Leeds United have paid tribute to their former captain Sol Bamba, who passed away last month after a battle with cancer, aged 39.
Fans at Leeds’ Elland Road held a minute’s applause prior to their 12:30pm kick-off against Burnley on Saturday, commemorating the life of Bamba who played for the club between 2015 and 2016.
Bamba 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.
However Turkish outlet hurriyet have reported that he ‘fell ill before the Manisa FK match due to a relapse of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.’
The former defender was a popular figure in English football having donned the jerseys of Leicester City, Leeds, Cardiff City and Middlesbrough.
Fans at Elland Road led tributes to former Leeds’ captain, Sol Bamba, on Saturday
Bamba was a popular player among Leeds fans during his short time at Elland Road
Bamba fell ill before he was due to take charge of a match for Turkish club Adanaspor
Since retiring in 2022, Bamba made the move into coaching, becoming an assistant manager for his former club Cardiff before joining Turkish side Adanaspor.
The 39-year-old had been working as the club’s technical director since the summer until his untimely passing.
When Bamba passed in August, Leeds originally 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.
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.
Bamba paid tribute to his former manager after their death at the age of 76 in August.
He wrote on X: ‘Deeply devastated by the news of Sven’s passing today. He was not just an exquisite person, but he was also the best coach I’ve ever had, inspiring my journey as a player but also as a manager.
‘My sincere condolences to his family and loved ones. Rest in peace, Sven.’
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, a rare form of cancer.
Fans held a one minute’s applause for Bamba, before breaking into chants of his name
Bamba signed for Leeds between 2015 and 2016, during a short stint in which he captained the team
The centre-back spent four mounts months battling the aggressive cancer by undergoing chemotherapy.
‘After the first chemo I was down for four days,’ he told Mail Sport 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.
Bamba made a triumphant return in the final match of the 2020-21 season and went on to sign for Middlesbrough ahead of the 2021-22 season.
Since retiring in 2022, Bamba returned to Cardiff taking up a role as an assistant manager
He went on to make 28 appearances and even scored the winning penalty in the FA Cup fourth round clash against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Speaking about the experience he said: ‘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.’
