the legend

the legend
could have been the best
my views and opinions on all things arsenal with an irish perspective

Friday, July 22, 2011

kaba who?

Sometimes the transfer windows and transfers in general really do make you sit up and go wow?how did we get him?
I rememember the suprise and excitement when i heard we signed Dennis Bergkamp,,and boy was he worth the money,,i can recall the day we signed on the double,,with Davor Suker and Thierry Henry,,and remember looking forward to seeing the croatian more than i wanted to see Henry.
I genuinely remember the suprise and gasping when we signed the much sought after Jose Antonio Reyes,,,i rememeber we were top of the league and it reinforced the idea we were a team with strength on a roll.,,i used to love the way his anme rolled off the tongue and when commentators said it at the end of a spectacular move.
I can recall the "oohs and aahs" when we were introduced to Stefan Malz,,,,,can i f**k,,yes this is 1 of the many suprises Arsene has sprung on us over the years,,a journeyman footballer who i cant recall the reason why he was signed ,he was a midfielder who came from the german first division,but was the wrong side of 20 ,not fast but tigerish in the tackle..,,1 season he lasted,,i seem to recall him doing well in the early rounds of the FA Cup 1 year.
We signed a Paraguyan called Fabian Cabellero ,,1 game he played,,scored the 4th against Preston also in the FA CUP 1999,,,he was more famous for beng pictured on the bench against Nottingham Forest at the City ground ,,when Ron Atkinson sat in the wrong dugout.
I recall a guy called "Juan",he played in a cup tie possibly against Cardiff or Stoke around 2000-2001,,he was Brazilian,,,probably had the same kind of "passport" as Edu,he was an attacking left back ,wonder what became of him?
Possibly 1 of the most famous of the obscure footballers playing for the Arsenal was the famous Kaba Diawara,,recruited as was ARSENES modus,at the end of the 1999 season.
The thing about being obscure is generally you tend not to do much to be noticed but in fairness to Kaba,,he came in to a game against Leeds at elland road,2nd last game of the 1999 season.
Kaba was a forward and to this day ,,i cant work out whether he was totally shite or the most unlucky forward i have ever seen,,my recollection of the proceeedings is of Kaba being 1 on 1 at least twice with the keeper or getting rebounds in front of goal and hitting the woodwork on at least 3 occasions,we needed goals,,we didnt get them,,,although jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink put us out of misery 3 mins from the end,effectvely costing us the league.
KABA DIAWARA ,probably played during the close season of that year,but i cannot recall him playing the following year,he drifted away as he drifted in,,silently but leaving more than impression than an obscure player should.
As a footnote last i heard of Kaba ,was when WEST HAM signed him on a temporary basis for a few games about 5 years ago..................he never scored for them either
cya

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