Eugène Dadi
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Eugène Buhame Dadi | ||
| Date of birth | 20 August 1973 | ||
| Place of birth | Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1988 | FC Sochaux | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1989–1992 | Stade Lavallois | ||
| 1995–1996 | FC Sète | 17 | (2) |
| 1996–2000 | LASK Linz | 52 | (10) |
| 2000–2001 | Toulouse FC | 3 | (0) |
| 2001–2002 | Aberdeen | 33 | (5) |
| 2002–2003 | Livingston | 25 | (3) |
| 2003–2005 | Tranmere Rovers | 86 | (28) |
| 2005 | Nottingham Forest | 6 | (0) |
| 2006 | → Notts County (loan) | 11 | (2) |
| 2006–2008 | Hapoel Acre | 3 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | Perth Glory | 22 | (10) |
| 2009 | → FC Vaduz (loan) | 8 | (1) |
| 2010 | Wellington Phoenix | 10 | (5) |
| 2010–2011 | Persibo Bojonegoro | 18 | (3) |
| 2011–2012 | Manado United | 11 | (2) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2000 | Côte d'Ivoire | 1 | (0) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14 March 2010. | |||
Eugène Dadi (born 20 August 1973 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire) is a retired Ivorian football striker who played for Manado United in the Liga Primer Indonesia. He has previously played for clubs in Switzerland, France, Austria, Scotland, England, Israel, Australia, New Zealand. Dadi has played once for the Ivory Coast national team.
Biography
FC Sochaux
Dadi attended the football academy at French Ligue 1 team FC Sochaux as a teenager.
Stade Lavallois
Dadi played his first professional football at French Ligue 2 team Stade Lavallois in 1989. He played until 1992 when his father died. At this point he decided to quit professional football for two years.
LASK Linz
After being spotted playing park football on the Indian Ocean island of Réunion, where he had a job working in real estate, Dadi was signed to Austrian club LASK Linz.[1]
Aberdeen
Eugène Dadi spent one season at Aberdeen that in terms of scoring goals was not great. However, he was a firm fans' favourite and had become somewhat of a cult hero with Aberdeen fans. This was due to his last name, which inspired the popular terrace chant of "Who's your, who's your, who's your Dadi?."[1]
Highlights of his time at Aberdeen included four SPL goals, but perhaps is most remembered for bamboozling Celtic defender Bobo Balde during a 2–0 win at Pittodrie in December 2001.
Tranmere Rovers
Dadi had two seasons on the Wirral with Tranmere Rovers. He played up front and scored 28 goals. In his first season in 2002–03 he finished the club's top scorer, scoring goals against Notts County and Chesterfield. He also scored the first goal against Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup third round replay at the Reebok Stadium, a game which Tranmere Rovers won 2–1. In his second season he helped Rovers finish in the play-offs and was a regular up front with Iain Hume. He was known for wearing his hair in a "pineapple" shape. He left the club in the summer and joined Nottingham Forest.[1][2]
Perth Glory
Dadi trialled with Perth in November 2007, but was denied an opportunity to join Perth Glory, when his previous club Hapoel Acre failed to release him during the transfer window.[3] He took part in the Glory's post-season tour of China and impressed coaching staff enough to offer him a permanent contract with the club. Dadi's first A-League goal with the club came in the second match of the 2008–09 A-League season, against Newcastle United Jets at Members Equity Stadium in Perth. Dadi rose to meet a cross from team mate Amaral, putting the header past goalkeeper Ante Covic.[4] His next two goals were against Sydney FC, where Perth were defeated by 5–2.
Dadi scored a late winner to beat Wellington Phoenix 1–0 and a late penalty which he had to retake to equalise against Newcastle Jets to keep the Glory within touch of the A-League top four. On 6 December, Dadi scored two goals in four minutes in Perth Glory's 3–1 win over Melbourne Victory. In Glory's match against the Victory in January, Dadi again scored twice to lead Glory to a 3–2 victory.[5] He re-signed with the club until the end of the 2009/10 season, however, he missed the last two games of Perth's 2008/09 season to begin a five-month loan at Swiss Super League side FC Vaduz.[6]
Wellington Phoenix
Dadi left Perth Glory due to lack of game time,[7] and signed with the Wellington Phoenix. He made his debut on 9 January against the Brisbane Roar where he scored two goals, including a spectacular bicycle kick[8] which earned him the Phone-Nix Player of the Day. His bicycle kick goal was nominated for A-League Goal of the Year for that season. Dadi scored again a week later against North Queensland Fury, when he headed in from a Leo Bertos corner.[9] Dadi was forced off the field after he and Matt Smith clashed heads. Dadi required 15 stitches for his wound. Dadi's return to Perth Glory was not a good one for the striker as the Phoenix lost 2–0. Dadi picked up an early yellow card for dissent and nearly got himself sent off after a lunge at Jacob Burns. Dadi was given the chance to reduce the deficit in the 73rd minute after Troy Hearfield won a penalty, but he shot the ball straight into Glory goalkeeper Tando Velaphi. Dadi scored the third goal in Wellington's extra-time 3–1 victory over Newcastle Jets in the 2009–10 Minor Semi-final second leg.
Manado United
Dadi left Persibo Bojonegoro due to undergoing a player exchange with Amir Amadeh of Persibo Bojonegoro to Manado United on Liga Primer Indonesia side.
Personal life
Eugène owns his own fashion label and can speak three languages fluently – English, French and German. He spent a year in Austria as an actor.[1] Dadi took two years off football after the death of his father in the early 1990s.[1]
A-League career statistics
- Correct as of 10 June 2010
| Club | Season | League | Finals | Asia | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | ||
| Perth Glory | 2008–09 | 16 | 10 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 16 | 10 | 2 |
| 2009–10 | 6 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | 0 | 1 | |
| Wellington Phoenix | 2009–10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | 10 | 5 | 0 |
| Total | 29 | 13 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 31 | 14 | 3 | |
Honours
Personal Honours:
- Perth Glory Member's Player of the Year: 2008–2009
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Dasey, Jason (5 December 2008). "Perth Glory's big Dadi". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
- ↑ "Players – Eugene Dadi". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
- ↑ "Dadi Deal Dead in the Water". Four Four Two (magazine). 1 December 2007. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
- ↑ Glory draw with Newcastle
- ↑ "Dadi brace sinks Victory". Sydney Morning Herald. 11 January 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
- ↑ Barbieri, Paul (14 January 2009). "New deal for Dadi". Sportal. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
- ↑ http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sport/a/-/soccer/6640558/glory-shuts-door-on-dadi/
- ↑ http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/120131,dadi-i-couldnt-do-that-again.aspx
- ↑ Donaldson, Michael (17 January 2010). "Dadi Cool fires up 'Nix for glory". The Sunday Star-Times. Retrieved 30 September 2011.