Bas Savage

Basir Mohammed Savage (born 7 January 1982 in London) is a professional footballer. He is currently searching for a new club after rejecting a new improved 18-month contract at Football League One side Brighton & Hove Albion. Bas is known for his trademark moonwalk goal celebration, which has gained cult fame on TV's Soccer AM.

Career

Starting out at Reading

Savage started his professional career at Reading in 2002 after moving from non-league Walton & Hersham, where, after a very promising start, he was struck by a career threatening injury that kept him out of the game for almost a year. After Reading appointed Steve Coppell as manager, Savage struggled to get a place back in the team, and was used as a utility midfielder, often playing on the right wing. Despite some good performances in 2003 (notably one against Chelsea in the League Cup) and spending a couple of sessions on loan to Bury and Wycombe Wanderers, Savage was eventually released by Reading.

Bristol City

After being courted by Coventry City, and a host of other clubs, Savage finally decided to sign for Bristol City on a short-term contract. He was soon a favourite of Gary Johnson during his time at Bristol City, and he finally quickly scored his first League goal - a header against Scunthorpe United. He soon won over the City fans, not just by scoring his first goal but with his extragevant style of play. However, he was relegated to the substitutes bench following the arrival of Mark McCammon, before finally leaving the club after being released from his contract.

Stint at Gillingham

On 28 September 2006, Savage signed a three month contract with Gillingham after manager Ronnie Jepson decided they would 'have a good look at him before deciding on a long term decision'. He made his debut for Gillingham as a second half substitute for Clint Easton in a 2-1 home win over Cheltenham Town. His first start came in a 3-2 away win over Tranmere Rovers on 23 December 2006. Following starts in Gillingham's following games, a Boxing Day home match against Leyton Orient where he was involved in the build up to Gillingham's first goal, an own goal scored by Brian Saah. Having impressed Jepson during his initial three months at Gillingham, Savage signed for a further month in late December and scored his first goal on 20 January 2007 in a 1-1 draw away to the team he made his debut against, Cheltenham Town.

Saga at Brighton

On 31 January 2007, Savage was released from his deal at Gillingham after failing to agree new contract terms, and on 2 February 2007 he signed a one-year deal at Brighton & Hove Albion. ^[1] His career at Brighton got off to a flying start, with four goals in his first eight appearances for his new club. His goals for the club has meant he had doubled his goals tally with Brighton compared to what he achieved throughout his whole career combined. It was his move to Brighton which was the catalyst for his newly found cult status. TV show Soccer AM picked up on his moonwalk goal celebrations and now broadcast every one of his moonwalk celebrations. The feature 'I wanna be like Bas Savage' is broadcast every weekend morning. He even had his own T-shirt made to highlight his goal celebration. Savage started new contract talks with Brighton chairman Dick Knight during November 2007. Knight has been quoted that he offered the player a new improved 18-month contract. It was revealed on Boxing Day 2007 that Savage had turned this deal down. ^[2]

References

External links

• Bas Savage career stats at Soccerbase