Samassi Abou (born 4 April 1973) is a former Ivorian professional footballer who played as a forward. He played internationally for the French under-21 team. Life and career Abou started playing in France for FC Martigues, before moving to Lyon. In October 1997, after a spell at AS Cannes, he made the move to English football, signing for West Ham United for £250,000. Signed by manager Harry Redknapp to give more options for strikers, Abou made his West Ham debut on 9 November 1997, in a 2–1 away defeat to Chelsea coming on as a substitute for John Moncur. His opening West Ham goal came on 6 January 1998, in the League Cup. In a fifth-round game at the Boleyn Ground, Abou came on as a substitute for Paul Kitson to score their only goal in a 2–1 defeat. In the following game, on 10 January 1998, Abou scored twice as West Ham beat Barnsley 6–0. Abou received his only red card in the next game, a 1–0 away defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. Fouling Ramon Vega in an off-the-ball incident, Abou was dismissed by referee David Elleray. Abou finished the 1997–98 season with 6 goals from 26 games, including two on the last day of the season in a 4–3 home defeat of Leicester City. West Ham fans would boo Abou whenever he scored, making an "Abooooooooo" noise. In 31 appearances in all competitions, he scored six times, before being released to Ipswich Town in December 1998, where he scored once against Sheffield United. In October 1999, he signed for Walsall, an unsuccessful spell which lasted little over a month. He also spent time on loan at Troyes, and played in Scotland for three months at Kilmarnock. Abou continued his career back in France, playing for Ajaccio and Lorient. Honours West Ham United UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1999 References External links Saddlers A-Z at the Walsall F.C. Official Website 1973 births Living people Ivorian emigrants to France Ivorian footballers France under-21 international footballers French footballers French expatriate footballers Ivorian expatriate footballers Ligue 1 players Expatriate footballers in France FC Martigues players Olympique Lyonnais players AS Cannes players West Ham United F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Premier League players Walsall F.C. players ES Troyes AC players Kilmarnock F.C. players AC Ajaccio players FC Lorient players English Football League players Scottish Premier League players Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Scotland