You know when you go to the toilet after someone else and it smells horribly? But when you’re finished it has like an almost familiar, somewhat pleasant smell? That was Modibo Maïga. He was sh*t, but he was our sh*t.
Much was expected when the Malian Stallion was signed for an undisclosed fee which was believed to be around £5million from French side Sochaux in our first season back in the Premier League. However, his transfer fell under the radar as Andy Carroll was signed a month later.
He was seen as a backup striker to the likes of Carlton Cole and Ricardo Vaz Te, but Sam Allardyce’s tactic of 1 up top didn’t help Maiga’s development. He scored on his first start in a League Cup victory over Crewe Alexandra and things were looking up for Maïga.
However things didn’t turn out as well as hoped, with people almost forgetting Maïga even existed. His first league goal against Southampton was quite similar to his last league goal as he dribbled past 4 defenders and slotted into the far corner to make it 4-1 to the Hammers. His other league goal that season was a tap in against Chelsea to make it 3-1 to West Ham.
With Maïga West Ham’s only striker going into the 2013/14 season, he was the obvious starter. But 6 poor games meant he was dropped for the game against Spurs as Allardyce decided it was better to have no strikers than Maïga. West Ham won that game 3-0 using a 4-6-0 formation.
He will, however, be most fondly remembered by West Ham fans for his goal against Spurs at White Hart Lane in the League Cup quarter-final 2013. Coming on a substitute when West Ham were 1-0 down, his presence gave us confidence as Matt Jarvis equalised in the 80th minute.
With the game set to go to penalties, following a Mo Diame cross from the right-hand side, the Malian leapt gracefully as a fallen angel returning to the heavens and headed past Hugo Lloris to score his first goal in over a year. He only scored one more, against West Brom, before spending the rest of the season on loan at QPR and the season after at Metz.
On return, he filled in as backup for Diafra Sakho due to injuries to Enner Valencia and Mauro Zarate. In what turned out to be his final game for West Ham against Bournemouth, he powerfully dribbled past 3 defenders before dummying the keeper and passing it into the net.
However, like all great stories, his time must come to an end as he signed for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia. If there are any Al-Nassr fans reading this, you have not signed a footballer. You have signed a myth, a unicorn, a deity. You have signed Modibo Maïga.
