Sol Bamba, former Leeds, Cardiff and Middlesbrough defender, dies aged just 39 after falling ill before he was due to take charge of match for Turkish club Adanaspor
Former Cardiff City, Leeds and Ivory Coast defender Sol Bamba has tragically passed away aged just 39.
Turkish side Adanaspor A.Ş broke the news in a statement released online which read: ‘Our Technical Director Souleymane Bamba, who fell ill before the Manisa Football Club match played yesterday, was taken to Manisa Celal Bayar University Hospital and unfortunately lost his battle for life there.
‘Our condolences to his family and our community.’
He was previously diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a rare form of cancer back on Christmas Eve in 2020 but was believed to be in the clear.
Turkish outlet hurriyet have reported ‘Sol Bamba fell ill before the Manisa FK match due to a relapse of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, which was diagnosed in January 2021, and was taken to Manisa Celal Bayar University Hospital.’
Sol Bamba, former Leeds, Cardiff and Middlesbrough defender, tragically dies, aged 39
Bamba fell ill before he was due to take charge of match for Turkish club Adanaspor
The former defender was a popular figure in English football having donned the jersey’s of Leicester City, Leeds, Cardiff City and Middlesbrough.
Since retiring in 2022, Bamba made them move into coaching, becoming an assistant manage for his former club Cardiff before joining Turkish side Adanaspor.
The 39-year-old had been working as the clubs head coach since the summer until his untimely passing.
Many of Bamba’s former clubs have already released tributes to the French-born defender.
Leeds wrote on X: ‘Everyone at #LUFC is devastated to learn of the news that former #LUFC captain Sol Bamba has passed away. Our thoughts and condolences are with his family and friends at this tragic time. Rest in peace, Sol, you will be forever in our hearts.
Middlesbrough also paid tribute to their former player on X writing: ‘We are devastated to learn of the passing of Sol Bamba at the age of 39.
‘Our thoughts are with Sol’s family and friends at this time. RIP Sol’
Whilst fellow Turkish side Galatasaray side paid their respects by posting a tribute which read:
‘We have learned with sorrow that Adanaspor Technical Director Sol Bamba has passed away.
‘We offer our condolences to Sol Bamba’s family, loved ones and the Adanaspor community.’
Many of Bamba’s former clubs have paid tribute to the 39-year-old, one of which was Leeds where he captained the team
Bamba grew up in Paris and that is where his love for the game sprung, starting his career with Paris Saint-Germain’s youth setup before taking the leap and deciding to move to Scotland where he played for both Dunfermline and then Hibernian.
In 2011 his affair with English football began when he joined Leicester City, where he played under Sven-Goran Eriksson.
The pair shared a good relationship having previously worked together in the Ivory Coast national team setup where the Swede manager also coached Bamba.
He then headed away from England, playing for Trabzonspor and Palermo before returning in 2015 to play for Leeds.
His captaincy stint with Leeds was pulled short when he moved to Cardiff City in 2016 where he made 118 appearances for the club.
It was during his time in Wales that Bamba was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and spent four months undergoing chemotherapy before making a triumphant return in the final match of the 2020/21 season.
‘After the first chemo I was down for four days,’ he told Sportsmail back in 2022.
‘I could not get out of bed. I lost weight. After that, I told my missus, “I’m not going for the second round”. The way I was, in that moment, it was awful.
‘When I was going through chemo, I never thought for one minute I would come back and play. And I never thought about scoring penalties at Old Trafford – nights like that seemed a million miles away.’
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