- Former Leeds, Cardiff and Middlesbrough defender Sol Bamba tragically dies aged 39
- He had previously been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a rare form of cancer, on Christmas Eve 2020, but
Former Cardiff City, Leeds and Ivory Coast defender Sol Bamba has tragically passed away aged just 39.
He had previously been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a rare form of cancer, on Christmas Eve 2020 but was believed to be doing well.
Turkish team Adanaspor A.Ş announced the news in a statement posted online which read:
‘Our technical director Souleymane Bamba, who fell ill before Manisa Football Club’s match played yesterday, was taken to Manisa Celal Bayar University Hospital and unfortunately lost his battle for life there.
‘Our deepest condolences to his family and our community.’
Former Leeds, Cardiff and Middlesbrough defender Sol Bamba tragically dies aged 39
Bamba fell ill before taking charge of the Turkish club Adanaspor’s match.
The former defender was a popular figure in English football having played for Leicester City, Leeds, Cardiff City and Middlesbrough.
Since retiring in 2022, Bamba has moved into coaching, becoming assistant manager at his former club Cardiff before joining Turkish side Adanaspor.
The 39-year-old had been working as the club’s head coach since the summer until his untimely passing.
Many of Bamba’s former clubs have already posted tributes to the French-born defender.
Leeds wrote on X: ‘Everyone at #LUFC is devastated by the news of the passing of former #LUFC captain Sol Bamba. 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 hear of the passing of Sol Bamba at the age of 39.
“Our thoughts are with Sol’s family and friends at this time. Rest in peace, Sol.”
Meanwhile, fellow countrymen Galatasaray paid their respects by posting a tribute that read:
‘We have learned with sadness that Adanaspor head coach Sol Bamba has passed away.
‘We offer our condolences to Sol Bamba’s family, his loved ones and the Adanaspor community.’
Many of Bamba’s former clubs have paid tribute to the 39-year-old, one of them being Leeds, where he captained the team.
Bamba grew up in Paris and it was there that his love for the game blossomed, beginning his career in the youth ranks of Paris Saint-Germain before making the jump and deciding to move to Scotland, where he played for Dunfermline and then Hibernian.
In 2011 he began his romance with English football when he signed for Leicester City, where he played under Sven-Goran Eriksson.
The two share a good relationship, having previously worked together with the Ivory Coast national team, where the Swedish coach also coached Bamba.
He then left England and played for Trabzonspor and Palermo before returning in 2015 to play for Leeds.
His time as Leeds captain was cut 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 out for four days,” he told Sportsmail in 2022.
‘I couldn’t get out of bed. I lost weight. After that, I told my wife, ‘I’m not going to do the second round.’ The shape I was in at that time was horrible.
“When I was having chemotherapy, I never thought for a minute that I would play again. And I never thought about scoring penalties at Old Trafford. Nights like that seemed a million miles away.”
More information coming soon
