Bamba ready to play part for Cardiff – on or off field
WHILE Sol Bamba’s impact on the pitch has been scarcely seen this year, Cardiff City fans should not underestimate his ever burning desire to push this club back to where it belongs.
The last 16 months have been an arduous, painstaking road back to full recovery, which has resulted in him largely watching on from the sidelines as Sean Morrison and Curtis Nelson struck up an excellent partnership at the heart of defence.
In his four years at the club he has seen it all, from consolidating the Bluebirds’ Championship status in his first season to reaching the big time the next – only to come crashing back down to the second tier.
He has experienced the immense highs of promotion and the crushing pain of an awful ACL injury last March, but his love for the club endures and shines through brightly as he speaks on the eve of Cardiff City’s play-off semi-final second leg against Fulham.
Neil Harris’ side have a mountain to climb, of that there is no doubt, having to overturn a two-goal deficit at Craven Cottage on tonight.
Bamba concedes the task at hand will be difficult, but the Bluebirds are still only 180 minutes from a dramatic return to the top tier and that, the Ivorian believes, is exactly where this club belongs.
“It would be huge, every player and fan will tell you their club deserves to be there, but I’ve been to different countries, different clubs all around in
Europe and England, and I am telling you this club should be in the Premier League,” a bullish Bamba said.
“It’s an unbelievable city, a capital city, great fanbase, wonderful facilities, the stadium is good, everything is in place to be in the Premier League regularly.
“It would mean a lot to us, especially this season to bounce straight back up which is never easy, so that would be a big achievement for us and the club.
“We have to be honest it’s a work in progress. A new manager came in, not easy for him, a lot of players already here from previous regime, so we have to give credit to him and give him time and proved how good he’s been so far.
“Hopefully he will have time to build and take us back to the Premier League.”
That is, of course, if he doesn’t seal that feat next Tuesday.
It is as yet unknown whether Bamba will have a hand on the pitch against Fulham, but if recent trends are anything to go by it is likely he will have to cheer his comrades on from the bench at Craven Cottage.
Since lockdown he has had just two minutes of football, both off the bench against Bristol City and Middlesbrough, and he has amassed just 489 minutes all term, largely in the FA Cup.
Bamba, now 35, is still hungry for more game time, with the fire still burning white hot within him.
“If I said I was happy with my situation then I’d be lying,” Bamba said.
“I’m all about the team and the club, no-one is bigger than the club. It’s football, competition for places, and all I can do is train good and be ready when he needs me to come in.
“At my age, being in the position I am in and being a senior pro, I need to be there and the lads will tell you themselves what I’m doing behind the scenes, it’s my job, I just have to do it.
“The gaffer has been good as gold in letting me get on with it. I make sure the lads are up for it in training, make sure everyone is coming in on time, respecting the rules.
“But I am a football player still a lot to give but after coming back from long-term injury, the lads been unbelievable at the back and I have to be patient and wait for my chance.”
It is clear Bamba would like nothing more than to have played a key part, even if it wasn’t strictly on the pitch, in any Bluebirds promotion.
It would be extra special, too, if he did it for the late Peter Whittingham, who tragically passed away back in March.
“That one is a tough one for me, because I was very, very close to him,” Bamba said. “I am sure he will be up there looking at us and will be proud. If we can do it for him, it would be magnificent.”
If Cardiff are chasing the game late on at Craven Cottage, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Bamba could be sent on as an attacking option as the visitors look to bombard the box.
So, has he been dreaming of being the man to score that 90th-minute winner?
“You’ve known me over the years, it’s not about me,” he said. “It’s all about the team and going through.
“If it’s me, then it’s great, if it’s someone else, it will be equally great.”