Ex-Cardiff City boss Neil Warnock believes the memory of Sol Bamba‘s smile would be the best tribute for the iconic Ivorian defender.
Bamba died last week aged 39, with wife Chloe revealing he “finally succumbed” having first been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2021, during his time at Cardiff.
Former clubs, team-mates and fans were quick to share heart-felt messages for a player who captained Leeds United and enjoyed spells with Leicester City, Middlesbrough, Hibernian and Dunfermline Athletic.
And there are calls from Bluebirds fans for a lasting tribute to Bamba, who the Welsh side described as a “club legend” and “a hero to all of us”.
Warnock says the player, who once described him as a “father-figure”, would not want any fuss.
“Do you know I’m not sure Sol would like anything like that,” Warnock told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.
“Sol just liked to be himself and didn’t want any accolades or anything like that, he was just a gentleman.
“I don’t think any Bluebird fan would not be able to close their eyes and think about that beaming smile, or one of the goals he scored and I think that’s the tribute.
Yes, you can do one thing or another, but I think the Bluebirds fans will remember him in their own mind and love him as they did.”
Bamba was one of Warnock’s first signings when he took over a Cardiff side struggling at the bottom of the Championship in Ocober 2016.
“Sol and Junior Hoilett, I wanted to sign them and it was in June, they got released and I said, ‘Look, I’m going to sign both of you’,” said Warnock.
“I was being chatted-up by Nottingham Forest and Blackburn Rovers and I kept telling these two lads ‘listen, it’ll only be a week, two weeks, hang on for me will you’.
“And it got to September, and they were both like, ‘Are you sure, Gaffer? Are you sure you’re going to get a job?’.
“Sol said ‘Gaffer we have to pay the bills, me and Junior. We can’t wait forever’.
“I remember picking the phone up and saying ‘Come on, lads. We’re going to Wales.’ ‘We’re going where?’ he said.”
Bamba became an instant hero in Cardiff, scoring on his debut in a 2-1 win against Bristol City and playing a key role in the club’s promotion to the Premier League the following season.
In January 2021 the club announced the then 35-year-old was being treated for cancer. He returned to playing four months later, announcing he was free of the illness following chemotherapy treatment.
Warnock said Bamba remained an inspiring character throughout.
“The smile he had on his face every day in training, as a manager, every club I’ve been at, there has been certain players that make you happy to go in in the morning and he was always one of them,” said Warnock.
“No matter how you felt, that beaming smile as you met him and in the corridor and in the cafeteria, anywhere he was always the same.
“I know he has been fighting because obviously I’ve been in touch with him over the years, and the number of ex-players, that have messaged me because they knew Sol and I were very close, they’ve messaged me to say how he helped them throughout their time at Cardiff.
“Although Sean Morrison was the captain. I think he was the captain’s captain. He’s forever a Cardiff City legend.”