Eugène Dadi (born 20 August 1973) is an Ivorian retired

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 striker for clubs in Switzerland, France, Austria, Scotland, England, Israel, Australia, and New Zealand. At international level, he represented

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

on two occasions in 2000.

Biography

Sochaux

Born in

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

, Ivory Coast, Dadi attended the football academy at French Division 1 team

FC Sochaux FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakis ...

as a teenager.

Stade Lavallois

Eugene Dadi played until 1992 when his father died. At this point he decided to quit professional football for two years. Dadi played his first professional football at French

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

team

Stade Lavallois Stade Lavallois Mayenne Football Club (), also referred to as Stade Laval or simply Laval, is a French association football club based in Laval in western France. The club was formed on 17 July 1902 and currently plays in Ligue 2, the second l ...

in 1994.

LASK Linz

After being spotted playing park football on the Indian Ocean island of

Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...

, where he had a job working in real estate, Dadi was signed to Austrian club

LASK Linz Linzer Athletik-Sport-Klub, commonly known as Linzer ASK () or simply LASK, is an Austrian professional football club, from the Upper-Austrian state capital Linz. It is the oldest football club in that region, and plays in the Austrian Football ...

Aberdeen

Eugène Dadi spent one season at

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

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 feckin Dadi?."

Tranmere Rovers

Dadi had two seasons on the Wirral with

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...

. 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 Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

and

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

. He also scored the first goal against

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

third round replay at the

Reebok Stadium The University of Bolton Stadium is the home ground of Bolton Wanderers F.C. in Horwich, Greater Manchester, England. Opening in 1997, it was named the Reebok Stadium, after club sponsors Reebok. In 2014, Bolton Wanderers signed a naming righ ...

, 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 Iain Edward Hume (born 30 October 1983) is a Canadian football manager and former professional soccer player who played as a forward. He began his career at Tranmere Rovers in 2000, and six years later moved to Leicester City for an initial £5 ...

. He was known for wearing his hair in a "

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...

" shape. He left the club in the summer and joined

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

Perth Glory

Dadi trialled with Perth in November 2007, but was denied an opportunity to join

Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues. Founded in 19 ...

, when his previous club

Hapoel Acre Hapoel Acre Football Club ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל עכו, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Akko'') is an Israeli football club based in Acre, Israel. The club currently plays in Liga Leumit. History Founded in 1946, the club dwelt i ...

failed to release him during the transfer window. 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 Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from The Austral ...

at Members Equity Stadium in Perth. Dadi rose to meet a cross from team mate Amaral, putting the header past goalkeeper Ante Covic. His next two goals were against

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was fo ...

, where Perth were defeated by 5–2. Dadi scored a late winner to beat

Wellington Phoenix Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the ...

1–0 and a late penalty which he had to retake to equalise against

Newcastle Jets Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from The Australia ...

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 Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory e ...

. In Glory's match against the Victory in January, Dadi again scored twice to lead Glory to a 3–2 victory. 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 The Swiss Super League (known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a Swiss professional league in the top tier of the Swiss football league system and has been played in its current format since the 2003–04 season ...

side

FC Vaduz FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakis ...

Wellington Phoenix

Dadi left Perth Glory due to lack of game time, and signed with the

. He made his debut on 9 January against the

Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat. Brisba ...

where he scored two goals, including a spectacular

bicycle kick In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick, scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before d ...

which earned him the Phone-Nix Player of the Day. His bicycle kick goal was nominated for

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

Goal of the Year for that season. Dadi scored again a week later against

North Queensland Fury Northern Fury Football Club was an Australian professional soccer club based in Townsville, Queensland. The club was founded in 2008 and competed in the A-League under the name North Queensland Fury. On 1 March 2011, the club was removed from t ...

, when he headed in from a

Leo Bertos Leonida Christos Bertos (born 20 December 1981) is a New Zealand professional footballer who last played as a midfielder for Hamilton Olympic in the National Premier Leagues. Leo Bertos is currently the head coach of Northern NSW NPL side West ...

corner. Dadi was forced off the field after he and

Matt Smith Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as the Eleventh Doctor, eleventh incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the BBC series ''Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Daemon Targarye ...

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 Troy Hearfield (born 31 October 1987 in Tamworth, NSW) is an Australian football (soccer) player who plays for Sawtell FC. Club career Hearfield signed for Newcastle Jets in 2006. On 2 February 2007, Hearfield made his professional debut in a ...

won a penalty, but he shot the ball straight into Glory goalkeeper

Tando Velaphi Tando Yuji Velaphi (born 17 April 1987) is an Australian professional football player who plays as a goalkeeper for Kochi United. Club career Early playing career Velaphi trained at the AIS in Canberra on a football scholarship. Perth SC (20 ...

. Dadi scored the third goal in Wellington's extra-time 3–1 victory over

in the 2009–10 Minor Semi-final second leg.

Manado United

Dadi left

Persibo Bojonegoro Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Bojonegoro commonly known as Persibo, is an Indonesian football club in Bojonegoro, East Java. They currently compete in the Liga 3. In 2010, Persibo played in the Indonesia Super League (the top tier Indonesian fo ...

due to undergoing a player exchange with Amir Amadeh of

Manado United Manado United 9 or simply known as Manado United is an Indonesian football club based in Manado, North Sulawesi. The team plays in Liga Primer Indonesia. Team Officials The Meaning of Logo The ship steering wheel signifies the wheel of a larg ...

Liga Primer Indonesia Liga Primer Indonesia (LPI, sometimes translated to English as ''Indonesian Premier League'') was an Indonesian independent football league held in 2011. It was managed by Konsorsium Liga Premier Indonesia and PT Liga Primer Indonesia and was n ...

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. Dadi took two years off football after the death of his father in the early 1990s.

A-League career statistics

:''Correct as of 10 June 2010''

Honours

Individual

Member's Player of the Year: 2008–2009

References

External links