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 ...

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As F ...

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Hibernian, before joining English side

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the Nation ...

in January 2011. He was sold to Turkish club

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Trabzon. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, the men's football team has won seven Süper Lig championships. Trabzonspor also have a women's football team, ...

in 2012 for £750,000 before joining

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for it ...

. However, he was loaned to

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

after making only one appearance in six months. He eventually joined Leeds on a permanent deal and was appointed club captain, spending a further year with the club before being released and subsequently joining Cardiff City. In his first full season with Cardiff, he helped the side win promotion to the Premier League. Born in France to Ivorian parents, Bamba represented Ivory Coast in the

2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

and became a regular for the senior national side until his most recent cap in 2014. In 2012, he was part of the side that reached the final of the

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...

.

Club career

Paris Saint-Germain

Bamba began his career with

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. ...

club

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As F ...

(PSG) at the age of 11. He had been spotted by club scouts playing street football in Paris but had initially turned the club down as his mother hoped for him to become a doctor. He lived with his parents Sehrata and Bakary Bamba in

Ivry-sur-Seine Ivry-sur-Seine () is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Paris's main Asian district, the Quartier Asiatique in the 13th arrondissement, borders the ...

, a suburb in central Paris. Since his family could not afford the travel to the club's training facilities outside the city, he moved away from his family home to instead live at the club's academy. Originally playing as a

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, he converted to playing as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

at the age of 15 after impressing there as cover for a teammate who had missed a match due to being stuck in traffic. Despite impressing for PSG's youth and B teams, he only appeared in two first team games, in his final year at the club at the age of 21. Dissatisfied with his lack of appearances, Bamba asked to be sent out on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

to gain experience but was denied by manager,

Vahid Halilhodžić Vahid Halilhodžić (; born 15 October 1952) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the most controversially successful Bosnian football managers, due to his successful tenure in coaching various n ...

, causing Bamba to reject PSG's offer of a new contract and subsequently leave the club. He later claimed that PSG had damaged potential transfers to other French sides after he left the club, stating "I was disappointed because my club said, 'He's a good player but he's a tough guy – he doesn't listen and he can get the team into trouble."

Dunfermline Athletic

After an initial trial period, Bamba signed for

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Football League (SFL). It was abolished in 2013, when t ...

side Dunfermline Athletic in July 2006 on a two-year contract.

Jim Leishman Jim Leishman MBE (born 15 November 1953) is a Scottish Labour Party politician and former professional footballer who is currently Provost of Fife and an honorary director of Scottish Championship side Dunfermline Athletic. Career Play ...

later revealed that he had been intending to bring over another player from France on trial, but this deal fell through and Bamba's agent sent him instead. Leishman was immediately impressed by Bamba's physique and his performance as a trialist during a preseason friendly against

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional Association football, football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English foo ...

striker

John Hartson John Hartson (born 5 April 1975) is a Welsh former professional footballer, coach and sports television pundit for S4C, Sky Sports, Premier Sports TV and BT Sport. As a player he was a striker, notably for Scottish club Celtic where his time ...

. He made his competitive debut for the club in Dunfermline's opening league match of the season, a 2–1 defeat to Hearts. On 2 December 2006, Bamba was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

for the first time in his professional career after pushing

Steven Naismith Steven John Naismith (born 14 September 1986) is a Scottish former professional footballer. He is football development manager at Scottish club Heart of Midlothian. Naismith began his career with Kilmarnock in 2004. He spent four years with t ...

in the chest during a 5–1 defeat to Kilmarnock. In his first season at the club, Bamba was part of the squad that reached the 2007 Scottish Cup Final and played in a 1–0 defeat to Celtic in the final. However, the club also suffered

relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open league ...

from the Scottish Premier League after a seven-year spell in the division. Bamba signed a two-year contract extension at the start of the 2007–08 season. The extension brought an end to rumours of his desire to leave the club in order to play at a higher level and further his chances of breaking into the Ivory Coast national side, having not played in any of Dunfermline's preseason matches. Bamba was allowed to go on trial with

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 ...

side

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 ...

in July 2008, appearing in a friendly for them against Boreham Wood. Soon afterwards, manager Jim McIntyre said he expected a fee to be agreed between Dunfermline and Watford, which would allow Bamba to move to the Championship side. The deal was thought to be almost complete, with Watford sending a doctor to China, where Bamba had travelled with the Ivory Coast Olympic squad, to conduct his medical. However, Watford later pulled out for unknown reasons. A few weeks later, Dunfermline accepted offers of £50,000 for Bamba to move to either Hibernian and

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lana ...

, keeping him in the Scottish Premier League.

Hibernian

Bamba chose to move to Hibernian, signing a three-year contract with the club. As part of the transfer deal, Dunfermline were due 10% of any future transfer fee. He was sent off on his debut for a second bookable offence against

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in ...

, but Bamba subsequently established himself in the Hibs first team. Despite being a natural centre back,

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Mixu Paatelainen Mika-Matti Petteri Paatelainen (born 3 February 1967) is a Finnish former professional football player and the head coach of Veikkausliiga club HIFK. He scored 18 goals in 70 appearances for the Finnish national team, which makes him Finland's ...

praised Bamba's performance as a

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

during a 2–0 win over Celtic in December 2008. Paatelainen commented further that he believed Bamba had improved as a player since his spell at Dunfermline, with him no longer going to ground when making a challenge, and described him as possessing "tremendous pace and physical presence." Bamba quickly became a popular player with the Hibs support due to his tough and committed tackling in this new role. Following Paatelainen's departure, new manager John Hughes moved Bamba back to a central defensive role after the departure of Rob Jones in the 2009 season. In his second match in this position, Bamba scored his first ever professional goal in a 3–1 win against

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

on 22 August, heading in from a John Rankin corner. Coincidentally, he scored his second goal for the club at the same ground against the same team and in another 3–1 win, on 27 March. The ''

Edinburgh Evening News The ''Edinburgh Evening News'' is a daily newspaper and website based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded by John Wilson (1844–1909) and first published in 1873. It is printed daily, except on Sundays. It is owned by JPIMedia, which also ...

'' reported on 8 May 2010 that Bamba's performances had "not gone unnoticed", with scouts from

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswo ...

and

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine departm ...

due to watch Bamba.

Sven-Göran Eriksson Sven-Göran Eriksson (; born 5 February 1948) is a Swedish football manager and former player. After an unassuming playing career as a right-back, Eriksson went on to experience major success in club management between 1977 and 2001, winning ...

, the new

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

of the Ivorian national team, was also due to watch Bamba ahead of 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 ...

, but was not spotted at the last game played by Hibs in the 2009–10 season. Bamba angered manager John Hughes when he failed to report for a pre-season tour of the Netherlands in July 2010. Bamba responded angrily to the criticism by claiming that he needed a full three weeks off after returning from the World Cup and had attempted to contact both Hughes and Hibernian's chairman to discuss the situation, but Hughes dropped Bamba from the first team squad when he eventually returned to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. Bamba was made to train with the club's youth team on his return but was recalled for the second leg of a

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

tie with

NK Maribor NK may refer to: Businesses * Imerys (Euronext ticker code NK) * Nordiska Kompaniet, a department store in Stockholm, Sweden *Northrup-King Seed Company * Spirit Airlines (IATA code NK) * NK.pl, a Polish school-based social networking service Pla ...

at

Easter Road Easter Road is a football stadium located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Premiership club Hibernian (Hibs). The stadium currently has an all-seated capacity of , which makes it the fifth-large ...

, which Hibs lost 3–2 on the night and 6–2 on aggregate. Following the incident, manager Hughes stated his desire for the situation to be forgotten. During his time with Hibs, he made 80 appearances in all competitions, scoring four times.

Leicester City

With Bamba's contract with Hibs due to expire at the end of the 2010–11 season, the club agreed on a deal with Football League Championship club

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the Nation ...

for his transfer. The deal was confirmed on 2 January 2011, with Bamba joining for an undisclosed fee midway through the season, although sources placed the figure around £250,000 with Hibs also due to receive a percentage of any future transfer fee. He was reunited at Leicester with his former Ivory Coast manager, Sven-Göran Eriksson. He made his debut for the club in a 2–2 draw against

Manchester City 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 Salford to the west. The two ...

on 9 January in the third round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

, scoring with his first touch of the ball. He scored his first two league goals in a 4–2 win over

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 ...

on 22 January. After speculation linking him with several

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

sides, including

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

, and French side

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fran ...

during the 2011 summer transfer window, Bamba signed a new contract with Leicester in September 2011. During negotiations, Eriksson compared Bamba's style of play to that of former German international player

Franz Beckenbauer Franz Anton Beckenbauer (, ; born 11 September 1945) is a German former professional footballer and manager. In his playing career he was nicknamed ''Der Kaiser'' ("The Emperor") because of his elegant style, dominance and leadership on the f ...

. Blackburn manager

Steve Kean Stephen Kean (born 30 September 1967) is a Scottish football coach and former player, who is currently the academy director at Hibernian. Kean played as a winger for clubs in the lower divisions of Scottish, English and Portuguese leagues i ...

had claimed that the two clubs had made a bid for Bamba and described the move as being "quite close" to being completed. After Eriksson was replaced by

Nigel Pearson Nigel Graham Pearson (born 21 August 1963) is an English football manager and former professional player, currently the manager of Championship club Bristol City. During his playing career, he was a defender and played for Shrewsbury Town, S ...

as Leicester manager, Bamba played less regularly, particularly after January when the club signed

Wes Morgan Westley Nathan Morgan (born 21 January 1984) is a former professional footballer who made over 750 professional appearances as a defender for Nottingham Forest, Leicester City and the Jamaican national team, as well as a brief loan spell at K ...

and Bamba missed a month to play in the

African Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internat ...

with Ivory Coast. In his 17 months at the club, in total he played 55 games for the club in all competitions, scoring four goals. He later expressed his regret at leaving the club, stating his belief in Pearson's ability to help them win promotion to the Premier League.

Trabzonspor

Bamba signed for Turkish club

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Trabzon. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, the men's football team has won seven Süper Lig championships. Trabzonspor also have a women's football team, ...

in June 2012 for a fee of £750,000 after being recommended to the club by his international teammate

Didier Zokora Déguy Alain Didier Zokora (born 14 December 1980) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He represented the Ivory Coast national team for 14 years, beginning in 2000, and is currently the nation's mos ...

. He made his debut for the club on 26 August 2012 playing the full 90 minutes, in a 2–0 victory at home to Elazigspor. He only made 18 appearances during his first season at the club, missing a proportion of fixtures in December and January in part because he was away with

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

as they qualified for the 2013 African Cup of Nations. During the 2013–14 season, Bamba made 15 appearances for Trabzonspor in the first half of the season, including being a regular starter in their

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

campaign. However, on 22 January 2014, he picked up an ankle injury which ruled him out for the majority of the latter part of the season. Bamba was not selected to play for Tranzonspor again after suffering the injury, however he recovered in time to play for Ivory Coast at the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting rig ...

.

Palermo

On 26 August 2014, after having been released by Trabzonspor, Bamba agreed a three-year deal with newly promoted

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...

club

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for it ...

. He made his Palermo debut on 24 September 2014, when he started the match for

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for it ...

in a 3–3 draw against

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. However, he made no further appearances for the club. After leaving the club, he expressed his confusion over not playing more for Palermo, commenting "The manager would say ‘you’re not far off, keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll be playing.’ Well, after one month then two, three and four you start to get worried."

Leeds United

On 23 January 2015, less than six months into his Palermo contract, Bamba was loaned to Championship side

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

for the remainder of the season, with the possibility of making the transfer permanent at a later date. He made his debut for Leeds in a 2–1

West Yorkshire derby The West Yorkshire derbies are a series of football matches or rugby league matches taking place between football or rugby league clubs from West Yorkshire. In football History Leeds United's relegation to League One in 2007 may have reignit ...

win over

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. ...

a week later. Less than a month after joining the side, Bamba was named captain for three games in place of Liam Cooper. In particular, he served as captain when Leeds beat the then league leaders Middlesbrough 1–0, with Bamba receiving praise for his performance. Bamba scored his first goal for Leeds against Fulham in a 3–0 away victory in March. After impressing during his time at Leeds, Bamba revealed his desire to join the club on a permanent basis. However, he was also outspoken towards the club's owner Massimo Cellino advising "the person in charge has to do better for the sake of the club and the supporters". In June, Leeds arranged with Bamba's club Palermo to sign him on a permanent basis for an undisclosed fee. The deal was for two years with the option for a third year. New Leeds United head coach

Uwe Rösler Uwe Rösler (; born 15 November 1968) is a German football manager and former professional footballer. As a player he was a centre forward, notably playing in the Premier League for Manchester City, where he was the leading goalscorer for three ...

described Bamba as "a match-winner in both boxes", and said that "he brings fantastic qualities with him" and "he can be a leader by himself for the young team he is working with". In the offseason, Bamba was appointed

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of Leeds by head coach Uwe Rösler, taking over from previous captain Liam Cooper. Bamba received the

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

award in a 1–1 draw against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River ...

in the league on the opening day of the season. Bamba scored a "stunning" long range volley against

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Ro ...

in a 2–1 win late in the season. At the end of the 2015–16 season, Bamba was again critical of Leeds owner Cellino, calling on him to put 'promises to action'. He revealed the players were unaware if head coach Steve Evans would be retained for the following 2016–17 season, that the players were unaware of when to return for pre season training and they were told they would find out 'by text' when Cellino had made a decision. Nonetheless, new head coach Garry Monk announced Bamba would remain as Leeds captain for the 2016–17 season. On 7 August, Bamba scored an own goal against

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus ...

in a 3–0 defeat in the opening match of the season and was subsequently dropped from the side, falling behind

Kyle Bartley Kyle Louis Bartley (born 22 May 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central defender for club West Bromwich Albion. Bartley started his career with Arsenal, making his debut in 2009. He spent some of the 2009 season an ...

, Liam Cooper and

Pontus Jansson Pontus Sven Gustav Jansson (; born 13 February 1991) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Brentford, where he serves as club captain. Jansson started his career with local club Malmö FF before moving to Ita ...

in the pecking order. On 1 September 2016, Bamba, despite being Leeds' captain, was released by the club. His contract was cancelled by mutual consent following the close of the transfer window the previous day. The decision was made after Monk informed him that he would no longer be first choice at the club.

Cardiff City

Following his release, Bamba trained with

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

who were managed by his former Leicester boss Nigel Pearson but was not offered a deal. He instead joined

Neil Warnock Neil Warnock (born 1 December 1948) is an English former football manager and player. He is also a television and radio pundit. In a managerial career spanning five decades, Warnock has managed sixteen different clubs from the Premier League to ...

at

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

in October 2016, signing a two-year contract. Warnock had long been keen on signing Bamba at previous clubs and had contacted him a month before the move, when both were without a club, and urged him to wait for Warnock's appointment at a new club to join him there. He made his debut for the club in a

Severnside derby The Severnside derby is a local derby in football in the United Kingdom between Welsh club Cardiff City and either of the English clubs, Bristol City or Bristol Rovers. Alternatively, it may be between Newport County and either of the Brist ...

match 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 ...

on 14 October, scoring the winning goal as the ''Bluebirds'' won 2–1. His performances for Cardiff led manager Warnock to declare that "I wouldn't want anyone else. I don't think there's anyone better." Bamba received his first red card in seven years against

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn professio ...

in December, following a scuffle with forward, David McGoldrick. After receiving the red card, Bamba clashed with the fourth official before being physically restrained by Warnock and leaving the pitch. His reaction led to a three match ban. In April, Bamba suffered a groin injury against Barnsley, which ended his season prematurely. Bamba returned to the squad at the beginning of the 2017–18 season, helping Cardiff win their three opening games of the season, for the first time in their history. He signed a new three-year contract on 25 August 2017, following it up by heading in the winner against Queens Park Rangers the next day. He went on to help the club win promotion to the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

after finishing the season in second place. He was ever present in the league, appearing in all 46 league matches, and was named in the PFA Championship Team of the Year. He made his debut in the Premier League in Cardiff's first match of the 2018–19 season, a 2–0 defeat to AFC Bournemouth, before scoring his first goal in the top division in a 4–1 defeat to

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament const ...

in September 2018. Bamba scored a further 3 goals during the season, including in wins against

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

and

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

. Having missed only one match during the course of the season, he was ruled out for the remainder of the campaign after rupturing his cruciate knee ligaments in a defeat against

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Ro ...

on 5 March 2019. In July 2019 it was revealed that Bamba would miss the start of the 2019–20 season due to injury.

Middlesbrough

Bamba was re-united with former manager Neil Warnock after joining Middlesbrough on a one-year contract on 10 August 2021. He made his first start for the club 1 day later in a 3-0 defeat away to

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and ...

in the Carabao Cup. His first league start came in a 2-0 defeat away to

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 ...

on 11 September 2021. Bamba won the Sky Bet Man of the Match award for his performance in a 2-0 victory against his former club Cardiff City on 23 October 2021. On 4 February 2022, Bamba was subbed on in the 28th minute of extra time in Middlesbrough's FA Cup tie against

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 ...

. Upon the game going to penalties, he took and converted Middlesbrough's 5th spot kick and ultimately allowed the Boro to progress to the fifth round of the tournament for the first time since 2015. Bamba was released by the club at the end of the 2021–22 season.

International career

Although born in France, Bamba represents his parents' nation of

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

. He featured in the

2003 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in United Arab Emirates between 27 November and 19 December 2003. U20 Brazil claimed their fourth title. The 2003 championship was the 14th contested. The tournament was originally planned to be ...

, the 2005

African Youth Championship The U-20 Africa Cup of Nations also called TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsoring reason (previously known as the African Youth Championship or the African U-20 Championship) is the main international youth football competition ...

and the 2008 Toulon Tournament. Bamba was part of the

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

squad that reached the

quarter-finals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...

of the

2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

.

Bamba won his first

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 ...

at full international level for

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

in a 2008

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, and his second cap as a late substitute in a friendly against

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. Bamba made his competitive debut in a 5–0 win against

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northe ...

in a

2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying Qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oc ...

match, again as a late substitute. This match was played in the aftermath of the Houphouët-Boigny Arena stampede, which killed dozens of Ivorian spectators. Bamba became a regular in the national team as they qualified for the

2010 Africa Cup of Nations The 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was held in Angola, where it began on 10 January 20 ...

and the

2010 FIFA 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 ...

. Bamba scored his first goal for the team in a friendly against Rwanda, as part of the squad's preparation for the 2010 African Cup. He played in all of Ivory Coast's matches at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, but the team suffered a quarter-final defeat to

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...

after

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only ...

. The "uneasy" central defensive partnership between

Kolo Touré Kolo Abib Touré (born 19 March 1981) is an Ivorian professional football coach and former player who is the manager of Championship side Wigan Athletic. He played as a defender for Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Celtic and the Ivory ...

and Bamba was cited as one of the reasons for their defeat. The tournament had been played in the shadow of the shooting of the

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its ...

team bus, however, with death threats also being made against the Ivory Coast team. Manager Vahid Halilhodžić, who had worked with Bamba at PSG and given him his first appearances at club and international level, was sacked after the tournament. The new Ivorian coach, Sven-Göran Eriksson, selected Bamba in his provisional 30-man 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 ...

on 11 May. Bamba scored in Eriksson's first match in charge, a 2–2 draw with

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

. Bamba was selected in the Ivory Coast's 23-man World Cup squad, but was dropped from the starting lineup, with

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Didier Zokora chosen to partner with Kolo Touré in central defence. Bamba resumed his partnership with Touré in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. Ivory Coast did not concede a goal during the entire tournament, but lost the final against

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are ...

on a penalty shootout. At the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting rig ...

, Bamba played in central defence alongside Zokora after Toure contracted malaria in the period before the tournament. Bamba was booked in the first match, which Ivory Coast won 2–1 against Japan. Ivory Coast were eliminated at the group stage after suffering 2–1 defeats against both Colombia and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

. Bamba was called up to the squad for 10 September 2014 fixture against

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west- central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; th ...

, however on 29 December 2014 he was a surprising omission from the Ivory Coast squad for the

2015 Africa Cup of Nations The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was orga ...

. Although he has not retired from international football, he has not appeared for the side since 2014.

Style of play

Chiefly a centre-back, Bamba played as a defensive midfielder during his emergence at Paris SG, before becoming a centre-back at age 15. He has sporadically played in the midfield since then, most successfully for Mixu Paatelainen at Hibs. Jim Leishman, who signed Bamba at Dunfermline Athletic, said of his former charge in 2010: "He's certainly got the physique and he's got the potential to do it. But potential sometimes passes you by, it's all about going out and doing it. He's a great runner, he's as strong as an ox, and he's a strong tackler." ''

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It h ...

Soriebah Kajue in September 2011 said Bamba "established himself as a rock at the heart of the Foxes defence and has produced a level of consistency this year that has simply been outstanding", paying tribute to "Bamba's burgeoning reputation as a ball-playing defender". Sven-Göran Eriksson, who managed Bamba at club level for Leicester City and internationally for the Ivory Coast, compared the defender with Franz Beckenbauer. Cardiff manager Neil Warnock regularly told Bamba "Don’t be Beckenbauer. Just kick or head it. When it’s on, pass it, but if it’s not on, just put it up there," and in December 2017 Warnock branded Bamba and fellow Cardiff centre-half Sean Morrison as better than

Virgil van Dijk Virgil van Dijk (born 8 July 1991) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Liverpool and the Netherlands national team. Considered one of the best defenders in the world, Van Dijk is known for his strength, lea ...

. Bamba's favourite players growing up were

Lilian Thuram Ruddy Lilian Thuram-Ulien (; born 1 January 1972) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender. He began playing football professionally in his homeland with Monaco and played in the top flight in France, Italy and Spai ...

and

George Weah George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah (; born 1 October 1966) is a Liberian politician and former professional footballer who is the incumbent president of Liberia, in office since 2018. Prior to his election to the presidency, Weah served as ...

.

Personal life

Bamba met his English wife Chloe while playing for Leicester. They have three children together. He also has a son called Jaxxson Shields from a previous relationship with a Scottish woman. Bamba is

multilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

, being able to speak

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

, French,

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, Turkish and "the Ivorian dialect that his father used at home". In 2021, he was diagnosed with

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a group of blood cancers that includes all types of lymphomas except Hodgkin lymphomas. Symptoms include enlarged lymph nodes, fever, night sweats, weight loss, and tire ...

and began undergoing chemotherapy treatment. Four months later in May 2021, he announced that he was cancer-free.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Dunfermline Athletic *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2006–07 Cardiff City *

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

runner-up: 2017–18 Ivory Coast *

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...

runner-up:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premi ...

: 2017–18 Championship *Leeds United Player of the Month: August 2015

References

External links