Cardiff and Leeds defender Bamba dies at 39

Sol Bamba, a 39-year-old defender who played for Leeds United, Leicester City, Cardiff City, and Hibernian, has died.

The center-back from the Ivory Coast started his career with Paris St-Germain and played for Dunfermline and Middlesbrough. He was on the Cardiff team that won promotion to the Premier League in 2018.

He beat non-Hodgkin cancer in 2021 while playing for Cardiff. He had been working at the Turkish club Adanaspor, which was announced on Saturday night.

The club said, "Our technical director, Souleymane Bamba, got sick before Friday's game against Manisa. He was taken to the hospital but unfortunately lost his battle for life there." His family and the people in our town have our thoughts.

The news was met with "the deepest sadness" in Cardiff, which called Bamba a "club legend" and said, "As a player and coach, Sol's impact on our football club was immeasurable." Everyone looked up to him; he was a leader in every locker room and a real gentleman.

Bamba was captain of Leeds from 2015 to 2016. The team paid tribute by saying they were "devastated to teach of the news that former captain Sol Bamba has passed away."

After playing for Paris St-Germain, Bamba moved on to Dunfermline and Hibernian. In 2011, he joined Leicester City under Sven-Goran Eriksson.

After his death earlier this week, Bamba posted a message on social media to Eriksson. He said the Swedish coach was "an exquisite person but also the best coach I have ever had, inspiring my journey as a player and manager."

Bamba joined Leeds after playing for Trabzonspor in Turkey and Palermo in Italy.

In later years, he may have made the most of his time at Cardiff, where he became a fan favorite after Neil Warnock signed him for free in 2016.

On his first game, he scored against Bristol City, and the next season, he was a big reason why the club made it to the top flight.

He played his first game in the Premier League with Cardiff and scored four goals in the Welsh club's only season in the top level under Warnock.

In January 2021, the club said that Bamba, who was 35 years old at the time, was getting cancer treatment. They said he was "universally admired by team-mates, staff, and supporters in the Welsh capital."

Four months after that, he went back to playing and said he was cancer-free after chemotherapy.

Cardiff let Bamba go the next month. Bamba worked with Warnock again and signed with Middlesbrough in August 2021.

He had called the experienced boss a "father figure" in the past. Warnock once said the defender was "slightly better" than Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool's center-back, but he had to tell him during games "not to try and be Beckenbauer."

While at Middlesbrough, Bamba scored a penalty in a February 2022 FA Cup shootout win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.

The following year, he returned to Cardiff as Sabri Lamouchi's assistant manager and helped the team stay in the Championship.

Bamba was once linked with the manager position at Cardiff City after obtaining his teaching credentials from the Football Association of Wales.

Before taking up his job in Turkey, he quit when Lamouchi left in the summer of 2023.

"It breaks our hearts to hear that Sol Bamba, our former defender, has died," Leicester wrote on social media.

Sol was well-liked during his short but memorable time in Leicester. He played 55 times for the Foxes and scored four goals. At this sad time, our thoughts are with Sol's family and friends.

When Dunfermline heard about Bamba's death, they were "shocked and saddened." They sent their respects to everyone who knew him "at this tragic time."

Both Middlesbrough and Hibernian said they were "devastated" by the news.