In May, you revealed that you were
cancer-free following a battle with
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. How did
that feel?
As you can imagine, it was a massive
relief – but saying that doesn’t really
do it justice. It’s actually quite difficult
to put the words to my feelings at the
time. Just imagine a big weight being
lifted off your shoulders after five very
tough months. It was hard – mentally,
physically and emotionally – so to be
told you’re in the clear is incredible. It
was a fantastic feeling.Can you remember the actual words
the consultant used when breaking
the news to you?
I can! It was very straightforward and
very beautiful. She just said, “You’re all
clear.” My wife Chloe was with me, and
we looked at each other with big smileson our faces. I’d been going to regular
appointments, and as the treatment
kicked in we’d become more confident
that it would be good news – I actually
returned to training after four chemo
sessions. But it’s impossible to feel 100
per cent sure until you’re actually told.In 2004 you joined your boyhood club
Paris Saint-Germain, but only played
twice and haven’t represented any
sides from your homeland since. Is
that a regret?
If I’m honest, yes – a tiny bit, although
I don’t like the word ‘regret’. Let’s call
it ‘disappointment’. Over the last year
or so, after everything that’s happened,
I’ve appreciated my family even more.
I left them at a very young age to join
an academy; back then football was
everything, but my parents not being
there to support me was difficult when
I got sick. But I don’t regret any of my
moves, because every club I’ve played
for have given me something special.Being multilingual is a great string to
your bow, but you speak English with
a distinctly Scottish accent...
Everyone says that! When I signed for
Leicester, the lads kept asking if I was
French or Scottish. I had four excellent
years with Dunfermline and Hibernian
and learned the language. The people
were friendly and I only have positive
memories from my spells up there – to
this day, Edinburgh remains one of my
favourite places anywhere in the world.
Scottish football suited me, too; I was
21 when I went to Dunfermline, where
I began playing regular senior football.You joined Leicester in 2011 under
Sven-Goran Eriksson. How was he?
I first met Sven when he was manager
of the Ivory Coast. We clicked and had
a great relationship. I was partnering
Kolo Toure in defence, but just before
the 2010 World Cup, Sven decided to
change things around and put me on
the bench. Obviously I wasn’t happy,
but accepted his decision. I kept quiet
but Kolo and Didier Drogba, who were
close friends, insisted that I shouldn’ttake it lying down. They both wanted to
have it out with Sven because I’d been
a regular in the side for two years, but
I talked them out of it. After the World
Cup, Sven admitted he shouldn’t have
left me out and promised to sign me
when he got another job. I thought he
was just being nice, but he was true to
his word. Kolo and Didier were always
telling me to play in England, so it was
great to join them. To this day, I know
I can count on them for helpful advice.Your Foxes career petered out when
Nigel Pearson replaced Sven and you
moved to Turkey. What went wrong?
Nothing – Nigel just told me that he’d
be signing his own men, and seeing as
one of them was Wes Morgan, you can
hardly criticise him! I was fortunate to
play alongside Wes a couple of times,
and really pleased when he went on to“WHEn I SIGnED FOR
LEICESTER, THE LADS
ASKED ME IF I WAS
FREnCH OR SCOTTISH”
AROUnD THE
GROUnDSThe Middlesbrough man
on beating cancer, saving
Sven from Drogba and
Kolo, Sicily’s Mafia – and
watching Neil Warnock
make sweet mischief...InTERVIEW
SOL BAMBA
Interview Ian Murtagh
84 December 2021 FourFourTwo