for a match against Leeds United on 23rd November 1996. This was a day that would later live in infamy.
After Matt Le Tissier went down with a leg injury after 32 minutes, the newly-christened number 33 rushed onto the pitch, where according to Mr Le Tissier, his running form was like “Bambi on ice”. He was subbed off himself in the 85th minute, never to play in the Premier League again.
Eventually, the con was revealed and Mr Dia left the club after just two weeks, although Graeme Souness noted that whilst he did not play well, he did not regret the decision as the club were desperate for players at the time.