Wilfried Bony detests eagles
The Ivory Coast powerhouse starred for Swansea before joining Man City, but injuries and malaria took their toll...
Your eldest son Geoffroy, 16, has signed his first deal at Swansea. Will we see a new Bony dancing at the Liberty Stadium?
[ Laughs] Yes, let’s hope so. Geoffroy is very talented. He has my physical strength, but is much faster than me. My other son Orphee is also in the Swansea academy. They feel at home there. I became a dad at a young age, just before heading over to Europe. It was a difficult time back then. I had no work and no money. I didn’t finish school because of football. My father was a teacher and used to say, “Wilfried, there is much more to life than football. Educate yourself.” I told him it was my destiny to become a footballer. He later accepted my life as a footballer and our relationship got better. When my dad passed away in 2018, he told me he was proud of me and what I’d achieved. I now tell my sons to do their best at school. If they make it into the Swansea first team, the fans can use the great Bony song they sang for me!
Your first Swansea spell was incredible...
It was very successful. I came from Vitesse Arnhem, where I was the 2012- 13 Eredivisie’s top scorer with 31 goals. We beat Feyenoord, Ajax and PSV, but unfortunately I couldn’t say goodbye with the title. I was happy and ready to prove myself in the Premier League with Swansea. I quickly felt at home at the club and in the city – but it rained every day! I got 25 goals in my first season, including against Manchester United, Man City, Spurs and Liverpool. Maybe that’s why City bought me - they didn’t like that I scored against them a couple of times on New Year’s Day!
At Vitesse you were known as ‘ Daddy Cool’ after the Boney M song. But face to face with Vitesse’s mascot, Hertog the eagle, you lost your cool...
The DJ at Vitesse’s stadium came up with the idea of playing Daddy Cool whenever I scored. I didn’t actually know the song, but I liked it. Everyone in Holland called me ‘ Daddy Cool’. But, you’re right, I wasn’t that cool in front of Hertog – it was an eagle with massive claws! Someone at Vitesse thought it would be nice if the players posed with Hertog, so during pre- season, the eagle was taken to a bridge in Arnhem city centre to see who would dare have a photo with this thing. I said, “No way, man. Are you crazy?” I looked at the falconer, who’d once been attacked by one of his own birds and had an eye missing. I said, “You can do your job with one eye. If I lose an eye now, I can forget my career!” [ Laughs]
You went on a two- week trial at Liverpool as a teen in 2007. How was that for you?
I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was training with players like Sami Hyypia, Stevie Gerrard and Jamie Carragher. Peter Crouch, too, and we later ran into each other at Stoke. I trained for two weeks with Rafael Benitez. That was a fantastic experience. I was used to playing football on the street in Ivory Coast. The level at Liverpool was too high for me back then, and I was under no illusion that I’d be able to stay. I returned home to Ivory Coast. Two months later, I was asked by Sparta Prague to go to the Czech Republic. I started in the second team, but moved on quite quickly to the first team.
What do you remember about Sparta?
It felt like another world. It was so cold – the first time I saw snow! I hardly spoke English but I enjoyed exploring Prague. I went out to restaurants on my own or wandered around town. I spoke French to people, English and some words in Czech. Many people laughed, but thanks to those conversations I learned to speak Czech. I was also getting fitter and stronger. Over there you train like a soldier. For pre- season we trained four times a day. We also went running in the mountains with weights on our shoulders. Military training in the Czech Republic made a beast out of me. I already have strong genes and have always been a big guy. I actually was eight kilos at birth. My mum is also physically very strong. She was a black belt in judo.
Your body would work against you in your Premier League days, right?
It did, especially when I joined Manchester City in January 2015. I was wrecked. I played well with Ivory Coast during the Africa Cup of Nations, which we won. That was great, but it meant that I’d played a lot of extra games. I’d also gone from a couple of weeks at 40 degrees in Africa back to just five degrees in England. I didn’t have time to rest. I pushed myself too much, picked up one injury after another and couldn’t show the true Bony. I wanted to begin the 2015- 16 season in top shape. After a holiday in Ivory Coast, I went to Spain with a personal trainer before the start of pre- season at City, but it turned out I’d contracted malaria. I had a fever above 40 degrees. After that, I broke a few fingers in a friendly against Stuttgart. It was a spell of real bad luck.
How do you reflect on your time at City?
In the autumn of 2015 I was in terrific form. I scored eight times in 14 matches and we won the League Cup that year. But because of my injuries, City looked for new signings. Competition was fierce for the strikers. I was up against the phenomenal Sergio Aguero – he often arrived at training with a grumpy face or he was late, but he was a killer in the penalty box. Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva were magicians – really top players.
When Pep Guardiola arrived, you joined Stoke on loan. How was your time there?
That was a crazy period. I was fit again and played at the beginning of pre- season, but after the first few months I wasn’t allowed to play any more. Why? I actually prefer not to talk about that for now.
Then a return to Swansea followed...
I was very happy to return, but that period was different to the first. The team was not as good and we ended up getting relegated from the Premier League. In a home game against Leicester in February 2018, I suffered a serious knee injury – it was really difficult to witness the relegation from the sidelines. I didn’t come back until November and made a few appearances in the Championship, but mostly as a substitute. I went on a six- month loan to Qatar’s Al- Arabi in January 2019, in order to keep my national team place for the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt that summer.
After a move to Al- Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, you became a free agent. What’s the plan?
Saudi Arabia was a lot of fun but, because of the pandemic, we agreed to terminate my contract. I returned to my family in Swansea and trained with Newport. Over Christmas, I contracted COVID and had to self- isolate for a couple of weeks. I was coughing all day long. I’m now fit again and ready for a new adventure. I want to play football for another three years, then maybe move into business. I’d also like to start my own youth academy in Ivory Coast. I don’t see myself as a coach, because it causes too much stress. I always want to keep smiling.