Alhaji Momodo Njie (30 March 1948 – 19 July 2020), also known as Biri Biri, was a Gambian
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 le ...
who played as a
right winger
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
. He most notably played for
Sevilla FC
Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA Euro ...
in Spain and
Herfølge Boldklub
Herfølge Boldklub is a Danish football club founded in 1921. It is based in Herfølge, a southern suburb of Køge in the eastern part of Zealand. In 2009, the club shared its licence, and merged its professional football with Køge BK to form ...
in Denmark. He was also a Gambian international footballer, and is regarded by several as the best Gambian footballer of all time.
Club career
Before his time in Europe, Biri Biri played for Black Diamonds, Phontoms and Augustines in Gambia as well as Mighty Blackpool of Sierra Leone.
Biri Biri was spotted by Danish club
B 1901
B, or b, is the second Letter (alphabet), letter of the Latin-script alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''English ...
during a training camp in Gambia in 1972. He left them in 1973 for Spanish team
Sevilla FC
Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA Euro ...
. He was the first black player to play for Sevilla, and was considered one of their best players. Biri Biri returned to Denmark to play for
Herfølge Boldklub
Herfølge Boldklub is a Danish football club founded in 1921. It is based in Herfølge, a southern suburb of Køge in the eastern part of Zealand. In 2009, the club shared its licence, and merged its professional football with Køge BK to form ...
in 1980, and in 1981 he signed for Wallidan F.C. back in Gambia, for whom he played until retirement in 1987.
International career
Biri Biri played on multiple occasions for The Gambia's national men's football team, starting as a youth in 1963.
Retirement
Biri Biri was appointed as Deputy Mayor of Banjul after
Yahya Jammeh
Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh (born 25 May 1965) is a Gambian politician and former military officer who was the leader of The Gambia from 1994 to 2017, firstly as chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) from 199 ...
came to power in 1994, a post he had relinquished by 2005. He also worked as the manager of Royal Albert market in the city. In 2000, Jammeh awarded him the Order of Merit, and he was described as The Gambia's "greatest footballer of the last millennium and of all time."
Biri Biri died on 19 July 2020, aged 72, in
Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...
, Senegal.
References
External links
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1948 births
2020 deaths
Sportspeople from Banjul
Gambian footballers
Association football wingers
Augustinians FC players
Derby County F.C. players
Wallidan FC players
Sevilla FC players
Herfølge Boldklub players
La Liga players
The Gambia international footballers
Gambian expatriate footballers
Gambian expatriate sportspeople in England
Expatriate footballers in England
Gambian expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Expatriate footballers in Spain
Gambian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark
Expatriate footballers in Denmark
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