Cherno Samba (born 10 January 1985) is a former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. He represented England at every youth level up to the under-20 team, having moved to England at an early age. He earned full

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

s for

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

between 2008 and 2010. Samba began his career with

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, ea ...

before moving to Spain to join

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

. He spent time on loan with Malaga B before returning to England to play for

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park ...

. He played on loan for

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the county ...

and then played

Haka Haka (; plural ''haka'', in both Māori and English) are a variety of ceremonial performance art in Māori culture. It is often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted or chanted accompa ...

in Finland and

Panetolikos Panetolikos Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Παναιτωλικός), or with its full name Panetolikós Yimnastikós Filekpedeftikós Síllogos ( el, Παναιτωλικός Γυμναστικός Φιλεκπαιδευτικός Σύλλογος'' ...

in Greece before moving to FK Tønsberg in Norway.

Early life

Samba was born in

Banjul Banjul (,"Banjul"
(US) and ), officially the City of Ba ...

, Gambia. His father was a goalkeeper for the Gambian national team and his family moved to

Watford Watford () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal en ...

, England when he was six, and then to

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vill ...

, South London and was educated at the

St Joseph's Academy, Blackheath St Josephs Academy was an all-boys Roman Catholic academy located in Blackheath, London, England. Saint Joseph's Academy began life in 1860 as an extension of the work of the Brothers in Saint Joseph's College, Clapham. Bishop Grant asked them to ...

Club career

Samba came to prominence when as a 13-year-old, he scored 132 goals in 32 games for the

football team. He started his career at

. His prolific form continued, and he was allowed to talk to other clubs by Millwall – both

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

showed interest, however Millwall turned down a Liverpool offer of £2 million. In return, Millwall agreed a contract, whereby he was guaranteed three-years of football at senior team level, on him signing full school boy forms. In the summer of 2004, he joined Spanish club

Cádiz CF Cádiz Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., known simply as Cádiz, is a Spanish professional football club based in Cádiz, Andalusia. Founded in 1910, the club competes in the La Liga, holding home games at Nuevo Mirandilla, with a seating capacity of 20 ...

, and was then loaned out for season 2005–06 to

Málaga CF B Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most popu ...

, and

Úbeda CF Úbeda Club de Fútbol was a Spanish football team based in Úbeda, Jaén, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1923 and dissolved in 2006, they played in the Tercera División for 33 seasons, and held home matches at ''Campo de ...

. He returned to English football after

Ian Holloway Ian Scott Holloway (born 12 March 1963) is an English professional football manager, former player, media personality and television pundit who was most recently the manager of Grimsby Town. A midfielder, he notably played in the Premier Leagu ...

signed him for free on 31 August 2006 for

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

club

, on a two-year contract. Samba made his

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

debut on 30 September as a 74th-minute substitute for

Reuben Reid Reuben James Reid (born 26 July 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays for Southern Football League Premier South side Weston-super-Mare as a striker. Born in Bristol, he has played in the Football League for Plymouth Argyle, ...

at the

Ricoh Arena The Coventry Building Society Arena (often shortened to the CBS Arena or just simply Coventry Arena, and formerly known as the Ricoh Arena) is a complex in Coventry, England. It includes a 32,609-seater stadium which is currently home to footb ...

against

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed the ...

, and within eight minutes he scored his first League goal in a 1–0 win for Argyle, heading in a cross from fellow replacement

Hasney Aljofree Hasney Aljofree (born 11 July 1978) is an English former footballer who played as a defender. He began his career with Manchester United, during which time he earned one cap for the England U18 side. He joined Bolton Wanderers in 1996 and mad ...

. On 29 January 2007, he joined

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Le ...

club

on loan for a month, with the option to extend to the end of the season. Samba returned to Plymouth on 26 February. On 8 August 2008, Samba signed an 18-month contract with Finnish side

FC Haka FC Haka is a Finnish football club based in the industry town of Valkeakoski. It is currently competing in Finland's premier division of football, Veikkausliiga. It is one of the most successful clubs in Finland, with nine Finnish championship ...

. In 2009, he returned to England and went on trial with various English clubs including

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 2 ...

and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

. He signed a two-year contract with Greek

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

club

in February 2010. On 26 July 2011, he joined English

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

side

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...

on trial for a game against

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

. He however failed to earn himself a contract. He then joined another Conference club on trial,

Alfreton Town Alfreton Town Football Club is a football club based in Alfreton, Derbyshire, England. The club are currently members of and play at North Street. History The club was formed in 1959 following the merger of Alfreton Miners Welfare and Alf ...

. In October 2011, he was on trial at

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and y ...

. On 23 March 2012, Samba joined

FK Tønsberg FK Tønsberg was a football club from Tønsberg, Norway, founded on 10 October 2001 as a cooperation project between 20 local clubs. The new team replaced Eik-Tønsberg in the Norwegian Second Division beginning in the 2002 season. The first ...

in the

Norwegian Second Division The Norwegian Second Division, also called 2. divisjon and often referred to as PostNord-ligaen for sponsorship reasons, is the third-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. There are 28 teams divided into two groups, and at the ...

. On 20 July 2015, Samba announced his retirement from football, due to injury.

International career

Samba represented England at every youth level up to under-20 and later decided that he wanted to play for

. In August 2008, he was called up to the Gambia squad for the

2010 World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

qualifying match against

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It ...

and on 6 September 2008, he made his first appearance for Gambia as he played the final minutes of the match. He scored his first goal for the Scorpions in a friendly against

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

on 9 January 2010 when he headed in a

Sanna Nyassi Sanna Nyassi (born 31 January 1989) is a Gambian professional footballer who plays as a forward. He played for the Gambia national team from 2010 to 2015, making fourteen appearances. Club career Gambia Ports Authority Nyassi began his p ...

cross to open the scoring. The goal was made all the more special for Samba as it came on the eve of his 25th birthday. His last international appearance was against Mexico in June 2010. Samba was named in Gambia's squad for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, but chose not to participate.

International goal

Personal life

Samba released an autobiography, ''Cherno Samba – Still in the Game'', in 2018. In 2018 he spoke out about his mental health, disclosing that he had suffered as a young player from depression, and had attempted to take his own life whilst playing in Spain. The Gambia football school, "Cherno Samba Academy of Football", from the academy was coupled out the professional team

Samger FC Samger Football Club is a Gambian football club based in Kanifing near Serrekunda Serekunda (proper: Sayerr Kunda or Sere Kunda, ar, سيريكوندا, sometimes spelled Serrekunda) is the largest urban centre in The Gambia. It is situate ...

, is named after him.Football Academy To Boost Gambian Soccer
African Football News, 29 October 2003

In popular culture

Samba was well known among players of computer game '' Championship Manager'', due to the fact that he became an incredibly good player further down the line in the game, despite his relatively cheap price tag; this turned him into something of a cult hero amongst fans of the game. Although he confessed to never playing ''Championship Manager'', he revealed that his mobile phone provider once cut the delivery time from 2–3 months to next-day delivery on learning that he was serving Samba.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Samba, Cherno 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Banjul Gambian men's footballers English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Millwall F.C. players Cádiz CF players Atlético Malagueño players Málaga CF players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players FC Haka players Panetolikos F.C. players FK Tønsberg players English Football League players Veikkausliiga players Gambian emigrants to England Black British sportsmen People educated at St Joseph's Academy, Blackheath England men's youth international footballers The Gambia men's international footballers English expatriate men's footballers Gambian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Finland Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Norway Expatriate men's footballers in Spain English expatriate sportspeople in Finland English expatriate sportspeople in Greece English expatriate sportspeople in Norway English expatriate sportspeople in Spain Gambian expatriate sportspeople in Norway Gambian expatriate sportspeople in Spain People from Watford Footballers from Peckham