D: O: B 12/4/1974, Dakar, Senegal
Height: 210cm
Weight: 143kg
Clubs: FC Basel 1988-1993, AC Milan 1993, Manchester United 1993-
International: Switzerland 1991-
ASSMASTER de Silva Alberto Smith was born on the eastern shores of African nation Senegal. He lived there until the age of five when he and his family migrated to Switzerland. As well as five children, Assmaster’s parents also brought their passion for soccer to Switzerland. Assmaster quickly became a star in his under 7 team. Within no time at all, he was signed up by Basel FC and entered into their youth program.
By the tender age of 14, Assmaster was ready to make his debut for Basel, coming off the bench against Grasshoppers Zurich FC. He made little impact but still it was evident that Basel had a star on their hands. His real emergence did not come until a year later when he came off the bench in the same fixture. Fans were shocked by the size of the 15 year old. He stood at 6’5 and weighed over 100kgs. Down 2-1, Assmaster netted a late double to give Basel the victory. During this game he met now life long friend, Fabian Super. Super became Assmaster’s personal coach and mentor. Thanks to Super, Assmaster was a mature young man, always free of drugs, alcohol and sex. Super knew the talent was there and he was determined to see it emerge onto the world stage.
At the age of 15, Assmaster was still very much from Senegal. He supported them and proudly carried around his Senegalese Passport. However, Assmaster was beginning to meet new people. They included Laurent AABBCCBob and Christian Coinco. At this stage they played for Basel’s rival Club, Grasshoppers Zurich. They were great friends. Everyone knew that AABBCCBob and Coinco were destined to play for Switzerland, but Assmaster was not. So, on 12 November 1989, Assmaster became a Swiss citizen much to the disgust of his family who he now has nothing to do with.
In the following years Assmaster became the Star of the Swiss league despite only being a teenager. This saw him selected for the Swiss squad. He made his debut against Bulgaria, scoring twice in an emphatic 5-0 win. Inevitably the big European clubs took notice. A bidding war began and AC Milan eventually won it, paying 5 million pounds for Assmaster, a world record for a teenager. But Assmaster’s spell at Milan would not last long. A fallout with then coach Giovanni Moncini would see him sold to Manchester United for 6 million pounds only two months later.
The year was 1993. Manchester United’s domination of English football had begun and Assmaster was right in the middle of it. For the next 4 season he picked up the golden boot.
He is still loyal to Manchester United, scoring 215 goals in 344 appearances for the club. He has been instrumental in seeing them win numerous trophies including the European Champions League. Assmaster is a player who will go down as one of the greats, widely regarded as Switzerland’s greatest ever footballer.
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