Eugène Dadi[]
Eugène Dadi (born 20 August 1973 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast) is a well-travelled Ivorian striker. He has a headline-friendly surname, a weakness for bizarre hair and runs a fashion label.
A footballer you get[]
Dadi came to the British Isles when he left Toulouse for Scottish Premier League side Aberdeen.
Although he rarely scored at Pittodrie, Dadi became a bit of a cult figure after scoring a goal against Celtic in which he beat the hapless Bobo Balde 18 times before netting. Fans also liked him because their chant ‘who’s your fuckin’ daddy?’ finally became a clever pun.
The hitman’s unusual surname certainly didn’t go unnoticed by journalists. During the Scottish winter, the Aberdeen Evening Express ran with ‘Dadi Cool’ for every Aberdeen game, even when Eugène didn’t score, set up a goal or even play.
English fans remember Dadi for his spell at Tranmere Rovers between 2003 and 2005 when he was a regular on the vidiprinter. Dadi was one of those tall fuckers who could always be counted on to score against your team. He would lurk menacingly with his Jason Lee-inspired pineapple haircut and do very little before nodding in from a corner and ruining your Saturday.
When Dadi scored for Tranmere against Oldham, madcap BBC reporter Stuart Hall opted to read ‘Daddy’ by Sylvia Plath – a dark examination of the troubled Plath’s abusive relationships with her father and husband Ted Hughes – as his full-time report before croaking ‘2-0 it was’ just before the Sports Report jingle.
After a successful time on the Wirral, Dadi moved to Australia and joined the inaccurately named Perth Glory. He did pretty well there but opted to join Liechtenstein-based Swiss side FC Vaduz so he could fulfill every player’s dream of winning the Liechtenstein Football Cup.
Fashion designer[]
Dadi set up his own fashion label with girlfriend Joana Varela de Veiga when he was still playing for Tranmere.
The eccentric striker designed the suits that Rovers players wore to away games based on the club’s specifications that the players must look ‘as much like defendants in a court case as possible.’