Samassi Abou (born 4 April 1973) is a former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a forward. Born in Ivory Coast, he played internationally for the French under-21 team.

Life and career

Abou started playing in France for FC Martigues, before moving to

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. In October 1997, after a spell at

AS Cannes Association Sportive de Cannes Football (; commonly referred to as AS Cannes or simply Cannes) is a French association football club based in Cannes. The club was formed in 1902 as a sports club and currently plays in the Championnat National 2 ...

, he made the move to English football, signing for

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

for £250,000. Signed by manager

Harry Redknapp Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former association football, football manager (association football), manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United F.C., West Ham United, Portsmouth F.C., ...

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. His opening West Ham goal came on 6 January 1998, in the League Cup. In a fifth-round game at the

Boleyn Ground Boleyn Ground, often referred to as Upton Park, was a football stadium in Upton Park, London, Upton Park, east London, England. It was the home of West Ham United F.C., West Ham United from 1904 to 2016, and was briefly used by Charlton Athletic ...

, Abou came on as a substitute for Paul Kitson to score their only goal in a 2–1 defeat. In the following game, on 10 January 1998, Abou scored twice as West Ham beat

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

6–0. Abou received his only

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or di ...

in the next game, a 1–0 away defeat to

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

. Fouling Ramon Vega in an off-the-ball incident, Abou was dismissed by referee

David Elleray David Roland Elleray, (born 3 September 1954), is an English former football referee who officiated in the Football League, Premier League and for FIFA. As of September 2021 he held the position of Technical Director at the IFAB. During his c ...

. 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. West Ham fans would boo Abou whenever he scored, upset by this he asked "why do they boo me?" His teammate replied "they say Abooooooooo" from that moment Samassi always had a big smile on his face when he heard 'Aboooooooooo'. 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. In October 1999, he signed for

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

, an unsuccessful spell which lasted little over a month. He also spent time on loan at

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

, and played in Scotland for three months at

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

. Abou then continued his career back in France, playing for

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French language, French: ; or ; , locally: ; ) is the capital and largest city of Corsica, France. It forms a communes of France, French commune, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Corse-du-Sud, and head o ...

and

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

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

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

Honours

West Ham United *

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abou, Samassi 1973 births Living people People from Gagnoa Footballers from Gôh-Djiboua District French men's footballers Ivorian men's footballers Men's association football forwards FC Martigues players Olympique Lyonnais players AS Cannes players West Ham United F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Walsall F.C. players ES Troyes AC players Kilmarnock F.C. players AC Ajaccio players FC Lorient players Ligue 1 players Premier League players English Football League players Scottish Premier League players France men's under-21 international footballers French expatriate men's footballers Ivorian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland French expatriate sportspeople in England French expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in England Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Ivorian emigrants to France Naturalized citizens of France