On Christmas Eve 18 months ago, he was celebrating the holiday with his family in front of the fire when he received a call from a doctor: "It has been diagnosed, it is not Hodgkin lymphoma!" (A type of lymphoma)"
The Iron-Blooded Centerback's eyes darkened at this moment, and he tried his best to control his emotions and returned to the room alone: "How is it possible?" I'm only 35 years old, I'm healthy, how can I get cancer? Am I doing something wrong? Did I eat the wrong thing..."
Emotionally out of control, he roared at the doctor, who calmly told him, "It's not your fault, it's just that you're unlucky." ”
"Will I die?" I still want to play in the Premier League, I want to score! At that moment, he truly felt that death seemed to be coming towards him.
18 months later, in the fourth round of the FA Cup, facing the powerful Manchester United, he scored a fifth penalty to help the team advance to the top.
Now, in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, he will face the defending Champions League winner Chelsea, and the 37-year-old Bamba laughs and says: "One day, maybe I will score a hat-trick against a Premier League team!" ”
It would be a miracle for him. But in the last 18 months, he has been creating miracles in succession, dreams, why can't he trust the reins?
The 37-year-old Bamba, who has dual citizenship in France and Côte d'Ivoire, was discovered by scouts from the Paris Saint-Germain youth system when he was 11 years old when he was scouted by the Paris Saint-Germain youth system, and at first, Bamba's parents wanted him to become a doctor, but his outstanding football talent allowed Himba to gain a foothold in the Saint-Germain youth training system.
Unable to secure a steady playing time in the Paris first team, Bamba moved to Super League side Dunfermline Athletic in 2006, helping the club reach the Scottish Cup final in his first season with the club. Two years later, he moved to Hibernian.
In 2011, Bamba joined Leicester City, and a year later he briefly joined Turkish club Trabzon Sport. Returning to England six months later, Bamba played for Leeds United and cardiff City.
In both teams, he remained in his deep footsteps as captain of Leeds United, helping Cardiff City to move up to the Premier League and Bamba becoming a target for Championship teams. On 10 August 2021, Bamba and Middlesbrough signed a one-year contract to reunite with mentor Neil Warnock.
At the national team level, Bamba finally chose Côte d'Ivoire and represented Côte d'Ivoire at the 2008 Olympic Games, after which he became a regular visitor to the Ivorian national team.
Looking back to Christmas Eve 2020, when he learned that he had lymphoma, Bamba experienced the trough of emotional collapse and decided to bravely accept treatment.
The 17-year-old son and the 15-year-old daughter grew up overnight, and the 10-year-old daughter tentatively asked him, "Daddy, will you die?" ”
The pain of chemotherapy made it difficult for Bamba to walk, for four consecutive days, he was lying in bed, the first round of chemotherapy had made his body collapse, and he had told himself in his heart that it was time to say goodbye to his playing career.
It wasn't until Last May, after completing the fourth and final round of chemotherapy, that Bamba locked himself in a hotel for three days, when he was about to go on his coaching pass when the phone rang.
The doctor told him, "Your cancer cells are all gone!" ”
"At that moment, I did cry, and at that moment, I thought of my mom and dad, my children, my siblings. Everyone was crying (when I told them) Bamba said: "My children don't like to express themselves very much, but they are different since I got sick. They told me how they felt. They said they enjoyed watching me play. Until then, they always wanted to stay with friends. ”
This season's FA Cup against the mighty Manchester United, Middlesbrough from the Championship forced the game into a penalty shootout. In the crucial fifth round, Bamba stood in front of the penalty spot, took a deep breath, calmly scored the ball, and Bamba clenched his fists fiercely.
"When I was undergoing chemotherapy, I never thought I would come back and play football. I never thought about taking a penalty at Old Trafford, and a night like this seems to be a million miles away. Bamba said.
Speaking about the FA Cup quarter-finals against Chelsea, Bamba said: "My family and I just want to enjoy every moment now. I wouldn't say how lucky I was before that I didn't realize how lucky I was, I always knew football was the best job in the world. But when you go through what I've done, it will make you realize that you're really lucky! ”