| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1973-04-04)4 April 1973 (age 52)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Gagnoa,[1] Ivory Coast | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| 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 | |||
| 1993–1994 | France U21 | 5 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Samassi Abou (born 4 April 1973) is a former professionalfootballer who played as aforward. Born in Ivory Coast, he played internationally for theFrench under-21 team.
Abou started playing in France forFC Martigues, before moving toLyon. In October 1997, after a spell atAS Cannes, he made the move to English football, signing forWest Ham United for £250,000. Signed by managerHarry Redknapp to give more options forstrikers, Abou made his West Ham debut on 9 November 1997, in a 2–1 away defeat toChelsea coming on as a substitute forJohn Moncur.[2][3] His opening West Ham goal came on 6 January 1998, in theLeague Cup. In a fifth-round game at theBoleyn Ground, Abou came on as a substitute forPaul Kitson to score their only goal in a 2–1 defeat.[3] In the following game, on 10 January 1998, Abou scored twice as West Ham beatBarnsley 6–0.[4] Abou received his onlyred card in the next game, a 1–0 away defeat toTottenham Hotspur. FoulingRamon Vega in an off-the-ball incident, Abou was dismissed by refereeDavid Elleray.[5] Abou finished the1997–98 season with 6 goals from 26 games, including two on the last day of the season in a 4–3 home defeat ofLeicester City.[3][6]West Ham fans wouldboo 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'.[7] In 31 appearances in all competitions, he scored six times, before being released toIpswich Town in December 1998, where he scored once against Sheffield United.[8]
In October 1999, he signed forWalsall, an unsuccessful spell which lasted little over a month. He also spent time on loan atTroyes, and played in Scotland for three months atKilmarnock. Abou then continued his career back in France, playing forAjaccio andLorient.
After retiring from playing, he returned to Ivory Coast and now runs a youth football academy inAbidjan.[9]
West Ham United
