Samassi Abou

Samassi Abou (born 4 April 1973) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. Born in Ivory Coast, he played internationally for the French under-21 team.

Samassi Abou
Personal information
Full name Samassi Abou
Date of birth (1973-04-04) 4 April 1973
Place of birth Gagnoa, Ivory Coast
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1992 FC Martigues 24 (7)
1992–1996 Olympique Lyonnais 58 (4)
1996–1997 AS Cannes 37 (5)
1997–2000 West Ham United 22 (5)
1998 → Ipswich Town (loan) 5 (1)
1999 → Walsall (loan) 8 (0)
1999 → Troyes (loan) ? (?)
2000 → Kilmarnock (loan) 10 (0)
2000–2002 AC Ajaccio 60 (4)
2002–2003 FC Lorient 16 (0)
Total 240 (26)
International career
France U21
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Life and career

Abou started playing in France for FC Martigues, before moving to Lyon. In October 1997, after a spell at AS Cannes, he made the move to English football, signing for West Ham United for £250,000. Signed by manager Harry Redknapp to give more options for strikers, Abou made his West Ham debut on 9 November 1997, in a 2–1 away defeat to Chelsea coming on as a substitute for John Moncur.[1][2] His opening West Ham goal came on 6 January 1998, in the League Cup. In a fifth-round game at the Boleyn Ground, Abou came on as a substitute for Paul Kitson to score their only goal in a 2–1 defeat.[2] In the following game, on 10 January 1998, Abou scored twice as West Ham beat Barnsley 6–0.[3] Abou received his only red card in the next game, a 1–0 away defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. Fouling Ramon Vega in an off-the-ball incident, Abou was dismissed by referee David Elleray.[4] Abou finished the 1997–98 season with 6 goals from 26 games, including two on the last day of the season in a 4–3 home defeat of Leicester City.[2][5] West Ham fans would boo Abou whenever he scored, making an "Abooooooooo" noise.[6] In 31 appearances in all competitions, he scored six times, before being released to Ipswich Town in December 1998, where he scored once against Sheffield United.[7]

In October 1999, he signed for Walsall, an unsuccessful spell which lasted little over a month. He also spent time on loan at Troyes, and played in Scotland for three months at Kilmarnock. Abou then continued his career back in France, playing for Ajaccio and Lorient.

After retiring from playing, he returned to Ivory Coast and now runs a youth football academy in Abidjan.[8]

Honours

West Ham United

References
  1. Les Roopanarine (7 November 2011). Harry Redknapp — The Biography. John Blake Publishing, Limited. pp. 88–. ISBN 978-1-84358-942-6.
  2. "Welcome to the Wonderful World of West Ham United Statistics Samassi Abou". www.westhamstats.info. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  3. "On this day 10 January". www.whufc.com. Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  4. "Klinsmann sinks 10-man Hammers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  5. "On this day – 10 May". www.whufc.com. Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  6. Pete May (23 March 2012). West Ham: Irons in the Soul. Mainstream Publishing. pp. 177–. ISBN 978-1-78057-451-6.
  7. "Naylor provides Suffolk punch". The Independent. 20 December 1998. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  8. "Samassi Abou is not a bus driver in Basildon". Claret & Hugh. 8 March 2020. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  9. "Intertoto win gives Hammers Uefa spot". BBC. 24 August 1999. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
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