Story #2
Dia was signed by Southampton manager Graeme Souness, after Souness received a phone call purporting to be from 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. 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, while some say it was Dia's agent, 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, 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, also received the same call but dismissed it as "a wind-up".
Dia played just one game for Southampton, wearing the number 33 shirt, against Leeds United on 23 November 1996; he had originally been scheduled to play in a reserve team friendly against 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; Leeds won the match 2–0. Le Tissier said: "He ran around the pitch like Bambi on ice; it was very embarrassing to watch."
Dia was released by Southampton two weeks into his contract.
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