Graeme Souness has defined how he was pressured to play the notorious Ali Dia for Southampton regardless of understanding he was “hopeless”.
In a narrative that has since gone down in soccer folklore, Dia had earned himself a trial with the Saints again in 1996.
The ahead had been supplied the chance after pretending to be a relative of AC Milan’s FIFA world participant of the yr George Weah, which was utterly unfaithful.
Souness was in cost at The Dell, and is usually reminded of the curious case of Dia, who he introduced off the bench in a Premier League conflict with Leeds rather than an injured Matt Le Tissier after 32 minutes.
“It’s a great story, and it’s a funny story. It’s not quite what you read or hear,” Souness recalled to Sky Sports .
(Image: Daily Echo/Solent News)
“Someone acquired a name on the soccer membership … George Weah’s cousin or nephew was in England and seeking to be a part of a membership. He wished a trial. Matt [Le Tissier] will know at the moment, we had such a small squad, and we had trialists in on a regular basis.
“So this man turns up, and anybody who’s been concerned in soccer, you understand within the first 5 minutes of a recreation – even when it is a small five-a-side – if the boy can play or not.
“So, inside the first 5 minutes on a Monday morning, we stated he wasn’t for us. He was hopeless.
“But we did not have sufficient gamers to have an eight-a-side. So we saved him for every week, and because the week went on, we had an increasing number of gamers that acquired injured.
“We were playing Leeds United on the Saturday, and Matt was our only fit forward. It’s all Matt’s fault because he only lasts for about 20 minutes! I was looking at the bench thinking, ‘what could we do?'”
Dia signed a one-month contract with Southampton, however was launched two weeks later.
His efficiency towards Leeds was beforehand in contrast by Le Tissier to “Bambi on ice”, and Dia was even substituted again off the sphere late within the fixture.
“I actually thought he’d won a competition to come and train with us,” Le Tissier stated on Wednesday.
“So it was all my fault. I was the player substituted for possibly the worst player to ever play in the Premier League.”
