Dawda Leigh

Dawda Leigh (born 27 June 1986) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a winger. He currently plays for Moss in PostNord-ligaen and he has previously played for Skeid, Vålerenga and Sandefjord. He is of Gambian descent and has represented Norway at youth international level.

Dawda Leigh
Personal information
Full name Dawda Leigh
Date of birth (1986-06-27) 27 June 1986
Place of birth Oslo, Norway
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Winger
Youth career
0000–2003 Ellingsrud
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2008 Skeid 78 (6)
2009–2012 Vålerenga 57 (1)
2012 Sandefjord 9 (0)
2015 Kristiansund 3 (0)
2016–2017 Moss 18 (2)
National team‡
2004 Norway U18 11 (1)
2005 Norway U19 4 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 9 October 2018
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20 October 2012

Club career

Leigh was born in Oslo and played for Ellingsrud before he joined the First Division side Skeid in 2003. He was invited on a trial with Rosenborg in January 2005, but rejected their offer as he was called up to play for Norway U19.[1] After playing for Skeid for five seasons[2] Leigh signed for the Tippeligaen side Vålerenga together with his teammate Mostafa Abdellaoue in September 2008. They were both free agents and joined the club in January 2009.[3] Leigh made his debut in Tippeligaen against Rosenborg on 15 March 2009. In his debut at Ullevaal Stadion,[2] he assisted Bengt Sæternes' goal in the 1–1 draw against Aalesund.[4]

Despite playing in the Second Division with Skeid the previous season, Leigh instantly became a regular in Vålerenga's starting line-up and started 9 of the 10 first matches of the season,[5] and played a total of 21 matches scoring one goal in 2009. Leigh struggled in his second season at Vålerenga and played only 152 minutes in Tippeligaen.[6] After another season with limited playtime he wanted to go on loan to Odd Grenland in August 2011,[7] but stayed at Vålerenga for one more year, and played 12 matches for the club until he left the club in August 2012.[8] Leigh played a total of 57 matches and scored one goal for Vålerenga in Tippeligaen.[2]

Leigh signed a contract lasting to the end of the 2012 season with the First Division side Sandefjord in August 2012[9] He played nine league-matches for Sandefjord, in addition to the promotion play-off match against Ullensaker/Kisa, which Sandefjord lost 4–3. After his contract expired, he was linked to English club Bolton Wanderers.[8]

Leigh signed a contract for the 2015 season with the First Division side Kristiansund in March 2015.

International career

Leigh has represented Norway at youth international level, and played 11 matches and scored one goal for Norway U18 in 2004 before he played four matches for Norway U19 in 2005.[10]

Personal life

Leigh is a supporter of Manchester United and stated in an interview in 2005 that he would reject Liverpool if they wanted to sign him one day.[1]

Career statistics
As of 9 October 2018[11]
Club Season Division League Cup Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
2003 Skeid Adeccoligaen 100010
2004 17100171
2005 14021161
2007 20010210
2008 Second Division 26510275
2009 Vålerenga Tippeligaen 21120231
2010 601070
2011 18020200
2012 12020140
2012 Sandefjord Adeccoligaen 900090
2015 Kristiansund OBOS-ligaen 301040
2016 Moss PostNord-ligaen 710071
2017 Norsk Tipping-ligaen 11100111
Career Total 165912117710

References
  1. "Fra Ellingsrud til Rosenborg" (in Norwegian). lokalavisen.no. 12 May 2005. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  2. "Dawda Leigh" (in Norwegian). altomfotball.no. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  3. Hjellen, Bjørnar (26 September 2008). "Signerte for Vålerenga" (in Norwegian). NRK. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  4. Solbakken, Espen (21 March 2009). "Vålerengas nye Skeid-stjerne" (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
  5. "Vil utvikle seg i fred" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. 24 May 2009. Archived from the original on 27 May 2009. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  6. Vik, Marius (29 January 2011). "Skjebneår for VIF-talent" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. Archived from the original on 4 February 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  7. "Dawda Leigh på vei til Odd" (in Norwegian). Nettavisen. 5 August 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  8. Burheim, Mads Gudim (5 December 2012). "Dawda Leigh kobles til Bolton" (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  9. Tveitan, Flemming Hofmann (31 August 2012). "SF sikret seg Dawda Leigh (26)" (in Norwegian). Sandefjords Blad. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  10. "Dawda Leigh's profil". fotball.no (in Norwegian). Football Association of Norway. Archived from the original on 26 May 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  11. "Dawda Leigh". Norsk & Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk (in Norwegian). Bergensavisen. Retrieved 3 June 2009.

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